“If it doesn’t fit, you must acquit” is a sentiment that brings us back to the years 1994 and 1995, when the “trial of the century” — People of the State of California v. Orenthal James Simpson — took place. Known as one of the most publicized criminal trials, OJ Simpson’s high-profile murder case regarding the brutal deaths of his ex-wife Nicole Brown Simpson and her friend Ronald Goldman has all the makings of a pulse-raising murder-mystery film; but does that mean it should become one?
The real-life tragedies of Nicole and Ronald’s deaths are once again being overshadowed by the public’s fascination with TIME Magazine’s mug shot cover star’s “not guilty” verdict, this time in the form of an FX miniseries dubbed The People v. O.J. Simpson. The American Crime Story’s ten-part series, which debuted its first episode on February 2, is based on Jeffrey Toobin’s book The Run of His Life and boasts an all-star cast to reenact the notorious events of the case that had the public hooked to their TVs 21 years ago. From the infamous Bronco chase to the smoking gun, that little black glove too small to fit O.J.’s hand, this docudrama incorporates everything a rubbernecker audience could dream of. Though this quote unquote true crime series is full of action, suspense and has a killer cast to boot, according to the victims’ families, it doesn’t hold a candle to the truth of what is a deeply painful and personal matter.
Fred and Kim Goldman, father and sister of the late Ronald Goldman, tell People they are “apprehensive” about the series to say the least, as they were never contacted by creators about how their beloved family member, or they themselves for that matter, would be portrayed. According to the show’s executive producer Brad Simpson, neither Ronald nor Nicole are portrayed in the series out of respect for their families’ healing wounds. Even so, Kim struggles to seek closure with her brother’s untimely death, more so now that it is being dramatized for the benefit of small-screen viewers.
“Here’s why I don’t have closure. People have at it. They Tweet about it. They talk about it. Now we have a ten-episode series about it,” she laments, and really, who can blame her?
On a recent Dr. Phil episode that featured Kim and Fred Goldman, Jeffrey Toobin and Tanya Brown, Kim expressed just how morbid the premise of the series is, reminding Toobin that it is a show made possible “because my brother was stabbed to death and Nicole was nearly decapitated… We wouldn’t be here if that didn’t happen.”
This sobering admission by Kim is a much-needed wake-up call to everyone involved in the series that real people were affected by this murder case 21 years ago, and are still being haunted by it today.
Kim and Fred Goldman
Tanya Brown, Nicole’s youngest sister, has similar reservations regarding the FX series, her first question being, “Who will defend my sister?” It is an instinctual concern, considering no one from the show “took the families into consideration” before, during, or post-production. Like the Goldmans, Tanya is understandably unsettled by the idea that her beloved sister’s real-life murder is being reenacted for entertainment purposes, without so much as a phone call from producers to keep her in the loop of what is an incredibly painful memory.
Despite having to relive the heartbreaking event of her sister’s murder, now being used for entertainment value, Tanya maintains a Herculean amount of composure in resolving, “People are always going to write books. Do movies. The thing that makes me upset is that nobody reached out to the families. Not one single person.” Her palpable despair warrants not only passive sympathy from readers, but also their active support of her sharing the real story instead of FX’s fictionalized version of the truth designed to satiate an audience hungry for drama and scandal. “I’m just so disappointed in where our society has gone that nobody shows any regard for anybody anymore.”
Since when did achieving entertainment value become a more innate need than a collective display of humanity? Yes, we all love a good edge-of-our-seat film now and then, but let us not forget the victims of this case and their families lived this real-life tragedy that we now spend our Tuesday nights watching with excitement from the comfort of our couches.
Images obtained from:
http://abcnews.go.com/US/oj-simpson-tapes-shocking-things-rarely-deposit…
http://www.nbclosangeles.com/news/local/OJ-Simpson-20-Years-Later-Glove-…
http://www.today.com/news/ron-goldmans-dad-20-years-after-o-j-simpson-sa…