Observation Assignment Site Location: Dexter

Boinest Observation Assignment January 26, 2014 Time: 2:00PM-2:50PM

Note: This observation was over a 50 minute time span. I will be elaborating on the observation in the time that it was viewed rather then in the actual time span of the show. I will mainly be focusing on the Ice Truck Killer and his relations with Dexter throughout my observations, however I will also include some of the side plots and interworking of the story. Description of the Location: The office of Miami Metro Homicide consists of scattered desks that belong to the detectives that work there. Each detective has a personal computer. To the left is the lab where the forensic scientists work doing DNA testing, finger print identifying, blood spatter analysis, and etc. At the back of the office is lieutenant LaGuertas office, the one who resides over the office.

Above is a picture of Dexters Lab Figured World: A figured word is a vast place constructed by social norms consisting of expected appropriate ways of behavior, specific means of communication, and a certain set of rules. The figured world that I will be observing is from three episodes in the television series Dexter. This figured world takes place in Miami Metro Homicide where cops, detectives and forensic scientists work together to solve murders. In this figure world there is a strict moral code. Murder in society is not generally or ever acceptable. Appropriate behavior includes working together with the people in the

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office to solve the crime and reporting to their Coworkers with the evidence and leads that they may have. Dexter Morgan almost perfectly contradicts the convocations for what would be considered appropriate behavior. Dexter is one of the forensic scientists at Miami Metro that specializes in blood spatter analyzing. However, the twist to the story is that Dexter is not only someone who works to catch serial killers, but he is also one himself. The discourse communities that I expect to find include the cops and detectives that work towards tracking down potential serial killers. The other discourse community that I expect to see includes the serial killers, including Dexter. An important artifact to Dexters discourse community is the code that his adopted father, Harry, came up with. This code is what controls and influences Dexters barbaric need to kill. The code limits him to only being able to kill people that he has proven to be killers or bad people themselves. With this code Dexter forms some sort of justification to the murder of other people. Actors: Actors portray roles in a figured world representing its proper conventions. The characters that I have listed are actors in this figured world and typically play important roles. Although I have stated some of the main characters I will also refer to some other characters in my notes later on. Dexter Morgan: Dexter is an intelligent, often socially awkward individual. He presents his demeanor as someone who seeks to do the right thing. He uses his girlfriend Rita and her children as a cover to his behind the scenes life. Dexter is a forensic scientist that specializes in blood spatter analyzing; he helps to solve murders. Though he helps to catch murders and serial killers his shocking side hobby is killing people himself. He justifies his actions by only killing other murderers. These actions contradict the appropriate behaviors in the figured world.

Debra Morgan: Debra is Dexters younger sister. She is a detective at Miami Metro. Debra often represents inappropriate behavior with her choice of extensive profanity use. She is a determined detective who wants to excel in her career. She works hard to do what is just in making sure that murders go

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behind bars where they belong. She does not know about Dexters side job, which makes the show an on edge display.

Artifacts: Artifacts are ideas, emotions or physical objects that have a significant meaning that could be social or significant to culture to a certain character or characters in Dexter. Dexters Blood Slides: Dexters blood slides are significant to him because they represent all of the bad people that he has killed. On each blood slide is a drop of blood from one of his victims. They are like trophies to him. The Barbie Dolls head: This represents Dexters connection to the Ice truck killer. This particular character has been murdering women(mostly prostitutes) and draining them of their blood. They are then cut into pieces and left outside for the world to see. The killer has been leaving Dexter messages as if implying that they have something in common. Harrys Code: The code is a set of guidelines that Dexter lives by. It was developed by his adopted father to prevent him from getting sent to the electric chair. The two rules that Dexter has deemed the most important include: dont get caught and never kill an innocent.

Discourse Communities: A discourse community is a group of people that share like tendencies, beliefs and approaches to language and communication amidst a figured world. The Serial Killers: This group includes Dexter, Rudy and the Psychiatrist. Each of these people violates the appropriate behavior in the figured world by committing murder. Rudy has been communicating with Dexter by

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recreating childhood photographs with the detached limbs of his victims. Murder could be considered a means of communication in the light of trying to get a point across. Miami Metro Homicide: Includes all the cops involved in solving the murders and piecing together the works of serial killers. Their shared way of communicating involves sharing ideas in the workplace or on the phone. Ritas Family: Ritas family serves as a cover for Dexters true self. She has two children both young, named Aster and Cody. They are working on creating a family-like relationship with Dexter. Their shared way of communicating includes physical acts, such as intimacy between Dexter and Rita and also Dexter Reading the children a story before bed.

Literacy Practices: Literacy practices are the written, verbal and nonverbal ways of communicating. This includes body languages, modern technological ways of communication and demeanor.

Dexters Demeanor: Dexter is an awkward person who represents tendencies of a split personality. His cover includes presenting himself as a family man, friendly and exceedingly helpful/resourceful. He communicates in this way to hide the cold emptiness that he claims is inside him. Debras Profanity: Debra uses profanity in mass quantities during the show. Some find her foul language offensive, while some just see it as one of the things that define who she is. This is important because it represents her strong conception that she can do whatever she wants to and be a powerful, determined women.

