2.04.2016

Television: American Crime Story, "From the Ashes of Tragedy"

I can't tell how seriously I'm supposed to take this show. Are the filmmakers in earnest? Are they going for schlock? It seems to be a little of both, and it's confusing.

Okay, so I had just finished my senior year of high school when the murders occurred, and I was only vaguely aware of the whole thing. O.J. Simpson held no particular interest for me because I wasn't a sports fan, so the sensational aspect of the murders and trial were diluted for me. And all my energy was bent toward getting ready to go to uni. The events covered in this series, then, were only so much background noise for me at the time.

I guess what I'm saying is, I walked into watching this without much working knowledge of what had happened. I knew: O.J. Simpson, bloody glove . . . Yeah, that's about it. Oh, and the white Bronco thing, of course. Which I guess a lot of people watched on television when it happened, but I didn't. ::shrug::

Anyway, as for ACS, I . . . guess I like it? But again, I'm really confused by the way they're coming at it. Some of it is so over the top, and yet some of it seems meant to be genuine. Every character, though, comes across as oddly punched up to the point of near caricature as opposed to real people. That's where it begins to feel schlocky and absurd. It's as though as viewers we're meant to ogle rather than sympathize. Maybe even point and laugh. I can't tell.

I'll keep watching and see if things become any clearer.

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