The enduring mystery of JonBenet
Casting JonBenet
Available from Friday GIVEN the current popularity of documentary series, it was almost inevitably that filmmakers would eventually return to JonBenet Ramsey.
For those who don’t know, JonBenet was a six-year-old beauty pageant competitor, who was found murdered in her parents’ home just after Christmas 1996.
The case became a media frenzy. Here was this perfect, adorable angel killed under mysterious circumstances, whose parents were both the prime suspects and eager for the spotlight. There was an odd three-page ransom note, police department screw-ups, and rumours of a child porn ring conspiracy. In other words, irresistible media fodder.
There might be a presumption that this documentary will shed new light on what really happened. But Kitty Green’s documentary isn’t interested in those questions. Instead, she’s built a revealing piece of non-fiction on the foundation of a fascinating concept. Green interviews dozens of Colorado regional actors as they audition to play the family at the heart of the crime. The result is an excellent documentary that reveals more about how all of us respond to public tragedy than how the unknowable Ramsey family did.
Rather like Margaret Atwood’s Alias Grace, you might still be unsure of guilt and innocence at the end — but you will know a lot more about human nature.
Dear White People Season 1, 13 episodes, available from Friday
IN a sense the hoo-ha this week about Dear White People all seemed a bit foretold (its creator was tarred unfairly as a ‘race baiter’ on Twitter after the trailer debuted). But when virtually every TV show and film these days is mired in some controversy or another, one has to expect it from a project as fuelled by provocation as a series adaptation of Justin Simien’s critically acclaimed 2014 film.
In truth, however, the provocation really helps set the stage for a divisive series to come, even if those who found that trailer footage offensive likely didn’t understand the context.
Using the prestigious (and fictional) Winchester University to provide a microcosmic view of large-scale racial tension, Dear White People is a satire at heart, and its social commentary — far more balanced than the mere 30-second teaser indicates — works best when it stirs up a reaction.
The series picks up almost immediately where the film ended, dealing with the aftermath of a controversial college party in which blackface plays a significant role. Simien based this development on similar real-life events, and the show neatly uses what served as the film’s third-act anchor as a jumping-off point for the drama to follow.
Rodney King Available from Friday
ON March 3, 1991 the world witnessed the savage beating of Rodney King at the hands of four Los Angeles police officers. Not only did the video lead to violent riots which lasted for three days and left 53 dead, but the brutal footage would forever change the conversation in relation to police brutality and race.
In 2012, years after King made a plea asking, “Can we all get along” on American TV on the last day of the riot, he died by drowning. King also had a lengthy history with narcotics and alcohol.
The trail of events sparked interest in actor Roger Guenveur Smith and led him into indepth research of King’s life. Now, in a oneman show presentation, Smith brings King’s story to life under the direction of Spike Lee. The results are an exploration of King’s life and motivations and the terrible events his beating precipitated.
Girlboss 13 episodes, available now
LOOSELY based on Sophia Amoruso’s autobiographical book of the same name, Girlboss stars Britt Robertson as Amoruso, who turned a vintage clothes-selling eBay venture into the multi-million dollar brand Nasty Gal by the age of 27.
It’s an epic story — but they don’t make any effort to make her likeable. She’s rude (even when she’s at fault), she’s lazy (she doesn’t want the responsibility that comes with a real job) and is constantly messing up at work.
And she’s as entitled as she is feckless: everything we’re told millennials are. Though producers have said that Season 1 ends with Sophia’s decision to launch Nasty Gal and doesn’t touch on the company’s more recent financial troubles, the trailer indicates that viewers will get a taste of what’s to come when Sophia experiences a backlash in the form of harsh user reviews on eBay.