Netflix Mini-Reviews: 13TH and AMANDA KNOX
Recently, I carved out some time to watch two of Netflix's new original documentaries: Ava DuVernay's 13th and Rod Blackhurst and Brian McGinn's Amanda Knox. I didn't quite feel as if I had enough to say about either to warrant a full review, but I still wanted to offer my thoughts about them, so here goes.
Let's start with Amanda Knox. Personally, I didn't pay attention to this insane murder mystery story as it was happening a few years ago, so this whole thing was presenting almost entirely new information for me. From what I've heard, that's the best case scenario as far as your starting point going into this movie; I've seen people write that those who already know the history of the case won't learn anything new here, and while I can't speak to that, it definitely works as an engrossing piece of entertainment that covers the basics of the case. I won't spell out those details here in case you're like me and don't know about them yet, but though this movie is far from even-handed (Knox herself appears on camera in interviews, and the filmmakers are clearly on her side), I still found it fascinating and worth a look, largely for reasons I'll explain in a second.
Side note: On one hand, I'm a little leery about the recent boom of true crime stories being repackaged for the masses as entertainment, but on the other, I sort of can't get enough of them. Does that make me a hypocritical, horrible person? I don't know, but I'm definitely conflicted about this topic and would welcome your thoughts about the phenomenon.
13th, on the other hand, is not a murder mystery, because there's no mystery at all about how members of the black community have ended up being incarcerated at a much higher rate than white people. (One of the statistics mentioned in the film is that 1 in 17 white men are likely to go to jail in their lifetimes, while it's a staggering 1 in 3 for black men.) The film slowly and thoroughly traces the history of systematic oppression from the days of slavery, touching on the impact of the original The Birth of a Nation, Jim Crow laws, the Civil Rights movement, the War on Drugs, and the importance of the structure of leadership and the power of social media in the current Black Lives Matter movement (which can't be suppressed nearly as effectively as previous push-backs against the community were). It's a must-watch for everyone, but I fear some people may avoid it because it doesn't fit in with their own political narratives; sadly, those are the people who would learn the most from it (I'm not trying to be condescending — I learned a great deal from the movie as well, which is why I think everyone should watch it, but you know what I mean).
The thematic throughlines that both films share — and really the reasons I want to recommend both — are how the media shapes the narrative of these stories and how elected officials enforce them.
In Amanda Knox, the media is personified in Nick Pisa, a freelance "journalist" at a British tabloid who, on camera in a new interview for the film, practically relishes reliving the case and seems seconds away from clapping with glee at the memory of every sensationalistic and ridiculous headline he wrote which perpetuated Knox's assumed guilt. He's a real scumbag, the kind of guy who had no ethical qualms about publishing a part of Amanda's diary that contained a list of her sexual partners that was only written because the Italian government tricked her into thinking she had HIV (which turned out to be just a bullying tactic to try to get her to confess). The media creates a firestorm of sensationalism because the circumstances surrounding the story make it "juicy," and they keep pouring fuel on the fire for years as they attempt (and mostly fail) to uncover the truth...consequences be damned. In 13th, it's the nightly news and shows like Cops that are put on blast for constantly reinforcing imagery of black people being paraded across our TV screens in handcuffs and contributing to stereotypes that far too many of us have accepted.
In both films, politicians and government officials involved don't come out unscathed. 13th is a documentary made for this exact moment in time, before its audience votes in our upcoming presidential election. Both Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump both make appearances in clips throughout, and while both have some troubling moments, as the film wraps up it's crystal clear who comes out looking better than the other in regard to their positions on race and the criminal justice system. In Amanda Knox, the Italian prosecutor of the murder case admits he was inspired by Sherlock Holmes, and the way the case was handled reeks of a guy doing a terrible Holmes impression, pulling crazy theories seemingly out of thin air with little to no evidence to support them. The small city's local police force and, by the end, the entire Italian judicial system look questionable at best and downright idiotic at worst.
If I had to recommend one of these movies over the other, I'd say to watch 13th because I think it's more important to understand the history behind conversations we're having right now as Americans. But both have some interesting things to offer, and I hope you let me know what you think in the comments if you decide to check them out for yourself.