Week 7 Discussion 1.,WELL EXPLAINED GRADED A.

Many people would say that the 1999 premier of The Sopranos was a turning point in the development of television as an art form. Choose a television or streaming show that you feel perpetuates the idea that television is indeed a form of art. For the initial post, address the following: Include the name of the show and the director: Unbelievable Created by: Susannah Grant, Michael Chabon, & Ayelet Waldman Directors: Lisa Cholodenko, Michael Dinner, & Susannah Grant Unbelievable is a limited series on Netflix that exceeds all expectations and is one of the most amazing Netflix series I have watched. It is based on a Pulitzer Prize-winning ProPublica- Marshall Project investigation, following the true story Marie Adler, a teenager in Lynnwood, Wash., near Seattle, who was raped in her apartment by a masked intruder. Bit by bit, the initial detective investigating the case in Washington comes to doubt her story, and Marie is ultimately charged with filing a false police report. Meanwhile, her rapist goes free. When other rapes are committed in Colorado, a pair of detectives begin to link their cases. Their joint investigation ultimately sets the wheels in motion for Marie to be vindicated. “The result is a series that transcends genre, far more nuanced than a straightforward docudrama or dragged-out episode of Law & Order” (Rolling Stone, 2019). The series depicts real-life events that are currently amid a widespread cultural reckoning surrounding sexual assault and places the true story in a category that separates it from all other TV shows involving rape. It shows more than just rape and shows an exploration of trauma, the way it infects memory, the way it refracts through lives in unexpected and often imperceptible ways, bending through one person and bouncing off of another, changing shape but never disappearing. It showed how every sexual assault is different and that no one reacts the same. Kaitlyn Dever who plays Marie Adler in the show stated, “I wanted to be accurate and to understand. What the series does so beautifully is show that no one knows how anyone will ever react to the initial trauma, as well as retelling the story multiple times, or what it’s like post- assault” (Forbes, 2019). This show has a strong impact on any one who views it. I started the first episode with my mom who exclaimed within the first 5 minutes to turn it off because of how graphic and real it was from the start. I refused to turn it off and told her let’s just keep watching. After finishing the first episode, we were hooked. We watched all eight of the hour long episodes in 2 days. The show, despite the graphic details and heaviness of the subject matter, is still compulsively watchable. We both ended up exclaiming how amazing the show did in showing the true reality behind the traumatic event of sexual assault from all kinds of angles including law enforcement failures. It has left an impact on everyone who has watched it to show, even the real-life detective who failed Marie Adler in the beginning have exclaimed how well it was put together and hope that it will prevent further mistakes like this. The directors created this show to help shine light on how sexual assault cases are still poorly handled and trauma is still poorly understood.