Glenda Cleveland
Niecy Nash plays Glenda Cleveland in the Netflix series “Monster: The Jeffrey Dahmer Story.” Cleveland was victimized by the Milwaukee police. Cleveland was Jeffrey Dahmer’s neighbor at the Oxford Apartments where he committed many of his grisly murders.
She could hear and smell an awful lot, but luckily Dahmer preferred men (or boys). Tropes of film and TV would suggest that the best way for a female character to survive is by being likeable to men. Nash’s portrayal brings to life the fact that the complete opposite is true. It is the strongest, most hard-headed, and self-protective who survive. Milwaukee Journal Sentinel reports that Glenda Cleveland went as far as to contact the FBI regarding the activities of Jeff the killer at the Oxford Apartments. Five young men were murdered after her numerous tips were ignored.
Niecy Nash as Heroine
Cleveland grew up with eight other siblings on a farm. Her obituary states that Cleveland’s parents taught her right from wrong, and they did not believe in being a bystander when someone is in need. It seems illogical – at least from our perspective as viewers – that Jeffrey Dahmer faced difficulties supporting himself post divorce at age 18 while a younger individual who fell prey to a notorious serial killer had no choice but to fend for themselves at just age 14. The contrasting circumstances raise questions about the level of support and defense provided to these young individuals in their respective situations. Nash describes filming scenes related to her characters involvement in the death of the young boy and how that affected his family as “painful”.
The Appeal of White Killers
White serial killers have been literally getting away with murder. From police units to Jeffrey Dahmer, victims are terrorized. Black people, members of the homosexual community, people who identify as transgender, and individual members of other vulnerable groups are murdered on an almost regular basis.
Do you have what it takes to survive a real-life horror movie? How can community awareness prevent social injustice from taking the lives of even more innocent people? Let us know what you think by leaving a comment.
Niecy Nash’s net worth went up! She brought life to that role.
Niecey killed it
I have always loved Niecy Nash as an actress- Very authentic!
And I one-hundred percent agree with her in that indeed at some point in time, “We will all need to be a ‘Glenda Cleveland!'”
As far as community awareness goes…. there still seems to be some “collective denial” happening in addition to lots of under currents.
People like Glenda Cleveland are considered the “anti-under currents” of this world.
We definitely need more Glenda Cleveland’s that’s for sure!