The Observation: Season 1: Episode 8 2:00PM- Dexter and Batista inspect a murder scene that appears to be a suicide. The question is whether or not it is actually a suicide or a murder. Debra arrives on the scene being dropped off, clearly smitten, by her new boyfriend, Rudy. 2:10PM- On the side Dexter discovered that the women who is suspected to commit suicide shares something in common with similar cases. They all went to and were associated with the same psychologist. Dexter decides to make an appointment with the psychologist so that he can find out if he has anything to do with these womens tragic deaths.

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Dexter wants to get in touch with the ice truck killer, however is unsure how to make it happen. He posts an ad on craigslist saying, Dear Ken, Im in pieces. Why the cold shoulder? Love, Barbie. This message is in reference to the Barbie that the ice truck killer left in pieces in Dexters refrigerator. 2:20PM- Flashbacks from Dexters past show him learning a code for his behavior from his adopted father, Harry. Meanwhile LaGuerta interviews a man impersonating the ice truck killer in hopes that he will admit to being a fraud. 2:25PM- Dexter takes advantage of his sessions with the psychiatrist to work on his own personal issues, such as his relationship with his girlfriend. He acclaims to be a sociopath incapable of feelings. 2:30PM- During Dexters session he has a flashback to when he was very young. He is yelling for his mother and covered in blood. He has a sort of panic attack and leaves his session abruptly. He rushes to Ritas and they are able to get through their dilemma. 2:40PM- LeGuerta stumps the fraud cereal killer by bringing one of the heads from evidence into the interrogation room. He does not react in the way a typical cereal killer would. He gets very nervous and apprehensive at the atrocious sight. 2:45PM- Dexter revisits the psychiatrist to finally do what he has been planning all along; confront and kill him for his wrongdoings. 2:50PM- At the end of the episode we see Rudy replying to Dexters message on craigslist saying, Barbie, Be patient. One day well share a cold one. Next to his computer is a cut up doll just like the one left in Dexters freezer. This is indicating that Rudy is in fact the Ice Truck Killer. Observation 2: Actors: Rudy: Rudy is Dexters brother, however Dexter does not find this out until later episodes. Rudy has kept a close eye on Dexter as they have hit adulthood. The shocking thing that both Dexter and Rudy have in common is that they are both serial killers. Rudy, like Dexter, covers up his horrific activities with his job as a seemingly caring and helpful doctor. He specializes in making new limbs for amputees which is ironic seeing as how he cuts people into pieces. Also like his brother, Rudy does not convey the rules and convictions of the figured world.

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(Photo a screen shot from episode)

Season 1: Episode 9 Description of the Location: This episode mostly takes place in the home of Dexters deceased father. The house if filled with old things that belonged to the father that Dexter never knew. Some of the things in the house, like an old thank you note, spark Dexters memory and cause him to remember fragments of his early childhood. The house is mostly dull in color. There is a living room that leads to a kitchen and one bedroom. Mostly they are seen packing boxes in the living room.

Above is a picture of Dexter and Rudy in their late fathers house. In this screenshot Rudy is attempting to bond with Dexter. (Photo a screen shot from episode) 3:00PM- In the beginning of the show we see Dexter stepping out of his comfort zone in trying to fit into Ritas Family life. He is so use to being in his apartment by himself that he is not used to a house full of people. Even though he likes children, sometimes Dexter does not know how to react to them. Dexter goes to inspect a crime scene where James Doakes a fellow colleague has shot a man. Doakes

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criticizes Dexter for his job and interests calling him a, fucking creep-job when Dexter tries to explain the incident. 3:05PM- Debra wants Dexter and Rita to double date with her and her new boyfriend. She claims that as her brother, Dexter should know Rudy. Debra then gets a letter saying that Dexters biological father had died and left him a house. He and Rita decide to go together to check out the house. 3:15PM- Debra and Rudy surprise Dexter by showing up to his supposed fathers house. Rudy greets Dexter by awkwardly saying, Ive waited a long time to meet you. Obviously Rudy knows more about the situation then Dexter. They all decide to stay in the house for the weekend to pack up the estate. Rudy gives Dexter longing, sneaky looks that suggest that he knows Dexter well. 3:20PM- Dexter goes to see the body of who is said to be his biological father and notices an odd tattoo. He then has a flashback to when he was a child riding in a car with a man obtaining the same tattoo. Dexter gets a little freaked out and decides to draw blood from the body to get a paternity test. 3:25PM- Dexter finds out that his father does not have any records before the age of thirty. He finds this suspicious and suspects that he may have spent some time in jail or to have hung around the wrong crowd. Dexter also receives the DNA test determining that the man is actually his biological father. He begins to wonder if Harry, his adopted father, had lied to him about anything else and why he had chosen to lie in the first place. 3:30PM- Dexter wants to figure out what the cause of his biological fathers death was so he goes to the morgue to further explore his theory. He gets caught breaking and entering and runs outside. Conveniently Rudy had been following him and picked him up as he was on the run. They take the ashes of his father to a bowling ally since he was once an avid bowler. 3:40PM- Dexter has another flashback to his childhood when he made a card for an unknown blood donor. He had been in an accident and lost a lot of blood. To thank the blood downer he colored a card with crayons. His father would not tell him who had given him his own rare blood type. He has this flashback after having found the card in his biological fathers house. At the end of the episode we see Rudy and Debra getting into a car to leave the house. The neighbor from across the street calls out having recognized Rudy and referring to him as the cable man. Earlier in the episode the same elderly neighbor had described a man very similar to Rudy as being the last visitor to his

