ANALYSIS PAPER ON TED BUNDY

Theodore Robert (Ted) Bundy is a famous serial killer and known for brutally raping and

murdering approximately 30 girls during his times. As Ted Bundy is one of the most popular

serial killers back then, Netflix had made a series documenting Ted Bundy’s life and the history

of his killings. The title of the series is Conversations with a Killer: The Ted Bundy Tapes, first

aired on 24th of January 2019 and is comprised of four episodes. Ted described himself as “the

most cold-hearted son of a bitch you’ll ever meet”. One will never realize the accuracy of that

statement unless watching even just one episode of the show. During his time, Ted is on the

FBI’s top 10 most-wanted list. The difference with Ted is that he is not the typical killer we have

in mind. Good-looking, intelligent and is very articulate. This shows how deceptive and normal

his public persona was. First episode was more of an introduction. It includes interviewing

people’s thoughts who knew Ted, how they perceive him even as a child, and how the journalist

convinced him to speak for himself. Denial was all over him, trying to convince everybody that

he was innocent and not guilty of all the accusations thrown at him. But at the end of the pilot

episode, the journalist who worked with him managed to make Ted speak up and talk as if he

wasn’t the killer but was just trying to speak as if he was an expert witness of the case.

After watching this documentary and witnessing all the killings, one would wonder, what

drove Ted Bundy to do such things? Serial killers usually struggle with emotional issues. This,

often times, is the most contributing factor as to why they commit to horrific acts of violence. As

seen in the first episode, Ted wanted to make his childhood as positive as possible but their

neighbors and friends proved otherwise. From what I observed, even though he was good-

looking, smart and all, he was kind of an outcast not only in his childhood but even as he grew
up. The feeling of rejection started inside his family, from when he found out that whom he

treated as his sister was actually his biological mother. Victims play a big role in the killings of

serial killers. They develop patterns on how they choose their victims. They pick their victims in

terms of preference - similar gender, physical characteristics and other factors. This could be a

seen as his act of vengeance towards some who possesses those characteristics that might have

hurt him. In the case of Ted, his relationship with Diane Edwards, his first girlfriend, made a

huge impact which influenced the kind of women he preyed on. Since she came from the upper

class, having the money and elegance, being in a relationship with Diane brought out much of his

insecurities.

Serial killers such as Jeffrey Dahmer who was also a social outcast just like Ted, used to

kill small animals so that he could actually feel some power over them. Since they do not have

the courage to stand for themselves socially, they vent out their feelings over the little animals.

For Ted, even as a child, when he had his speech impediment up to adolescence period, he never

felt much power over his life which adds up to the cause of his mentality and behavior. The

feeling of killing someone, having the ability to control them and take their lives over, was

somewhat a manifestation of his desire to have the power not only to his life, but also to

somebody else's. Ted was diagnosed with manic-depressive disorder. His confession, having

voices inside his head, which would later on start saying things about women, was a

demonstration of this disorder. “I don't feel guilty for anything. I feel sorry for people who feel

guilt”. This statement of Bundy is quite hard to take. Did he really not feel any conscience or

guilt at all when he killed those women? Their cries, wasn't it some sort of realization that he was

mentally and physically hurting them? Hasn't he felt loved at all or was that sense of belonging

dominated or replaced by his feeling of insecurity and hate towards others?

 Ted's addiction to pornography was also an angle to look at. Before his life was taken out

of him, he confessed that this was a factor that led him to violence. He wasn't literally blaming it

for everything but he did say that his addiction with it gave rise to “a compulsion, a building up

of this destructive energy”. Pornography is very rampant even before his days, yet it does not

cause major problems or heavy news regarding sexual assault on women because of men who

are addicted to pornography. Knowing Ted and his manipulative ways, he blamed pornography,

among other reasons, because it is very believable. His fascination on sex and pornography are

what led him to become addicted in pornography in the first place.

Ted Bundy, from what is seen on his interviews and the way he acts, speaks of his

confidence and his narcissistic self. He tried to escape from prison twice before getting executed.

The idea that he can actually do that means he is capable and more advanced than the securities

imposed in that area. He may not be that smart academically, based on his LSAT’s, his score was

mediocre and he wasn’t really the top of the class, but because he thinks highly of himself, he

tried picturing out in people’s mind that he was what he thought he was. Moreover, it is very

evident in the documentary that Ted loved it all. He loved being in the spotlight. Starting from all

the interviews with his remarks that sound so conceited, him fighting his own case in the court,

escaping from prison, and lastly, marrying his present girlfriend, proposing to her during his trial,

and even bear a child with her. All this, is part of his show. And he loved how the audience

acknowledges every bit of it.

Exchanges of perception and personal judgment on what could be the contributing factors

for Ted Bundy’s behavior have gone over the internet and across the world. Famous psychiatrists

and other professionals with background on the human behavior have given their perception of

Ted and the possible underlying reasons of what drove him to do such acts. Ted Bundy’s
childhood, trauma with his first relationship, addiction to pornography and insecurity issues

could add up to the reason for his behavior but psychopathy, which a lot of serial killers suffer

from, remains a mystery. Through the years, with the world having the existence of serial killers,

one could still not possibly identify the reasons or explanations for the cause of this disorder.

Whether be it psychologically or neurobiological which could explain some chemicals and parts

of the brain not functioning properly. In addition, not only it is a good thing that documentaries

like this are very accessible in the internet to raise awareness to possible dangers in the

community but also to raise awareness to serial killers and the complexities of the human brain.