Ripperature: Building the Myth

What do you think of when you hear "Jack the Ripper"? In 1888, five women, Polly Nichols, Annie Chapman, Elizabeth Stride, Catherine Eddowes, and Mary Kelly, were murdered and mutilated in London’s East End. Though scholars debate the validity of this claim, contemporary Victorian newspapers reported the women as sex workers, and that characterization continues today. The Whitechapel Murder narrative is inseparable from sexual violence against women. Jack the Ripper is one of the most famous unsolved mysteries in the Western world and is continually referenced in fiction like “The Whitechapel Murders; Or, An American Detective in London” (1889), television shows like Ripper Street (2012-2016), and other media forms. Ripperature: Building the Myth explores fictional adaptations of Jack the Ripper, or Ripperature. Jack the Ripper, a fictitious moniker for an unknown killer, has been credited as the first modern serial killer and, as such, has lasting impacts on true crime discourse, including the ways gender, labor, and violence intersect. Join me as I attempt to answer the questions: Why do we keep fictionalizing these gruesome crimes? Why are we still obsessed with these crimes? What does our obsession tell us about ourselves? For more information, check out my website: https://graciebain.com/

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Avsnitt(15)

Episode Five: The Michaelmas Girls

In our final episode on Jill the Ripper, we examine perhaps one of the more difficult texts, The Michaelmas Girls, to discuss Jill the Ripper’s violence. In this episode, an unofficial detective figur...

25 Apr 202448min

Episode Four: Doctor Jekyll and Sister Hyde

In this episode, Gracie leads you through the cinematic masterpiece Doctor Jekyll and Sister Hyde, which combines Jill the Ripper with another famous culture-text, Doctor Jekyll and Mr. Hyde. We talk ...

17 Apr 202450min

Episode Three: Jill Rips

Who else had Dolph Lundgren on their 2024 Ripperature bingo card? In this episode, we look at the 2000 film Jill Rips and its portrayal of Jill the Ripper. We talk about perhaps one of the more unlika...

10 Apr 202452min

Check-in

Hi, everyone! Just to update everyone, I won't be publishing any more episodes until I graduate this semester. Don't worry! I am continuing to record and edit the rest of the season. See you soon!Them...

26 Jan 20241min

Episode Two: Jill the Ripper

In the second episode of this season, Gracie introduces one of the more popular theories of the Whitechapel Murderer’s identity, Jill the Ripper. After briefly establishing the historical context for ...

28 Nov 202356min

Introduction to Ripperature: Building the Myth

Welcome to Ripperature: Building the Myth! In this episode, Gracie introduces Jack the Ripper as a culture-text, briefly explains the five women canonically characterized as victims of Jack the Ripper...

8 Nov 202347min