Trial by Media

John knew it could be a bloke and not a woman on the show, he still chose to go on it As for that vile defense lawyer, try letting people speak and stop shouting over them.

But those camera angels are just awfully distracting.

Trial by Media is another solid Netflix Docu-Series I set to my notification list long ago. It does not disappoint, nor exceed the thoughts that precede. I like the fact that they cover the b-sides of what has been televised. It doesn't cover the OJ Simpson Trial, or Michael Jackson's Trial, or anything like that. The cases covered are far removed enough, to only have been heard in passing, though not fully realized.

Interesting enough, the cases covered may be stenciled on, however not in the broadest of strokes. That is something I am grateful for. Is something like a podcast with visuals, the minimalist approach seems to work for me.

Covering societal impact through media's outward reflection. It ponders what that says about us, covering a wide range of topics such as race, consent, corruption, psychopathy, misuse of power, and capitalism's flawed infrastructure. The series never takes sides, only stating the facts one episode at a time.

This documentary has grabbed my attention because if the unique concept it introduces. Looking at the influence of media coverage on criminal justice system in the US. One of the most interesting parts of this documentary is when they interviewed defence attorneys and prosecutors in order to get highlight how they were thinking while trying to represent the victims or the defendants. I particularly enjoyed episode 4 as the two defence attorneys were brilliant and they had outstanding narrative to influence the jury by using every possible means from exploitation of the witnesses' darkest and deepest secrets And using it against them to try to tailor stories and make up some facts to play mind games and influence the jury even more. What I missed in this series is two things, digging deep in the facts related to the crimes themselves and not explaining the crimes committed in more details and the other point, not analysing and showing how the media played a role in changing the dynamics of the trials. In the series, the focus was shifted towards how the media covered the trials and has been in the middle of the courtrooms not on how it made a difference in the final outcomes or the verdicts.

I thing it's a great work but if the producers are planning to make a new season, they need to elaborate more on the crimes committed and the real influence of the media on the final outcomes of the trials.

Enlightened me on a few stories I didn't previously know about. Important to consider how justice is served in contemporary civilized society but the series doesn't get in depth enough on those very broader topics.