Making a Murderer is the best reason to get on to Netflix in India
One of the main reasons to get on Netflix this month has to be the new 10-part documentary series Making a Murderer. The show, a true crime drama, which takes real footage and interviews with real people to re-examine the Teresa Halbach murder in Manitowoc County, Wisconsin, has already taken social media by storm. Is Steven Avery, the man convicted for the murder, innocent? Did his socially awkward nephew Brendon Dassey help him commit the crime? What role did the Calumet County district attorney Ken Kratz and the Manitowoc County sherrif department really play? There has been a lot of back and forth on the Internet from all parties concerned, and defence attorneys Dean Strang and Jerry Buting have emerged as the new Batman and Superman of social media.
But more than anything, what makes this show fascinating is its indictment of criminal justice systems across the world - even in the United States. All of a sudden, the Badlands of Bihar and Uttar Pradesh seem to converge with the Badlands of Wisconsin as law enforcement officials and the judicial system seem to act in a way that we're more familiar with here in India.
The most basic privilege given to any accused in a trial - the presumption of innocence - is abandoned because of a very human instinct for closure and revenge. Avery, after all, had already been wrongfully convicted once for an attempted rape and had spent 18 years in prison until his innocence was established through advanced DNA testing. At the time, when he was accused of killing Halbach, he was suing the sheriff's department for robbing him of 18 years of liberty.
Making a Murderer, shot for over a decade by Laura Ricciardi and Moira Demos, has its critics. Those who say it's biased towards Avery and hides certain evidence - a charge the film-makers have denied. But irrespective of the controversies, it brings home a larger point. It is compelling television, and it's telling a compelling story. A ten-hour documentary feature sounds like it may be dull or difficult to watch. This show isn't. It is the best reason - perhaps even the only reason - to get on to Netflix in India at the moment.