Telvision Criticism - Univ. of Iowa

In the television show, Dexter, the main character battles his instincts for murder while acting as a blood spatter analyst for the Miami police department. The show itself consistently plays with the line between refined civilization and brutal savagery. This imagery is mirrored within the television show’s theme sequence that features Dexter as he begins his day. During the day, Dexter works within the confines of society, trying to legally put criminals in jail for their vicious crimes. However, at night[1], he becomes a serial killer, intent on punishing those who have somehow managed to evade capture. Throughout the series, Dexter is constantly in battle within himself, from his dual nature of serial killer and police worker to his instinct of bloodlust and the love he shows to his sister. This mirroring conflict of civilized restraint versus animalistic brutality are juxtaposed within the opening to highlight the complexity of humanity. Specifically, both Dexter and its opening, scrutinize the line between human and animal and thus an overall critique of society and what is deemed acceptable or unacceptable within that. This is accomplished through portraying Dexter’s morning routine as both, an activity of restraint and animalistic consumption. Through each of the different sections highlighted above, Dexter navigates the line between ruthless pleasure seeker, slicing and sucking his breakfast, and the restrained everyman, nodding to his neighbors.

             The first segment (orange) contrasts with the final segment (light blue), portraying the two worlds that Dexter must inhibit. In the opening, a mosquito is seen sitting on Dexter’s arm. He watches, letting it bite into his flesh before squashing it with precision. The camera focuses on his face where his eyes light up with joy and a sinister grin appears, relishing in his accomplishment. The final section of the theme, involves Dexter’s transformation from his personal domain to out in public, where he is expected to be civilized. At the beginning of this segment, Dexter is pulling a white t-shirt over his face. The audience views as his face is accentuated in the fabric. When his face is revealed, Dexter stares directly at the camera with a cold and lifeless look in his eyes. This is symbolic of the necessary transformation from barbarity to civilized man. In the next moment of this segment, he is locking his home and turns away from his front door, walking down the hallway of his apartment complex. As he does this, he looks towards the camera and nods. As he continues walking he looks off screen, his sinister smirk returns. These two segments both contrast the dual personalities that are often in conflict. The continuation of the smirk at both the killing of the mosquito and as he nods off screen, suggest that although the outer layer of civility (as represented by the t-shirt) can be worn, the real nature of sinister behavior still lingers.

            After the mosquito section, Dexter moves on to begin shaving (green). Once again, the audience witnesses him participating in the mundane. The next shot shows Dexter, out of focus, looking in the mirror and pressing down harshly against the stubble on his face. Following this, there is a shot of Dexter with one hand wrapped around his next and the other shaving over his Adam’s apple. A close up of his neck, a line of blood sliding down his next and then dripping into the sink. A strip of cotton is placed on the cut and the blood soaks into it, filling ¾ of the screen. This segment represents the line between civil and feral, which is communicated through the hand wrapped around his neck and the symbol of blood. Specifically, as blood drips onto the white sink and then consumes the full square of cotton. Both are stark white, pristine and marred by the inner workings (blood) of Dexter. This easily mirrors the inner battle between Dexter’s brutal nature and the outside persona that he assumes.

Dexter then moves on to eating breakfast, beginning with the slicing and dicing of ham (grey). Through the plastic packaging, Dexter uses a serrated knife to cut into the pink flesh of ham. A quick cut shows him squaring the meat, other cuts can be seen where he has already worked. Next, the pan steams up with butter and ham is thrown into the pan then stabbed with a greasy knife. Dexter eats the meat, sucking it into his mouth and pursing his lips as he chews. This section, while representing the carnal nature of man, also reflects Dexter’s serial killer nature, specifically in his vicious execution of mundane activities. Then (blue), an egg is cracked, sizzles in a pan, and is cut with the yolk spilling out of the center. Red sauce is used in this segment as it splatters against the white plate, the remnants of sliced egg staining the plate, and the dirty, yolk stained knife. This section of the opening portrays the same themes as the ham slicing, as the audience watches the yolk spill onto the white of the eggs. Again, the ordinary acts of eating echoes Dexter’s killer nature as the red, translucent sauce splatters against the plate reminiscent of blood. As with the previous section, there is a violent nature to everything Dexter does, shrinking the separation between the two worlds he inhabits.

Next Dexter participates in two more activities, making coffee (yellow) and juicing a blood orange (red). The audience witnesses as the beans spin around the grinder without being crushed and are then smashed into chunks. Dexter wraps his fingers around the ball of the grinder, curling his hand into a fist and squeezes around the handle. In the next shot, condensation has built up on the spout and bubbles rise from the bottom of the coffee pot. The following segment begins with him cutting into a blood orange, as juice flies into the air. Dexter then places that fruit on a juicer and twists, the inside of the blood orange forcibly spewing from the sides of the rind. A close up shot of the mangled insides of the fruit fill the screen. Again, each action is done with a ruthless, violent undertone. These familiar activities become harsh devices, such as juicer squeezing out the insides of a blood orange or Dexter’s grip on the grinder, which are used in a brutal manner emphasizing the contrast between the intended use of the item and how it can manipulated into something sinister.

            The last two segments before Dexter leaves the house mirror one another, both flossing and tying his shoes (pink). The section begins by Dexter twirling the floss and pulling it so tightly against his fingers that they turn white. The audiences see the floss being pulled tightly  between his two hands with the white of the sink as a back drop and the black and white tiles at the bottom of the screen. Dexter begins to floss with only his neck visible, as he brings his head down his teeth are shown as he pulls the floss from between his teeth. Next, he begins to tie his shoes, tugging the shoestring tightly towards the camera, with multiple shots of his biceps flexing as he pulls on the cord. As mentioned above, this is obviously a violent action, mimicking Dexter’s murderous tendencies. He is aggressive in both segments, fists curled tightly as he pulls both the floss and the shoestring, cutting off blood flow to his hands. Although the acts themselves are not inherently violent, Dexter’s animalistic presence transforms them. Throughout this opening there is a consistent theme of Dexter doing what is traditionally thought of as normative human behavior, but is battling with his aggressive tendencies.      

Overall, the symbols in this segment are violent, murder-focused images that represent what will follow in every Dexter episode. The subtle symbolism within the series and its opening reflect the fine line concerning the animalistic nature of man, such as violently suckling down meat, and the civilized everyman, such as the friendly head nod, that Dexter represents. Although he tries to act normal, there are still aspects of his brutal nature, which are revealed through his mundane and traditional morning routine. Thus, the opening of Dexter both highlights the competing entities within the main character while also suggesting the lack of separation between these two personalities for both Dexter and man.