Remaining on Netflix’s top three most-watched shows since its release on Sept. 21, director Ryan Murphy’s show “Monsters: The Lyle and Erik Menendez Story” has been at the epicenter of controversy.
Lyle and Erik Menendez killed their parents in 1989. The brothers blamed years of sexual abuse, but the prosecution argued they did it to get their parents’ money. In 1996, both brothers were convicted and sentenced to life in prison without parole. This high-profile case has remained controversial to this day, as many argue that the Menendez brothers should not have been as harshly punished as they were.
Now, since the release of “Monsters” on Netflix last month, the Menendez brothers’ case has resurfaced in the media. Many have critiqued the way Murphy depicted the case, with Erik Menendez himself calling it “naive and inaccurate.”
Prior to watching Monsters, freshman letters and sciences major Divya Mahajan was unfamiliar with the Menendez brothers case.
“I think they did not show certain things that actually happened,” Mahajan said. “There were a few things that happened that made me realize it was controversial.”
However, the show was not all bad. Freshman biology major Julia Moon thought the show did some things well.
“I think they accurately showed the pain of the abuse they went through,” Moon said. “I feel like when Erik and Lyle were talking about the things they went through with Leslie Abramson [Erik Menendez’s legal defense], the emotion was shown.”
As someone who was well versed in the case beforehand, Moon reported that she ultimately felt the show represented the case well and was thrown out of proportion over time.
Then, a two-hour documentary was released on Netflix on October 7th, titled “The Menendez Brothers.” Freshman public policy major Grace Chiacchio felt that “Monsters” misrepresented the case and preferred the documentary.
Chiacchio said the show made the brothers seem more intense but watching the newly released “The Menendez Brothers” documentary showed a different, more human side of them.
While many praise “Monsters” for the detailed way it depicted the Menendez brothers’ case, some argue it is an unreliable source as a result of its extreme dramatization.