The new Netflix drama Monsters produced by Ryan Murphy has been getting all the attention lately. It is all over social media and has gained massive popularity since it aired. I watched the series the day it came out and finished it within 2 days and let me just tell you, I have many thoughts.
For those of you who haven’t watched the show it is a dramatization of the Erik and Lyle Menendez case. These two brothers were convicted of the first-degree murder of their parents and sentenced to life in prison without parole in the 90s. It is important to note that the brothers attempted to claim self-defense due to facing a lifetime of abuse by their father.
Now, let’s get into the series. Right off the bat, I will say this series left a sour taste in my mouth. The brothers were demonized throughout the series in a way that belittled their claims of abuse. These boys opened up to the world about something incredibly personal and difficult to share and this series belittled that by making the characters out to seem manipulative, untrustworthy, and arrogant. The use of such strong personalities took away from what they were saying. These personalities are also not accurate and they are not what the two brothers ever displayed publicly.
Yes, I know this is a dramatization but I feel the show did a poor job on reflecting what is true and what is fabricated for dramatic purposes. This clarification is really important as it allows views to separate reality from fiction. It is also important to note that this was created without the brothers’ consent and has been criticized by them and their family for its inaccuracies. This series paid little mind to the fact that they are telling the story of real people not just characters. I found this came off as really insensitive and upsetting. This series is full of misinformation, fabrication and harmful assumptions about the characters.
This series is a missed opportunity to produce something impactful. The production aspect of this show is really good and the acting is also really good. This show could have been incredible had the producer consulted with the brothers prior to producing it and worked in collaboration to create this drama series. It had a lot of potential that was unfortunately taken away by the content it included and its approach to the case. I think creating a series that was accurate and respectful would be equally as popular due to the fact this care is pretty well known especially on Tik-Tok. I was really excited to watch this show but I just can not get over the disrespect that it showed toward the brothers and their family. This series dealt with a very sensitive topic so it needed to be approached in a way that was trauma-informed especially due to the fact millions of individuals and potential victims of abuse would be watching it.
Everyone is entitled to their own opinion on the case I am not trying to say people should believe their guilty or that they should believe their innocent. I believe that regardless of how you feel, a series that captured the accuracy of the events and worked with individuals involved in the case could have benefitted everyone. This series was overall very disappointing which came as a surprise to me because I had expected much better.