Trial by Media

Expected to see some more commentary on the media's role in criminal trials. These are more like one hour summaries of trials that lean heavily on presenting one side over the other.

I don't really see a thesis here. Feels like a drawn out A&E special from long ago. I kind of see how out of control these trials can become, but that is not the emphasis. It gets into legal strategies, but only slightly.

Side note: just from my own naive perspective, I remember Al Sharpton being a punchline in popular culture through the 80s and 90s. Here, he is treated as a modern day Dr. King.

Finished it in two sittings, very well done in my opinion

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.

The show Trial by Media was an eye opener. It was amazing to see how a medium such as media had such a diverse impact on the lives of so many people in the United States and over the world. How a medium could have such an impact on the judicial system, the victims, the families, communities, and so on. It was heart breaking at times to see the system fail you, sometimes you never understood the system at all. Trial by Media shows how the system functions, the effect the Jury has, the efforts put in by the lawyers on both sides of the coin. Many of the cases that have been covered in this TV show were unfamiliar to me, and it was educative to me. The show has documented each event very well, giving as insight to how the media functioned in each of the cases. It was astonishing to understand the power of media, the concept of Court TV and its impact on so many lives. How people would be interested in watching the events of one's life rather than their own. The show has managed to get all the important characters together and talk about the events that happened years ago. Trail by Media will make you question everything about the system and the media itself. Voyeurism will be the best word to explain this show.

I wasn't thinking this would be as compelling as it was. Some of the stories are fascinating not so much a media critique as just a perspective on society's reaction to crime. There are some episodes that are better than others 41 Shots and Dan's Bar are both heartbreaking. Keep watching as some episodes are good but not great.