What true-crime properties crossed the line?
the true crime that's worth your time
What true crime crosses the line with victims the way that Abby Honold’s thread describes? We don’t mean properties like Surviving R. Kelly or Leaving Neverland that, while difficult for viewers to watch, at least let us serve as witnesses to survivors’ testimony or shine a light into a grimy corner. I mean docs or shows where you get the distinct sense an interviewee is uncomfortable or got bait-and-switched; or is being shown crime-scene materials for the first time, and their reaction filmed in a way that feels more intrusive than helpful.
Pointless visits to murder sites to get audio about the spot’s “vibe,” tasteless re-enactments that add nothing…the list goes on (the number of paperback covers I’ve seen in the last 18 months at Exhibit B. where I’m like, what motherless jackass signed off on this?), and many of the things on it we can or may try to rationalize in the way Honold describes above. But can you think of any examples that brought you up short, all “‘centering’ and ‘using’ aren’t synonyms”?
And is it possible that we should be shunning “most of the true crime content,” for this reason? — SDB