O.J.: Made in America

Starring: Marcia Clark, Peter Hyams, Mark Fuhrman, F. Lee Bailey, Danny Bakewell, Walter Mosley, David Zucker
Directed by: Ezra Edelman (5 episodes)
Rating: TV-MA
Genre: Documentary
2016

Seasons Seen:
Tim: 1

Summary: Follows the rise and fall of O.J. Simpson.

Review:
Tim: I missed "O.J.: Made in America" when it was first released. The ESPN films always seem like ones I'd be interested in, but never had the time. During this Covid-19 pandemic, I've been going through as many Academy Award Best Documentary winners I can. This television series is certainly an anomaly, as it won that prestigious award, even though it's not actually a film. It's a 5-episode series (that totals over 6 hours). It's the longest "film" to ever win an Academy Award, and that record may never be broken, as the Academy changed the rules after this won, to prevent any episodic series from being eligible. That makes this a fascinating piece of entertainment.

However, all that is just context. Ezra Edelman's stunning documentary gives us a behind-the-scenes look at O.J. Simpson's life. While I vividly remember watching the courtroom scenes as a newly-minted teenager and still remember the names- Johnnie Cochran, Marcia Clark, Kato Kalin, Judge Ito, Mark Fuhrman, I was too young to truly understand the trial. It was stunning to see the events described here, with a few decades of perspective. The documentary also interviews many of Simpson's closest confidants, like his childhood friends and his agent. The information showed here is infuriating and fascinating.

Before you get to the trial, though, Edelman spends a huge amount of time on context. This is where the "Made in America" comes from. It's a brilliant approach to Simpson's life. Edelman posits that for us to understand the rise and fall of O.J. Simpson, we also need to understand the racial and societal truths of the times in which he lived. He spends a good amount of time exploring racism in California, the troubling brutality of the LAPD, Simpson's refusal to support any cause to help black people, and much more. This is all presented in such a fascinating way and it does change how you see Simpson. The picture that emerges is a man who wanted to transcend race- to be seen not as "black", but just as O.J. Simpson. The problem is that this allows him to focus exclusively on himself. Simpson was clearly preoccupied with O.J. Simpson and everyone and everything else were just bit players in his life. It's a tragedy, but it helps you understand all the subsequent actions Simpson takes.

The trial itself is brilliantly explained here. If you grew up during the trial, you knew things like "If the glove doesn't fit, you must acquit", but I had no idea that Simpson's agent told him to stop taking his arthritis medication so his hands would swell up. That, combined with the latex gloves he had to wear first ensured that the gloves wouldn't fit. I had no idea the lengths the defense went to distract the jury from the damning evidence against Simpson. They made the trial about race and racism, and the jury bought it, hook, line, and sinker. Simpson was never on trial here. Black people and the disgusting racism they have suffered for decades (centuries) in this country was on trial. The question of Simpson's guilt was secondary. It's shocking to see how the lawyers rebranded Simpson as a black man when he spent the majority of his life defying that label. I could go on, but it's all just heartbreaking and fascinating. I didn't expect to be riveted for 6 hours, but I was.

I don't have a lot of complaints about this miniseries. I suppose it's a bit too long at times, but the focus on additional context was necessary. Truthfully, when I watched the last episode and it ended, I was sad to see it. I was still interested in O.J., the most famous American ever to be tried for murder. Watching this was certainly nostalgic (seeing that white Bronco on the highway), but also illuminating (not sure I realized he had a gun to his own head and was threatening to kill himself). The documentary does make you angry- there's no doubt that Simpson killed Nicole Brown and Ron Goldman. He absolutely did. Simpson's own fate is troubling. I'm glad he's finally paying for his crimes by serving serious jail time, but it's hard to feel like he got a fair shake from the trial of the event in Las Vegas. The whole thing is so messy, and it truly is an American tragedy.

As for "O.J.: Made in America", I couldn't recommend it highly enough. It's a spellbinding look at a landmark event in American history. It was incredible. Also, as a side note- I don't rate television series, but since I do calculate the average rating for all Academy Award categories, I do need to give this series a rating for that purpose. I'm going to give this an 8.5, which is a fairly stunning score. It's just that good.

Rating 1-10
Tim's Rating: N/A



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