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fathers home. This indicates that Rudy could have been the cause to Dexters fathers death. 3:45PM- Paul, Ritas ex husband, comes by her house clearly drunk and demands he be able to see his children. Rita attempts to calm him, but he tried sexually assaulting her. She runs to get the children and leaves the house. Observation 3 Season 1: Episode 11 4:00PM- Dexter is continuously having flashbacks to his childhood, especially to the moment when his mother was murdered in a storage container. In this specific scene, the memory is made fresh by a pool of blood from where Batista was stabbed. For the first time Dexter starts to feel nervous at the sight of blood. 4:05PM- Rudy is about to commit another crime as the viewer now knows that he is the ice truck killer. He has tricked one of his former patients into coming into his home, so that he can murder then dismember her. While he is amidst his work the doorbell rings and Rudy reluctantly invites her in. He makes plans with her to get away with just the two of them. 4:10PM- Meanwhile Dexter goes to investigate his mothers murder and asks to see the case file, however is denied. He is called to a crime scene where the Ice Truck Killer(Rudy) has left another dismembered body. The body parts are wrapped in paper under a Christmas tree. Dexter predicts that the scene seems rushed and then he finds a Video tape connected to one of the body parts. The video was of Rudys last victim. What they notice is odd about the video is that she is hanging upside down. 4:20PM- Debra is worried about her relationship with Rudy. She arranged for him to have lunch with Dexter in hopes to discover if there is trouble in paradise. Rudy just tells Dexter that he plans to propose. 4:25PM- As Dexter continues to piece together the murder of his mother he realizes that the Ice Truck Killer has been leaving him clues all along in the number 103. This led him to discover who his mother was and find out what happened to her. Dexter is angry because the case file no longer exists because his adopted father had it destroyed.

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4:30PM- Rita visits Paul in jail so that he can explain to their children why he is there. At first he is angry that they are there, but decides explaining to his children is the right thing to do. 4:40PM- Dexter goes to visit Batista in the hospital and get a blood sample from the back of his head. He makes the connection that the teeth marks on the back of his head and the busted lip that Rudy had correlate. Earlier Dexter had known that Rudy lied to him and didnt car, but now Rudy has his full attention. He heads back to the lab to continue forming his theory. 4:45PM: Debra agrees to go to dinner with Rudy on a yacht. Dexter thinks she will be busy with work where she is safe from Rudy. Dexter goes to Rudys to find DNA and ends up having to dig in the trash to find it. Debra meets Rudy on a flower covered, romantic boat scene. He kneels to propose and she excitedly says yes. Dexter becomes nervous when he cannot reach Debras cell. Once he realizes where she is, he rushes to the marina where they are. 4:50PM: Debra finds out that Rudy is the Ice Truck Killer and he strangles her until she passes out. Dexter is told that the DNA samples are a match between Rudy and Batistas wound. Now Dexter is also certain of Rudys guilt. Interview: Interview was conducted with a fan of the show 1. Tell me about your interpretation of Dexters demeanor. Such as how he presents himself or what kind of front he puts on. -Dexter kinda pretends to be a family man, but we all know hes a serial killer. Hes really good at being convincing to cover his tracks 2. Give an example of a physical object or idea that is significant throughout the show. -Harrys code is really important throughout the show. Dexter is always going back to it and checking out the morals. 3. Indicate any characters that do not follow social norms in terms of how they talk or act. Give an example. -I guess Debra doesnt really do a good job at fitting in. She uses a lot of profanity that most of the time wouldnt be cool. 4. How can Dexter be considered a controversial show on television. Do you think it is too over the top?

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-The murders and sexual innuendo could make the show controversial. I think that in todays society, its not that big of a deal compared to some of the other things seen on TV.

5. How do you think that Dexters character fits into Miami Metro? Or does he really fit in at all? -He is important in helping to solve the crime, but most of the time he steers them the wrong way so that he can have the bad guy all to himself. Socially he seems to fit in. Everyone likes him, but they think he is a little awkward. This poll was conducted by asking 10 random viewers of Dexter Questions
100% 90% 80% 70% 60% 50% 40% 30% 20% 10% 0% Do you think this Is Dexter using Is Dexter a good Is this show show should be Rita as a cover or guy or a bad guy? contraversial to on television? does he rieally social norms? like her? using her likes her bad guy good guy no yes

This poll shows that there are varying opinions concerning the violence and controversial ideas presented in the show Dexter. In my opinion I do not think that this show should be on television. The show portrays a criminal, Dexter, as being a good and just person. Even though the show has an interesting and exciting plot, it is on the edge of being too much for TV. This show especially could be traumatizing to young viewers and their impressions of social norms could then be scewed.