ACS: The People v. OJ Simpson
American Crime Story S1, TV Anthology Series, 2016
Premise - Based on the real-life "Trial of the Century," this 10-episode-series is a detailed recount of the O.J. Simpson trial in 1994-1995. A famed football player, O.J. Simpson was the prime suspect in a double homicide case for victims Nicole brown Simpson (O.J.'s ex-wife) and her friend Ron Goldman. Likely the most publicized trial in history, a large racial divide is created between those in favor and those against Mr. Simpson.
Review - I watched series on Netflix alongside season two of American Crime Story, The Assassination of Gianni Versace, as it aired live. As this season was one episode longer, I finished it second, but really I saw both together. It is difficult to refrain from comparing the two as they are by the same creators. The reason I bring this is up is because I just finished writing a review for The Assassination of Gianni Versace, which I adored, and found much more cinematically revolutionary than The People v. OJ Simpson. As a direct comparison, I am not as enthused with this story even though it was more popular. That said, The People v. OJ Simpson is a fantastic piece of television and I'm glad to have watched it.
The series is careful not to be too interpretive of what truly happened the night of the murders. While every other moment is visually dramatized, the murders, or any supposed planting of evidence, is not. There is still the opportunity for viewers to take in all of the data that they watch and make a decision for themselves. However, there is one interpretation of this trial that the show does not back down from - that this trial was ultimately about race. The show does not shy away from the intensity of the racial divide and its implications at all. That's what makes it so powerful, and yet terrifying as well.
In my very, very, very personal opinion - the reason why this case was so messy is because both sides were arguing something accurate. The prosecution was arguing that O.J. Simpson was guilty of murder. He probably was. The defense was arguing that the LAPD was systematically racist and could not give a fair trial for black people. That was also probably true. The problem is that O.J. Simpson was not your typical black person. He was a rich celebrity surrounded by white folks in a white neighborhood. The trial played up his blackness a lot, when truly his crowd was primarily white. But black Americans did not see it this way. He was absolutely adored.
If we want to talk about systemic issues, there is also the lack of justice for women victims of domestic violence, ESPECIALLY victims of powerful men (most relevant example being famous athletes). In this case, O.J. Simpson was the privileged one, even though he is black. The white woman, in this particular case, was the one with less power. Black men were on O.J. Simpson's side. White women were on Nicole's side. So what about black women? The interesting phenomenon is that black women primarily sided with O.J. Not that there should ever be a competition between different forms of oppression, but black women on the jury seemed to consider O.J.'s blackness more relevant than Nicole's womanhood. In fact, blackness was more relevant to the case overall than the domestic violence element was.
So here we are talking about really complicated, systemic issues that make it impossible to consider any individual case in an unbiased way. There was too much big-picture thinking, and not enough consideration of which events happened on that one night. In O.J.'s case, it was the one night that matters. However, these conversations about race are incredibly important for society overall, so it's actually a good thing that they came up in O.J.'s case. Everything is just so complicated and our justice system really, really frightens me. (76/100).
Quote - "This isn't some civil rights milestone. Police in this country will keep arresting us, keep beating us, keep killing us. You haven't changed anything for black people here. Unless, of course, you're a famous, rich one in Brentwood."
What to watch for - I still keep thinking about how phenomenal the casting was. Every acting performance was so great. I don't watch This is Us, but I sure fell in love with Sterling K. Brown. And I absolutely adore Cuba Gooding Jr.
Based on true events recounted in the novel The Run of His Life: The People v O.J. Simpson by Jeffrey Toobin.
If you liked this show, I'd recommend How to Get Away with Murder!
Review - I watched series on Netflix alongside season two of American Crime Story, The Assassination of Gianni Versace, as it aired live. As this season was one episode longer, I finished it second, but really I saw both together. It is difficult to refrain from comparing the two as they are by the same creators. The reason I bring this is up is because I just finished writing a review for The Assassination of Gianni Versace, which I adored, and found much more cinematically revolutionary than The People v. OJ Simpson. As a direct comparison, I am not as enthused with this story even though it was more popular. That said, The People v. OJ Simpson is a fantastic piece of television and I'm glad to have watched it.
The series is careful not to be too interpretive of what truly happened the night of the murders. While every other moment is visually dramatized, the murders, or any supposed planting of evidence, is not. There is still the opportunity for viewers to take in all of the data that they watch and make a decision for themselves. However, there is one interpretation of this trial that the show does not back down from - that this trial was ultimately about race. The show does not shy away from the intensity of the racial divide and its implications at all. That's what makes it so powerful, and yet terrifying as well.
In my very, very, very personal opinion - the reason why this case was so messy is because both sides were arguing something accurate. The prosecution was arguing that O.J. Simpson was guilty of murder. He probably was. The defense was arguing that the LAPD was systematically racist and could not give a fair trial for black people. That was also probably true. The problem is that O.J. Simpson was not your typical black person. He was a rich celebrity surrounded by white folks in a white neighborhood. The trial played up his blackness a lot, when truly his crowd was primarily white. But black Americans did not see it this way. He was absolutely adored.
If we want to talk about systemic issues, there is also the lack of justice for women victims of domestic violence, ESPECIALLY victims of powerful men (most relevant example being famous athletes). In this case, O.J. Simpson was the privileged one, even though he is black. The white woman, in this particular case, was the one with less power. Black men were on O.J. Simpson's side. White women were on Nicole's side. So what about black women? The interesting phenomenon is that black women primarily sided with O.J. Not that there should ever be a competition between different forms of oppression, but black women on the jury seemed to consider O.J.'s blackness more relevant than Nicole's womanhood. In fact, blackness was more relevant to the case overall than the domestic violence element was.
So here we are talking about really complicated, systemic issues that make it impossible to consider any individual case in an unbiased way. There was too much big-picture thinking, and not enough consideration of which events happened on that one night. In O.J.'s case, it was the one night that matters. However, these conversations about race are incredibly important for society overall, so it's actually a good thing that they came up in O.J.'s case. Everything is just so complicated and our justice system really, really frightens me. (76/100).
Quote - "This isn't some civil rights milestone. Police in this country will keep arresting us, keep beating us, keep killing us. You haven't changed anything for black people here. Unless, of course, you're a famous, rich one in Brentwood."
What to watch for - I still keep thinking about how phenomenal the casting was. Every acting performance was so great. I don't watch This is Us, but I sure fell in love with Sterling K. Brown. And I absolutely adore Cuba Gooding Jr.
Based on true events recounted in the novel The Run of His Life: The People v O.J. Simpson by Jeffrey Toobin.
If you liked this show, I'd recommend How to Get Away with Murder!
Creators: Scott Alexander, Larry Karaszewski
Distribution Company: 20th Century
Comments
Post a Comment