Evil Genius - (Lack there of....)

Evil Genius is a documentary on Netflix about a very strange incident in Erie Pa. The incident I am speaking to is a bank robbery that happened in the early 2000's. There were many complexities including a beheading to distract law enforcement. The documentary is a continuation of Netflix's fascination with complex criminal justice cases. The series in my opinion is flawed and dangerous on many fronts.

The documentary focuses on one woman, the supposed "Evil Genius." It is clear by the marketing and branding that the producers want us to believe the main character is evil, and that people can be entrapped by her evil. In a sense, people somehow lack free will, and gravitate towards evil. Somehow, Erie Pa had an evil force in it's mist without ever realizing it existed. I am pretty sure the community knew about the suspect. However, the direction of the documentary is that evil lurks, and we somehow never knew it was there....

There is a danger to this simplicity. Many people watching this documentary will come to the conclusion that we live in a world of good v. evil, versus a world of circumstance and environment. The documentary is void of humanity. Instead, it lowers our intelligence. It oversimplifies the good v. evil analogy.

Documentaries are supposed to be about the documentation about the event versus the emotions of the event. The series manipulates the viewer with clever sound bites from our media, and melodramatic music. The artwork on the poster is evil. Law and Order type graphics throughout the entire documentary. I was waiting for the 'bum bum bum bum" music from the show at times. The purpose of these type of cinematic props is to convince the audience this woman was surely "evil." This is not a documentary, it is a commentary.

Another critical lens could have taken this series in an entirely different direction. Erie Pennsylvania had a Mental Health crisis. People struggling with Mental Health were most likely medicated, versus therapeutically treated. In fact, I found it interesting after watching the documentary how much efforts have shifted in Erie Pa. So much that the local United Way shifted  funding to early intervention and mental health related services in 2018 for children in this region. (http://www.goerie.com/news/20180121/erie-united-way-wont-renew-dozens-of-agency-grants)
Erie Pa. ignored their most vulnerable population and paid a heavy price. That is the lesson to be learned.

Evil Genius is not the correct title for this documentary. It should have been titled, "Mental Health Crisis in Erie Pa." Even the local law enforcement lacked the proper understanding of mental health. They let a man get his head blown off while clearly he was asking for help. There was so much to learn from this tragic event and the people involved in such acts. We as a society should be asking, "What are the antecedents for deviant behavior?" Instead, we attribute it to good v. evil. This cheapens our approach to mental health in my opinion.

The good v. evil analogy is similar to the recent outrage of our President calling a gang "animals." Labels strip away at our humanity. My suggestion, see for yourself. Watch the documentary and imagine if it was titled, "Mental Health Crisis in Erie" with the subtext, "Community Experiences Tragic Event Due to the lack of Mental Health Screenings and Services." Eliminate the music, and melodrama, and we could of had one heck of a learning experience about how our country can prevent the tragic events we witness every day that traumatize our nation. The bottom line, lost opportunity for learning Netflix. Shame on you....(And I love your documentaries)