Dark Harvest: The Story of Scott Dyleski and Invader Zim

In my last blog, I discussed a bit about how there was and still is a consistent fear of the effects of certain subject matter on children. Video games and music are often the main targets for scrutiny, but TV and cinema have also fallen victim to this debate. Can the actions of an individual be blamed by the media they regularly consume? While my last post discussed some of the arguments against that ideology, as well as the consequences of taking that fear too far, allow me to take a moment to discuss yet another possible case of this that I'd never even heard of until fairly recently.

In 2001, Nickelodeon began airing a cartoon called "Invader Zim." The show told the story of an alien named Zim and his robot sidekick, GIR, as they attempted to help prepare for his people to invade Earth. In each episode, Zim was portrayed as highly intelligent but also highly stupid, typically failing in his endeavors with hilarious and often dark consequences. The show ran until 2002 but was cancelled. The exact reason for the cancellation has never really been confirmed but according to the creators, the general consensus was that the low ratings and high costs of production were its downfall. However, since then, Invader Zim has come to be considered one of the best shows ever released by Nickelodeon, and there is currently a Netflix film that is supposedly going to be released in the summer of 2019.

While the premise of the show was amusing with plenty of opportunities for comedy, what stood out most about the cartoon was its consistently dark subject matter. Many episodes included some creepy scenes with disturbing implications if you really took the time to think about them. To give a few examples, there was an episode where Zim discovers an invading alien race that looks exactly like human babies, only they never age and the parents never seem to notice this even as the years go by. At the end, Zim manages to scramble the aliens' minds, giving them all the mentality of babies and leaving them forever trapped on Earth in that state. Practically the alien equivalent of Locked-In Syndrome.

Then there was the episode where Zim decides he needs to have a human friend to blend in. After befriending on of the rejects who is desperate to have a friend as well, Zim realizes it's near impossible to get rid of him after deciding he doesn't need a friend anymore. In the end, Zim builds a machine that rips out the boy's eyeballs and replaces them with robotic ones, causing the boy's mind to be reprogrammed into thinking a squirrel is now his best friend. The boy ends up launching himself into some dangerous situations while trying to catch up with the squirrel and we don't see him again.

Dark humor was always the staple of the show and the part everyone loved about it. But like all shows, there is "that one episode" that stands out because everybody who saw Invader Zim remembers it.

The episode in question was called, "Dark Harvest." In it, Zim is once again afraid about not fitting in with the other earthlings after he is sent to the school nurse's office for an examination. Zim knows his anatomy is absolutely nothing like human anatomy and is afraid the nurse will discover his secret. To avoid this, Zim begins to go around the school, targeting random students and stealing their organs, replacing them with ordinary objects. The medical implications for the students are disturbing enough, but what really stands out is how Zim changes near the end of the episode. He becomes engorged, having stuffed himself with as many human organs as possible, believing that the more he has, the more convincing he will be. He is so stuffed that not only is he considerably fatter, but whenever he opens his mouth to speak, you can clearly see some of the organs, primarily intestines, just barely staying inside, sometimes even falling out in mid-sentence. The image of Zim slurping an intestine back into his mouth like it's a rogue strand of spaghetti is gross-out humor at its finest.

As notorious as the episode is, it's also a fan favorite because of just how messed up it was. However, this very episode also happened to be brought up during a teen's murder trial as some similarities between it and the crime were drawn.

In October of 2005, the body of 52-year-old Pamela Vitale was discovered in her home. She had been bludgeoned to death, suffering 26 blows to the head, broken fingers, and dislodged teeth. As she lay dying, her attacker then cut open her abdomen to expose the intestines inside, and at some point carved a symbol into her back. The symbol appeared to be some sort of signature as though her attacker wanted to claim credit for their work, and ultimately it became part of the evidence that helped lead the police to her murderer.

Scott Dyleski was the next door neighbor of Pamela Vitale, and was 16 at the time of her murder. Scott's life was not a happy one. After his parents split when he was 2, his mother moved with him from house to house before settling in Lafayette, California. Scott's life was often spent in poverty, learning to get by without electricity, plumbing, heat, or running water for years. His father made two attempts to have CPS step in, believing his son was being abused and neglected, but nothing ultimately became of this.

Some sources state that the symbol carved into Pamela's back looked identical to the signature marks Scott often put on his own artwork, while others say it was in the shape of an "H" for "Hate" that looked identical to the one found on a bumper sticker confiscated during a search of Scott's possessions. This, along with DNA evidence left at the crime as well as his footprints, led investigators to believe he was the culprit. Though he plead not guilty and never disclosed details of the murder, Scott's obsession with the human body, particularly its organs, was known among his friends. According to his girlfriend, Scott had spoken about his fantasies of breaking the necks of children as well as wondering how the human body would function with certain organs removed.

The case went to trial in 2006, during which time the episode, Dark Harvest, was brought up, indicating it may have had something to do with Scott's morbid curiosity with human organs. The comparison of Scott's desire to watch humans function without certain organs and an episode where Zim removes the organs of his fellow classmates was an easy one to make. 

Scott was found guilty of first-degree murder. During his sentencing, the judge even commented how the only emotion Scott showed during the trial, was amazement and awe at his own handiwork when the autopsy photos were revealed. Clearly, there was no remorse. In spite of his young age and the protests of many over the sentencing, Scott was sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole. Though there was an attempt to appeal his conviction, it was still upheld and Scott remains in prison to this day.

Now, taking all of this into account, it brings us back to the question: Can the actions of an individual be blamed on the media they consume? While I haven't found any articles directly stating that Scott was even an avid watcher of Invader Zim, even if he had been, the answer for me is still no. The fact that it was even brought up in trial in the first place was a bizarre move even if some similarities could be drawn (and even then, it's still a reach). Some sources state that it was intended to be more of a joke, which would make more sense. Even so, this episode has now become somewhat associated with the case.

But rather than picking apart Invader Zim, or picking apart any media to try to blame it on a crime like this, it serves as an example that there is often a lot more going on behind the crime than relying on the easy media scapegoat. Scott clearly had an unstable life and suffered for it. While it in no way justifies what he did, it's still something that should be taken into account. The human brain, for example, does not stop developing until age 25 and the most crucial parts of human development take place during the early years of our lives. While our upbringing is not always a deciding factor in what eventually leads to a case like this, people are still far more likely to be influenced by the experiences they've had in their childhoods than they are by dark media. In fact, for a lot of people, dark media can serve as a cathartic vent when dealing with said experiences. 

I'm at a bit of a loss as to how to properly wrap up this post, so I'll simply say that if you haven't seen Invader Zim, you should check it out. It's a fantastic show.

Sources:

• MyDeathSpace: http://www.mydeathspace.com/article/2008/12/16/Scott_Dyleski_(20)_has_been_imprisoned_for_life_after_he_bludgeoned_his_neighbor_to_death
• Murderpedia: http://murderpedia.org/male.D/d/dyleski-scott-edgar.htm
• Wikipedia: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Scott_Dyleski
• "Dark Harvest" Invader Zim Wiki: https://zim.fandom.com/wiki/Dark_Harvest