The HBO documentary on the “texting suicide” case dropped earlier this week, and we covered it on The Blotter Presents this Wednesday. Now that you’ve had time to watch both episodes, has your opinion on the case changed? What did you think of Erin Lee Carr’s approach to the subject matter? Let’s hear your thoughts!
I'll admit, I had made assumptions about the case, having never read anything too deeply about it. It just seemed too fucked up and depressing to dive into. So I was under the impression she was a just bitch who was egging on a guy she considered a loser. I had no idea it was actually two mentally ill kids, and that her texts were more "You can do this babe! I love you!" and not, "You suck, why don't you just kill yourself already." And I think she very clearly has mental illness, and that should have played a bigger part in the trial.
Also, I started to watch it on my phone while on a treadmill, and had to stop because the grey words on a white background texts were IMPOSSIBLE TO READ, and frankly not much easier to read on my TV. One of several questionable aesthetic choices the doc makes.
Did the director assume everyone was going to watch this on a massive TV? I don’t have bad eyesight, but I can’t read the majority of the texts on my TV!
I'll admit, I had made assumptions about the case, having never read anything too deeply about it. It just seemed too fucked up and depressing to dive into. So I was under the impression she was a just bitch who was egging on a guy she considered a loser. I had no idea it was actually two mentally ill kids, and that her texts were more "You can do this babe! I love you!" and not, "You suck, why don't you just kill yourself already." And I think she very clearly has mental illness, and that should have played a bigger part in the trial.
Also, I started to watch it on my phone while on a treadmill, and had to stop because the grey words on a white background texts were IMPOSSIBLE TO READ, and frankly not much easier to read on my TV. One of several questionable aesthetic choices the doc makes.
I totally agree with rain about struggling to read the texts on the screen. This a frequent problem with shows overall.
I get why that choice was made artistically, but like the CO melting into the fog in the credits, it was not workable.
Did the director assume everyone was going to watch this on a massive TV? I don’t have bad eyesight, but I can’t read the majority of the texts on my TV!