Growing up during the mid 90s, I remember the OJ Simpson case only briefly. Though I remember very vividly the Bronco chase being shown on Department store TV’s while I was out shopping with my mom, nightly news recaps and the verdict, I wasn’t consumed with it, I was too young to be watching Court TV during school hours in the suburbs. But now as an adult and as a resident of downtown Los Angeles, only a few blocks from where the trial was held, taking this trip down memory and history lane has been fascinating and eye opening.
As someone who LOVES to research and know more about topics, especially history and crime, I’ve spent so much time Googling this case, reading old news paper clippings, watching some of the trial itself (thanks Esquire channel for re-airing!), and diving into documentaries. It has been fascinating both in the information I have found, the ways in which the shows chosen to highlight people and events we only knew about. American Crime Story has truly been fantastic television. Let’s talk about why:
Courtney B Vance IS Johnny Cochran
I have to keep reminding myself that Courtney B Vance is not, in fact Johnnie Cochran he is so convincing and has so embodied a person who is both villainous and sympathetic at the same time. You either want to hug him or punch him. That can be said about most of this cast but Courtney’s portrayal was powerful, especially during the The Race Card episode which resonates so much as we see Johnnie being pulled over and searched in front of his children and fancy Beverly Hills types when it’s clear Johnnie is obviously not someone the cops need to worry about. The balance between these worlds is mind blowing and highlights how much the jury’s decision seemed more a stab at the LAPD and the racial atmosphere of LA in the early to mid 90s with it’s history of racial profiling and abuse than whether OJ was really guilty, which is an American Crime in itself.
Sarah Paulson as Marcia Clark
Give this woman an Emmy right now. Her portrayal of a strong female in a man’s world is a thing of beauty and at times, tears. I can’t lie the episode “Marcia Marcia Marcia” brought me to tears it was so powerful. Between being the center of public ridicule on her appearance, putting up with repeated sexist comments from Judge Ito (FROM THE BENCH!) and others during the trial, to dealing with her concurrent divorce and mothering two small children, this woman deserves a second chance. Sure, she and the prosecution bungled so many elements of this trial but she also didn’t deserve the public’s wrath. She walked out of the OJ trial after having won every other case she tried and never walked back into a courtroom again says a lot about what happened. This is a woman I very much want to know more about.
The Sociopolitical Atmosphere
American Crime Story is both a time machine of socioeconomic politics, gender politics and racial politics but it is also a very sharp mirror. We may scoff at the way Marcia is told her skirt is too short or think about how the LAPD has come a long way but the reflection of what we continue to battle is strong and it is hard to swallow. Kudos to the writers on this series for making us viewers wrestle with these elements and how they can change the way a jury thinks and the public opinion.
John Travolta and Cuba Gooding Jr and David Schwimmer and Nathan Lane and the Dream Team
Every person acted their face off… some a little harder than others, awards to Travolta’s eyebow wig game and that guy from Northern Exposure and Ross’s silver streak. The only downfall of this series were the few times they shoehorned the Kardashian siblings (especially Kim) into the first few episodes but it’s also an expose on how different their family might have been if Robert was still alive. When the series first began, I questioned Cuba’s choices to act so… “on the spectrum” as OJ but again as I researched more his portryal might not be that far off as OJ likely suffers from CTE (the condition caused by repeated concussions in professional sports) which makes this story even sadder. Perhaps if OJ had been treated for this (as yet discovered) condition he might not have killed Nicole and Ron. You really just don’t know.
The Fashuns
(Yes, this is “Kris Jenner”)
Hot damn, the wardrobe people plus the set designers are SO on the terrible mid 90s fashion game, it’s like the perfect shoulder padded time capsule each time you watch an episode. The hilarious ladies of Go Fug Yourself recapped each episode’s fashion and also interviewed the set designers. PLEASE go read all of them! I want TN to be Go Fug Yourself when we grow up! *praise hands emoji*
The real American Crime Story
The real American Crime Story isn’t just the murder of two innocent people (though that is a HUGE crime) that I originally thought this was going to be about. The real American Crime Story that we saw unfold and continue to live in some cases involves so much more nuance than the headlines.
- OJ’s CTE – Could CTE and the non-diagnosis of it and the NFL’s continued cover up of this very real condition have been part of the reason OJ Simpson murdered Nicole and Ron?
- Nicole and Domestic Abuse at the hands of OJ Simpson – She called the police for help repeatedly and still nothing was done in the end.
- Racial Atmosphere and the LAPD
- Marcia Clark, gender politics and the rise of realty TV
- Ron was a victim of circumstance, sad, sad, unthinkable circumstance
In the end The People vs OJ Simpson: American Crime Story was so much more than a dive into arguably the most famous (or infamous) murder trial in American History and was more a meditation on the many crime stories that led to the murders and ones that continue to occur to this day.
Did you watch American Crime Story? Is there anyone out there, even with the mountains of evidence that still thinks OJ is not guilty?
