Good Girl, Bad Blood

The villain in Good Girl, Bad Blood is called a catfish. The use of this term to describe something other than the fish species is relatively recent. Merriam-Webster defines the internet usage of the word as follows: “a person who sets up a false personal profile on a social networking site for fraudulent or deceptive purposes.”

Catfish was first used in this sense as the title of a 2010 documentary film in which the film’s producer was the target of a catfishing scheme. He establishes an online connection with someone he thinks is a 19-year-old girl from the Midwest, but she turns out to be a 40-year-old housewife. The woman’s husband makes a comparison between his wife’s scam and an apocryphal merchant shipping practice. As the story goes, centuries ago, when live cod fish were shipped across the globe, they tended to arrive at their destination sluggish and not very tasty. Catfish are the natural enemy of the cod, so a few of these would be put in the cod tank to keep the cod lively and alert. Thus, they were in much better shape when they reached their ultimate consumers.

Catfishing and cybercrime have both become prevalent ever since the internet became a necessity for modern communication.