Film Vs. Real Life: Ted Bundy

Arguably, this is a significantly more traditional and healthier upbringing for youth compared to the one described in the movie. Regarding his academic narrative as portrayal in the movie versus real life, Ted Bundy’s character is a failing, hopeless student whose struggles are used to entertain and heighten the emotions for its audience. However, Bundy was more than a satisfactory student with high ambitions which eventually drove him to go to law school and motivated his pursuits in politics. Bundy was noted for being granted a scholarship by the University of Puget Sound after graduating from high school. And eventually transferred to the University of Washington where he graduated with a Bachelors in psychology in 1972. Even more contradicting to the film’s portrayal was the fact that Bundy was an honors student who was well liked by his professors. Ted Bundy was notorious for his successful escapes from prison. The movie recreates the scene by exaggerating his rapid take-off after finding himself unguarded at a courthouse in Aspen, Colorado. The scene shows Bundy jumping out of a window where he jumps onto another rooftop before painfully plummeting to the ground. After reading and interpreting police reports and newspaper articles from the time, it indicates that his high-risk escape wasn’t as dramatic nor dangerous as what the movie makes it out to be. In fact, Bundy jumped out of a second-floor window
where the drop was measured to be 15 feet, and then continued to run about half a mile into the mountains (The Federal Bureau of Investigation, 2007). Furthermore, Bundy is captured but escapes for a second time while in custody at a jail in Glenwood Springs, Colorado. Documents describe the escape to have been carried out by a hole in the ceiling which gave Bundy the opportunity to climb in and through the crawlspace before exiting the facility unnoticed wearing civilian clothes. However, the movie’s storyline lacks these significant details and leave the viewer wondering how his second escape was executed.
A prominent component toward understanding Ted Bundy’s dark nature deals with the revelation of his issues with pornography and alcohol which the movie fails to capture. In Ted Bundy’s final interview conducted by Dr. John Dobson, a California radio personality and founder of Focus on the Family, Bundy emphasizes the role that violent pornography played in motivating his brutal conquests. Bundy states “like an addiction, you keep craving something which is harder and gives you a greater sense of excitement, until you reach the point where the pornography only goes so far - that jumping off point where you begin to think maybe actually doing it will give you that which is just beyond reading about it and looking at it”. This statement speaks volumes about Ted Bundy’s authentic character and is intuitive and critical to his psychological processes. In the movie, Ted Bundy is not ever viewed watching pornography. Instead Bundy’s sexual erratic behavior and addiction is solely conveyed by him molesting and having sex with multiple women. The director’s decision to leave out this information dismisses any speculation around worthy context. Also, it covers up for the fact that Bundy was driven by other motives such as violent pornography.
One of the final and most iconic attacks of Ted Bundy’s killing streak occurred in Tallahassee, Florida on January 14, 1978. The victims identified were sisters of the Chi Omega Sorority at Florida State University. Four bodies were discovered to have been brutally murdered and beaten. While the director attempts to recreate the tragic events for entertainment purposes in his film, there are several movie components that do not accurately reflect the events which had taken place the evening of. The scene begins by showing a white house with incorrect Greek letters. For more accurate portrayal, the movie should have utilized Chi Omega’s Greek letters which was on the house which the attack took place in. Proceeding into the next frame, Bundy’s character trespasses into the house and walks into the rooms where the girls are seen sleeping and violently attacks them with a weapon. When Bundy hears the footsteps of another women, and he immediately dashes down the stairs and out the door to execute a quick escape while driving off in a yellow van. Counter to the movie’s portrayal, accounts from witnesses who were present that night of recall differently. Nancy Dowdy, a member of the Chi Omega sorority, claims that she walked into a room where she saw her surviving sister named Kathy Keiner, “sitting on her bed, with her legs crossed, rocking back and forth, calling for her boyfriend and her pastor. She was holding her hands under her chin. Her hands were full of blood.” Also, it was later revealed that victim, Lisa Levy, had died by having her body torn to pieces, raped and penetrated with a hairspray bottle at the hands of Ted Bundy. And according to ___, Karen Chandler and Kathy Kleiner were severely beaten and suffered critical injuries. However, the movie does not incorporate these details which align with sources. Additionally, those who watch the movie in sequence are given with the impression that Bundy’s last deadly rampage before his final capture was the Chi Omega attack. However, sources confirm that his last killing victimized a 12-year-old girl form Lake City, Florida. The absence of this information makes his trial scene to be misleading because the audience is informed that he is sentenced to death for murder, but they are not educated on what specific accounts. The movie simply just describes his sentencing to be “for murder” which is incredibly undescriptive when attempting to recreate a movie about one of the world’s most notorious serial killer.
The execution of Ted Bundy is one of the most prominent and suspenseful scenes in the entire movie. However, patterns of inconsistency and inaccurate portrayals sustain. On the day of Ted Bundy’s execution which took place on January 24, 1989 at the Florida State Prison, 42 people opted into watching his execution behind a glass window. However, the movie’s portrayal only counts for 11 people behind the window. As the scene proceeds, Bundy’s is asked if he’d like to give a final statement and he responds saying “tell my family I love them”. However, it is documented that his actual final statement was “Jim and Fred, I’d like you to give my love to my family and friends” (Bearak, 1989). Another misrepresentation pertains to how the electric chair operates in the movie versus real life. In the scene, the executioner turns on “Old Sparky” by pulling down on a crank, but it is known that the electric chair functioned by the press of a button instead. Also, in these crucial moments, witnesses claim that small puffs of smoke rose from Bundy’s right leg. However, the movie did not include this visionary but substituted it by showing dark red blood drip down Bundy’s face from his nasal area. This tactic is arguably used to manufacture a more gruesome scene and thrilling effect. Another notable observation is that Ted Bundy’s character is disturbingly seen having mass amounts of cotton forcibly pressed into his body from behind as part of is preparation to be executed. However, among countless sources and timelines that recount the morning of Bundy’s execution, there is nothing that indicates or confirms that this was part of the procedure.
The record of Ted Bundy changed the way that people from all different backgrounds viewed serial killers.
His legacy is eternal and will continue to support new theories and arguments in future trials. In the scheme of popular culture, Ted Bundy will continue to be the source of inspiration for mass produced films and other cultural artifacts in the entertainment industry. It is not uncommon that there are a multitude of discrepancies between Hollywood products and real life, and the 2002 Ted Bundy movie is an example that is indicative of this
notion.