American Crime Story - Season 1
I wasn't feeling well and whilst looking at Netflix I stumbled across The People vs. O.J. Simpson. The show is mainly known as American Crime Story. O.J. Simpson, why was he famous again? I knew it had something to do with a murder, but that was all I could remember. I was intrigued by the show and I decided to watch it. I didn't regret that decision. I truly devoured every single episode.
The show successfully manages to bring across all the layers of the story. All of the context is displayed in a nuanced and balanced way. The creators don't force their own opinion onto you. As a viewer you're able to follow the entire trial and create your own verdict about the outcome. That writers are able to do such a thing is a miracle on its own. Even more so because it's based on facts which everyone already seems to have an opinion about.
Sarah Paulson (American Horror Story) is absolutely sublime in this show. She portrays Marcia Clark, the chief prosecutor and she does this with conviction. She shows the perfect balance between professionalism and the human aspect surrounding the entire trial, a situation the real Clark probably found herself in as well. Her colleague prosecutor, Christopher Darden (Sterling K. Brown, This Is Us) is also portrayed quite well!
The actors who portray the characters of the defence aren't as great. John Travolta's (Welcome Back, Kotter) portrayal of Robert Shapiro feels a bit forced. Although I did really like his character. Hungry for power, but still somewhat realistic. His acting performance just didn't feel that consistent, although I do know that Travolta is able to do that. Courtney B. Vance (Law & Order: Criminal Intent) took upon him the role of Johnnie Cochran and did well. Nothing more and nothing less. David Schwimmer (Friends), who portrayed O.J.'s friend Robert Kardashian, actually managed to surprise me. He didn't remind me at all of Ross. Although he was too emo, too American.
If I truly had to find something negative about this show, it would be Cuba Gooding Jr (American Horror Story) and his portrayal of O.J. Simpson. Whilst watching there was something about his character, but I wasn't able to point out what exactly. It was only after I watched a documentary about the American Football god, that I realised his portrayal of O.J. wasn't accurate. The real one was quit clever and able to manipulate people with ease. The O.J. in this series seemed like a victim of his own stupidity. A jester in front of the American people. It was a bit off-putting to watch him in such a great story.
Besides that, the creators went to great lengths to accurately display everything surrounding this trial. They even used old footage. That was the finishing touch. Anyone who thinks that this show only revolves around whether or not O.J. killed his wife is wrong. This show manages to display how justice collides with public opinion and social context. How people have different opinions about a story, based solely on their own background. As far as I'm concerned this is a brilliant show.
The show successfully manages to bring across all the layers of the story. All of the context is displayed in a nuanced and balanced way. The creators don't force their own opinion onto you. As a viewer you're able to follow the entire trial and create your own verdict about the outcome. That writers are able to do such a thing is a miracle on its own. Even more so because it's based on facts which everyone already seems to have an opinion about.
Sarah Paulson (American Horror Story) is absolutely sublime in this show. She portrays Marcia Clark, the chief prosecutor and she does this with conviction. She shows the perfect balance between professionalism and the human aspect surrounding the entire trial, a situation the real Clark probably found herself in as well. Her colleague prosecutor, Christopher Darden (Sterling K. Brown, This Is Us) is also portrayed quite well!
The actors who portray the characters of the defence aren't as great. John Travolta's (Welcome Back, Kotter) portrayal of Robert Shapiro feels a bit forced. Although I did really like his character. Hungry for power, but still somewhat realistic. His acting performance just didn't feel that consistent, although I do know that Travolta is able to do that. Courtney B. Vance (Law & Order: Criminal Intent) took upon him the role of Johnnie Cochran and did well. Nothing more and nothing less. David Schwimmer (Friends), who portrayed O.J.'s friend Robert Kardashian, actually managed to surprise me. He didn't remind me at all of Ross. Although he was too emo, too American.
If I truly had to find something negative about this show, it would be Cuba Gooding Jr (American Horror Story) and his portrayal of O.J. Simpson. Whilst watching there was something about his character, but I wasn't able to point out what exactly. It was only after I watched a documentary about the American Football god, that I realised his portrayal of O.J. wasn't accurate. The real one was quit clever and able to manipulate people with ease. The O.J. in this series seemed like a victim of his own stupidity. A jester in front of the American people. It was a bit off-putting to watch him in such a great story.
Besides that, the creators went to great lengths to accurately display everything surrounding this trial. They even used old footage. That was the finishing touch. Anyone who thinks that this show only revolves around whether or not O.J. killed his wife is wrong. This show manages to display how justice collides with public opinion and social context. How people have different opinions about a story, based solely on their own background. As far as I'm concerned this is a brilliant show.
About the writer, Karzal
Mike (1995) has been a member of MySeries since 2016 and is mainly active on the English version of the site. Since 2018, he has been actively translating news articles, columns, reviews and basically everything that ends up on the Dutch site. The original articles, columns and reviews were actually written by others. During the week Mike can be found at IKEA, where he is a national systems specialist and occasionally also in the classroom to teach an English lesson. In addition, Mike logically enjoys watching series and has actually been spoon-fed this from an early age. The genre doesn't matter, there is a place for everything in the otherwise busy life.
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