Hillis 1

Dexter Morgan:
The Dark Defender
Brittany Hillis
Professor Milburn
ENGL 1020­413
5 Dec. 2014

Hillis 2

Mission Statement
In the television show
Dexter
, viewers of the show are faced with issues of morality and justice. Some of the cultural codes that are displayed throughout the program are that bad guys are not always “bad,” all humans have some sort of “dark passenger” that they can relate to, and connections and relationships with other people are inevitable. All of the codes can be applied to the culture of humankind in general. These are all primitive actions and feelings. The idea that not all bad guys are bad plays to be true, from what we see with the main character, Dexter, himself. He has a strong sense of morals and follows a code of conduct when finding victims.
Dexter, though, has a serious dark passenger. This is not to say that everyone has that prominent of one, yet humans in general have that primitive darkness inside of the, and each individual has a way to deal with it. Through the course of the series, Dexter obtains meaningful relationships with others, exemplifying that even the most detached being need some sort of bond with others.
Other avenues are explored through the series, posing questions to the viewers that watch it, such as religion, family, and love. The complex show reveals more about society than seen at first glance. Thesis Statement
Dexter
provokes thoughts on our own issues of morality, and just why exactly we are so easily relatable to the blood spatter analyst vigilante.

Hillis 3

Dexter Morgan; The Dark Defender
Through the course of eight seasons
Dexter
was a smash hit on the television network,
Showtime. While on the air, the show had record breaking amounts of views. What made this show so popular? The concept of the show, to begin with, is unique all on its own. Normally, a show catches the killer, using fancy CSI techniques, making the viewers feel like a forensic expert. However with
Dexter
, the entire show revolves around the life of a troubled serial killer who is trying to live an everyday, normal life. Viewers get to creep into the mind of a murderer and venture along the journey with him. The whole time. we are rooting for him to catch the next victim, biting our nails in a tense situation that Dexter has gotten himself into, or smiling at the loving moments he has with his son.
Dexter
is a complex show, and Dexter Morgan is an even more complex character. The show brings about ideas that we would not normally have while watching
CSI Miami. Dexter provokes thoughts on our own issues of morality, and just why exactly we are so easily relatable to the blood spatter analyst vigilante.
Why does everyone love Dexter so much? How does a show about murdering pull viewers in? Justice. Everyone wants justice in some way. Sure, Dexter may kill a few innocent people in the process of getting rid of the scum of society, but he is bettering the world. This is how many people view what Dexter is doing. They do not find the loss of a handful of innocent lives to be that much collateral damage. This part of the show unknowingly tells a lot about our society. Americans love it when people get what is coming to them. It is seen as okay for innocent people to be found in the cross hairs of situations, as long as it means doing something for the greater good. During the war on terror, countless innocent civilians’ lives have been lost in bombings and warfare. However, you hardly ever hear of government officials being

Hillis 4

scrutinized for the bloodshed they cause. The difference between the government and Dexter
Morgan is that Dexter really tries to keep from hurting innocent civilians. This causes people to like and relate to Dexter. He is getting the justice that humans yearn for and keeping himself restricted at the same time, due to his code. For example,