Romantic tales of daring-do

Cafe Society
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featuring carjackers and pimps.

Why do these tales/movies/whatever exist?

We have Bonnie and Clyde, GoodFellas and any number of pirate movies, so why do we not have romanticised versions of other criminals? Why do we have “Maxwell’s Silver Hammer” and “Mack the Knife”, but not “The Ballad of John Wayne Gacy” or “Zombie Army (The Lament of Jeffery Dahmer)”?

Is it because Richard Speck and Charles Manson are too “new” to be romanticised? Is it because we, hopefully, no longer wish to glorify criminals?

Bear in mind that I enjoy all the real examples I’ve set forth. I’m not shouting from the hilltops about the fall of Rome or anything like that, I’m just curious.

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Isn’t it derring-do?

Anyway, you’re forgetting Hannibal Lecter, the romanticized patron saint of serial killers. I can’t think of any other examples of ramanticized serial killers in the popular culture.

Wait, I remember seeing this show on HBO about cannibals and there was this Japanese guy who killed and ate a woman in France and through bad paperwork or something made it back to Japan a free man and is now a celebrity. Does that count?

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Isn’t this what you call an anti-hero? Or is that referring to something else?

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What about The Professional?*