Watched the first ep of the new Night Stalker true crime series on Netflix. I was a kid new to the LA area that summer of '85, and tonally/aesthetically this series gets at something about LA in the 80s that I think most period stuff lacks.
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It wasn't all neon and glamour. There was an ugliness to it. My impression of LA that summer was smog, traffic congestion, and, yes, the fear of the Night Stalker. I'd lie awake at night in fear of him emerging from the darkness.
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Of course this was largely due to the fact that local news wouldn't stop sensationalizing their coverage of him in their drive for ratings. But there's a way in which the flatness and vastness of Los Angeles can be oppressive and scary, too, and this series leverages that.
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This is an idea of what the Los Angeles of 1985 looks like in my memory, as someone who lived there.pic.twitter.com/o13vycwLg3
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That Central Gyros poster you see in this archival photo from 80s LA in ep 2 of the Night Stalker series is a memory artifact in my brain, something I haven't seen or thought about in 25+ years but that instantly brings back memories of so many places I ate in the Valley as a kidpic.twitter.com/S4rBvMhAi1
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I rarely watch true crime stuff but I am finishing up the Night Stalker series. I never quite know when I do things like this if I'm confronting my fears about terrible violence or feeding them.
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lol in the 4th and final episode of the Night Stalker series one of the lead detectives says "The chase was on" and then it literally I kid you not cuts to brief footage of this OH SHIT LOOK OUT RICHARD RAMIREZ THE PEOPLE OF LOS ANGELES TOOK A POWER PELLETpic.twitter.com/Qmt0Q0nZ4k
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Definitely have issues with the Night Stalker series but I won't deny I have always found it immensely satisfying that that fucker was ultimately caught by a group of ordinary, working class, multiracial but mostly Latinx people of Los Angeles, & the series does that part justice
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Replying to @carolynmichelle
Does it present the case in responsible way? I like true crime documentaries but I trying to focus on the ones the are more respectful of the human suffering and don't create a spectacle.
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Replying to @rodrigo_aa @carolynmichelle
I just saw the first episode and found it to be extremely exploitative and pro-cop. I don't know how much it changes but it turned me off completely. Before this I saw 'The Ripper' also on Netflix and I'd recommend that one as 'responsible' crime doc.
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Yeah, in one episode there's an anecdote that is presented in a way that is just egregiously glorifying to "tough guy" cop work IMO. I watched it because I think it effectively captures some things about the LA of the period but I don't deny it has those problems.
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