Have we finally outgrown glorified true crime shows?
This article includes mentions of family violence, and sexual and physical abuse and may be distressing for some readers. Helplines can be found at the close.
Last week, Netflix released the hotly anticipated second season of Monsters, a Ryan Murphy anthology series that, similarly to American Crime Story, chronicles the real life, infamous crime cases that captured the world’s attention.
This season, titled Monsters: The Lyle and Erik Menendez Story, focused on the two young Beverly Hills brothers accused of killing their parents in 1989. Much like the OJ Simpson trial (which Murphy has already covered), the crime and subsequent trials throughout the ‘90s became huge tabloid fodder. The act itself was shocking, but the family’s wealth and status added to the narrative. Not only did these boys face an actual court, but the court of public opinion, due to the 1993 public airing of their trial and obsessive media coverage.
Lyle and Erik (22 and 18 at the time of the murder) admitted to killing their parents as an act of self-defence, their testimonies including stories of the physical and sexual abuse both brothers had suffered at the hands of their father, José. After an initial mistrial, Lyle and Erik were eventually sentenced to life sentences without parole in 1996.
Across nine timeline-shifting episodes, Monsters ultimately covers everything from pre-murder, to the act itself (which I’ll get to), to the trials and ultimate guilty verdict. Critics are praising the performances (actors Nicholas Alexander Chavez, Cooper Koch, Javier Bardem and Chloë Sevigny comprising the Menendez family), however the response to the show itself hasn’t been great.
“Despite the gripping subject matter and the outstanding performances, Monsters: The Lyle and Erik Menendez Story has no idea what it wants to be. Therefore, it just dissolves into a retelling of unspeakable abuses and gruesome crimes,” Variety’s Aramide Tinubu states in her review.
“However, the bigger issue is who and where we are as a society. When we engage in the platforming of murderous and unwell people, no matter how heinous their upbringings may have been, we lean into our own unchecked monstrosities.”
“Mostly, Monsters is just trying to have it both ways — or, really, more than two ‘ways.’ Are the monsters the brothers? The parents? Are we the monsters for obsessing over cases like this?” asks The Hollywood Reporter’s Daneil Feinberg.
This criticism leads me to believe (or at least, hope) that society is starting to outgrow these flashy, reenactments of infamous crimes. It doesn’t matter how much research these writers and directors do, leaving the stories of these incredibly complex cases in the hands of creators whose ultimate goal is entertainment just feels a bit shit.
The show’s murder scene in the first episode has sparked backlash for its gruesome nature and inaccuracy, with fans taking to social media to express their despair. “I was actually shaken by how graphic the murder scene was,” a user wrote, with another commenting, “Monsters is graphic as fuck.” There’s also the fact that the murder investigation found that José was shot in the back of the head, with the implication that he and his wife did not see who their killers were. In the show, Erik and Lyle aggressively shoot their parents whilst looking them straight in the eyes.
Should we really be taking creative liberties to make an already abhorrent event even worse?
Speaking of which, the blurred lines Monsters creates in regards to the brothers’ relationship is pretty fucked. While I won’t go into detail, the inferences of incest were both extremely uncomfortable and a careless handling of trauma response.
Erik Menendez (still currently serving his sentence), released a statement via social media absolutely slamming the show and its creators.
“I believed we had moved beyond the lies and ruinous character portrayals of Lyle, creating a caricature of Lyle rooted in horrible and blatant lies rampant in the show,” he wrote, defending his brother. “I can only believe they were done so on purpose. It is with a heavy heart that I say, I believe Ryan Murphy cannot be this naive and inaccurate about the facts of our lives so as to do this without bad intent.”
Erik continued. “It is sad for me to know that Netflix’s dishonest portrayal of the tragedies surrounding our crime have taken the painful truths several steps backward — back through time to an era when the prosecution built a narrative on a belief system that males were not sexually abused, and that males experienced rape trauma differently than women.”
Not good.
The first instalment of Monsters focused around the singular Monster, Jeffrey Dahmer in 2022. After watching the show, Rita Isbell, the sister of one of Dahmer’s victims, Errol Lindsey, published an emotional letter via Business Insider. “My brother was murdered by Jeffrey Dahmer. Here’s what it was like watching the Netflix show that recreated the emotional statement I gave in court,” the title read.
In the piece, she shares, “I was never contacted about the show. I feel like Netflix should’ve asked if we minded or how we felt about making it. They didn’t ask me anything. They just did it.”
Not good at all.
While I can’t deny that Ryan Murphy is a highly talented writer, director and producer, I’m sincerely hoping that he takes this criticism on board and starts using his powers for good, because exploitation and retraumatization shouldn’t be glamorised.
If this has raised any issues for you, or if you just feel like you need to speak to someone, please call 1800 RESPECT (1800 737 732) – the national sexual assault, domestic and family violence counselling service. 13Yarn is also available for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people in need of support.
Written by Lil Friedmann. You can follow her at @lilfriedmann on socials.
Image credit: Netflix