MovieChat Forums > When They See Us (2019) Discussion > Have watched first two parts....powerful...

Have watched first two parts....powerful....

posted 5 years ago by [deleted]
10 replies | jump to latest

With the benefit of 20/20 hindsight, watching this depiction is enraging. The acting is very well done (especially by the youngest of the boys accused of this crime) and if the depiction of the authorities is only half right it is still enough to turn one's stomach. And frankly, some people that aren't should be in jail.

Lastly, some other poster whined about this being a piece of anti-Trump garbage - well, Trump's part in the first two parts is very minimal and is mostly used to set up the mood of New York and the nation back then.

What people forget or may to know is when this happened and just after, there was this large fear of this new generation of "super-predators" around the corner. The reporting in the media and from criminologists included this concern and pushed the belief America was about to be overrun with a group of sociopathic criminals not seen before in America.

[–] UncleRuckis (2627) 5 years ago

Just wait until you get to the fourth part, which is mostly about the only boy(emphasis on the boy) that got sent to Rikers island. It is heartbreaking!

[–] [deleted] 5 years ago

While watching the first two episodes one question I had was what raised the interest of the police when it came to these five and then what were the things that made them coerce the five like they did other than the drive to make an arrest (for example, did some other person present suggest to them that he or she saw one of the five near the site of the attack).

Unless I missed something, from what was depicted I did not really see any sort of information that started their decision to latch on to any one of the five other than for the obvious choice.

I'm going to look for more information.

[–] Jehosaphet (1063) 5 years ago

Holler back when you find it, would you? If you're in the mood?

I've only watched the first 35 minutes or so here...its a bit tough to get through. Know what I was thinking though? Five kids here...all ramrodded into prison sentences they didn't deserve...and only set free because the real rapist decided to come forward.

Kind of hard not to wonder how often the real perp of a crime comes forward...and how many people we may have rotting behind bars right now for crimes they didn't commit.

Was just kind of a trip...the real rapist actually had to come forward and announce his guilt before these innocent kids had a shot at freedom. Its a little creepy.

[–] [deleted] 5 years ago

Here is another strange thing I'd like to find the answer to - until the coming forward of the real suspect, there was the DNA from the unknown person. So I would like to know why in the state of NY why was the DNA of a convicted serial rapist never entered into the DNA database known as CODIS to determine if there were other unsolved cases he committed.

Also, I won't spoil it for you, but in the final episode, something is revealed that will turn your stomach and make your blood boil (if it is true).

I found a book written by the daughter of Ken Burns that I'm going to read. Also, the two of them also did a documentary which may reveal some of these questions.

[–] UncleRuckis (2627) 5 years ago

Damn I didn't even think of that(apparently neither did the cops). According to wikipedia, he committed at least three other rapes the around the same time as the central park attack, so they definitely had his DNA in an evidence lab somewhere, yet they never matched it. That is nuts. You'd think that would be one of the first steps in the investigative process.

[–] [deleted] 5 years ago

Let’s not forget that the only reason the real rapist confessed was because he waited until the statute of limitations passed on the crime. And you can bet he wanted to shave time from his own conviction for the double murder of his pregnant girlfriend by trying to come across as having a conscience.

[–] crawfish (57) 5 years ago

One of the Central Park rapist's victims was a pregnant woman, but she was not his girlfriend at all.

[–] Jehosaphet (1063) 5 years ago

That whole episode had me reeling...but what exactly are you talking about that was revealed?

Spoiler alert!!

That the guy who actually did it had already done it a number of times and hadn't even been looked at, let alone considered?

[–] [deleted] 5 years ago

It was when the Famke Janssen character revealed that the detective, prosecutor, and judge all previously dealt with the sexual assaults by the suspect - same area, same method - and STILL were unable to see beyond their noses regarding the five teenagers.

A lame excuse for missing such a thing would have been somewhat excusable if the sexual assaults were dealt with by different people and investigators across different parts of the city, but the SAME people?

[–] crawfish (57) 5 years ago

The documentary by Ken and Sarah Burns, The Central Park Five, is definitely worth seeing----in fact, I'd recommend seeing that before seeing When They See Us, just to get a better understanding of the real case first. And here's a recent article about the victims of the Central park rapist, speaking for the first time about it, I believe:
https://www.thecut.com/2019/06/the-attackers-other-victims-in-the-central-park-five-case.html