The Reality of Documentaries

If you are like me, I can settle in and watch a real-life crime documentary for hours. It draws me in. Did they do it? How did they get away with it for so long? Of course, they did it! There wouldn’t be a documentary on it if they hadn’t done it right? Or they didn’t do it, and it’s a documentary on a false confession. Or maybe it was all a set-up!

My first documentary I remember watching on Netflix was Making a Murderer. The best documentary yet on a crime! Even after watching the show, I am still not convinced beyond a shadow of a doubt that it happened the way it was presented in court. Good thing I was not on that jury. Nevertheless, my interest was piqued. I wanted to know more about these people who were accused of a crime and what the outcome was. And with COVID, I had plenty of time dedicate to my imaginary life as a crime investigator.

First Case / Documentary:

Making a Murderer: Do you remember the show? Steven Avery, a man from a small town in Wisconsin was wrongfully convicted of sexual assault and attempted murder Penny Beerntsen even though he had an alibi. He served 18 years in prison, and then was finally exonerated with the help of the Innocence Project who found that the DNA on file was that of another man. He is released in 2003 and turns around and files a $36 million dollar lawsuit about the Manitowoc County and several people connected to his arrest and conviction. That lawsuit would have been devastating to the county and to the law enforcement officials if found guilty of a bad investigation and arrest of Steven Avery.

However, we didn’t need to worry about that because two years after his release, Steven Avery was arrested again and charged with the murder of Teresa Halbach, a photographer whose last known location was taking photos of a vehicle in the salvage yard that Steven owned. Steven and his lawyers, being down this road before, claim that there had been evidence tampering and that he was ‘set-up’. The documentary implies the set-up was because if he was charged with another murder, then the county wouldn’t have to pay the $36 million dollars and obviously the law enforcement officials would be justified in the original arrest…I mean it wasn’t a good arrest, but they knew that he was a criminal and here was the proof. Now this is all in my own words, based off of what I saw in the documentary, and I could be WAY off.

In walks Brendan Dassey, the nephew of Steven Avery. Steven used Brendan as an alibi for the murder in question, and under the pressure of the law enforcement- he admits to some really crazy yuckiness. Funny thing, he was 16 at the time- and they questioned him without a parent or lawyer present. And it is known that Brendan Dassey has a really low IQ score, which I am not trying to say means he didn’t commit a crime or that he was too dumb to answer questions, I just mean that the tactics used by the law enforcement officials seemed really shady and just plain wrong. This is again, my impression based off the documentary- because I wasn’t there.

This all leads the viewers, at least me, to really think that there is something fishy going on. I was sitting on the couch googling law and procedures in the State of Wisconsin because I was going to help! I knew that the two were already in prison, I had looked that up during the first episode. But, when I was watching Brendan Dassey and his story unfold, I had literal tears in my eyes. Documentaries can do that. They play on emotions, biases, and need to get a reaction- and Making a Murderer did that.

I was hooked! I need more ‘who done it’ shows! It was been years and I have watched most of them, but I wanted to share my personal favorites that used emotion to really get the point across to the viewers….

Follow Up Shows to Watch

American Murder: The Family Next Door: are you shitting me? A husband killed his wife, unborn baby, and two little girls all because he was afraid to ask for a divorce so he could be with his mistress? After watching this, I was mad at my husband and all men for some strange reason.

Don’t F**ck With Cats: Hunting an Internet Killer: This story is the progression of a women watching cat videos on YouTube, stumbling on a man who harms cats on-line, to forming a group against the man on Facebook, to eventually solving the murder of Lin Jun. All this from a cat video. Mind Blown!

Long Shot: This short documentary is crazy! Man accused of committing a murder at night based off of one person’s sketch of someone who according to the District DA ‘looks somewhat like the defendant.’ But he has an alibi! He was at a Dodgers game with 56,000 other people. But how do you prove that? Did he leave the game early? Did he leave and come back? This one will blow your mind on how someone could have so much bad luck and good luck at the same time.

Evil Genius: I think what was most shocking about this documentary, was not only the role that the women played in the crime- but that it just has to be the most bizarre bank robbery ever. And then it shows a man with a bomb strapped to him explode. Wait! What? That only happens in the movies…and usually Sean Connery is coming in to save them. That cant be right!?! Holy crap….it really happened. I might go re-watch this one.

Confessions with a Killer: The Ted Bundy Tapes: I don’t know if I need to talk about this one because I think everyone in the U.S. has already watched it. He has to be the most well-known serial killer in the country- makes H.H. Holmes look like an amateur. But, in this documentary we hear from the women. What was going on in their lives, how were they affected….and what are they thinking now. I had known that he had a girlfriend, but I never really had thought about her as playing a part in the story until this documentary. And you wouldn’t believe the role that she played.

And my most recent find, The Keepers- This one has been out for a while, but I have always had skipped over it…not sure why. I finally settled in…. heart breaker! This story starts with a murder, and then goes a whole new direction, and then comes back to figuring out the murder. I was all over the place. I started to take notes. I had to keep pausing…. ‘What just happened?’ ‘Oh, no he didn’t….’ My dogs were confused and thought that I was talking to them. Once again, Facebook was introduced as a means to the end of finding a killer- interesting!

What I have discovered since exploring the world of documentaries…. Social media / technology will get you every time! Either it is going to prove your innocence or it is going to be the jailer that throws away the key to your cell. Documentaries are mostly one sided, and not always in favor of law enforcement- and if you are not careful, you begin to really doubt lawyers and judges’ decisions. Luckily, I am just a history major- I don’t have to make tough calls like law enforcement and the legal system. I get to sit in my favorite chair and watch from a safe distance while eating Oreos and drinking coffee.

I wonder if Netflix will ever produce a list on how to watch their documentaries? You know, like the list that Marvel gave us on how to watch all their Super Hero movies. I need that list so that I know that I didn’t miss any.