Gene's Blog

Unbelievable – But not

September 16th, 2019 | by gene |

I don’t do reviews. But yesterday I watched a show on Netflix that I absolutely can’t let go of. I started trying to watch it Friday evening and couldn’t get through the first hour. I avoided it on Saturday, I was so uncomfortable with what I was seeing. But yesterday, I decided I was going to watch and did, all 8 hours. I had to stop several times in the first hour just to process what I was seeing.

So, first, I want to say Toni Colette, Merritt Wever and Kaitlyn Dever deliver astonishing performances in this mini series. I don’t think I’ve ever seen a more important show in my entire life, that’s 70 years, 66 of them with a television set.

While the performances are outstanding, the story is horrific. I know that statistics say there are anywhere from 50 to 2000 serial killers at large in the United States at any given time. Imagine then how many more serial rapists are plying their horrendous trade. I can’t begin to quantify that certainty.

There are many things in this show that are truly unbelievable but the very worst of them is what happens to Kaitlyn Dever’s character. I absolute believe that is much more common than one might think. Why? I’ve read the stories, seen the articles and heard more than I care to about the volumes of cases that are not prosecuted because law enforcement did a horrible job at the initial scene, because evidence and witnesses were scarce or a terrified woman couldn’t process what happened to her in a way that persuades police or prosecutors that they could possibly “win” a conviction.

This vicious, abominable act leaves all of its victims scarred forever. We, as a society fail them completely. Sometimes, as in this show, we go far beyond an apathetic response to actively making their lives worse. They live in fear for the rest of their lives. Nothing is ever the same. Even worse, their friends, family, people they should be able to count on, can turn on them in ways that are as damaging as the act itself.

I think this show ought be shown in its entirety to every law enforcement agency in the nation, be part of the curriculum at every training class, maybe even be part of college curriculums. I also think this show demonstrates clearly that every rape investigation ought be headed by a woman. I am not saying no men are sympathetic nor capable, I am saying no man can possibly understand this crime in the same way every woman can.

If there was anything wrong with it, I think the ending was a bit too easy. I don’t think Kaitlyn’s character drives off into the sunset and everything is okay in her world. She’s better, she’s safer but she is in way through dealing with what happened to her. I wish this show could get broader attention than it will on Netflix. Though I thank Netflix for doing it. It’s important. It’s critically important, half of the world’s population, more, is at risk of this heinous crime.

There are hundreds of thousands of untested rape kits gathering dust in evidence rooms. Our political leaders have to find a way to get them processed. This is an epidemic that is as old as our species. We have to find a way to end it. This show is just a first step, a powerful step, but just the beginning. Women should not have to live in fear. The scene in the warehouse Marie Adler works in, where that hulking man stays in her path, though she is clearly very uncomfortable is something women deal with every single day. Men have to be taught, made to understand, that “just messing with you” is NEVER okay. That teaching must begin very young, sadly. But it must begin and continue until this is just another shameful part of the history of homo sapiens. I don’t think the impact of this show will ever leave me. I hope that is true for everyone who sees it. I hope everyone sees it.