UNBELIEVABLE!

Hello beautiful people, let's start the week with a lot of energy and putting together those plans that we made the weekend.

Today I bring you a Netflix miniseries called Unbelievable, it is based on the real facts about a rape in the United States.

In December 2015, an article titled “An Unbelievable story of rape” by T. Christian Miller and Ken Armstrong was published in The Marshall Project and ProPublica, which months later would win the Pulitzer Prize for revealing the hard history of a young woman. that she was raped and completely mistreat by the police system that was supposed to support her.

This is the origin of this Netflix drama created by Susannah Grant, Ayelet Waldman and Michael Chabon, and starring Emmy winners Toni Collette and Merritt Wever, who in this drama play detectives Grace Rasmussen and Karen Duvall, respectively, and, Kaitlyn Dever as Marie Adler.

The story of Unbelievable centers on Marie Adler, an 18-year-old girl who, after a strange night, is brutally raped by a stranger in her own room, after making the report, she must answer a lot of uncomfortable questions to police officers. and detectives who will carry out the investigation; in addition to undergoing medical examinations that leave her even more exposed.

Marie tries to get on with her life and work in a store, under the watchful eye of two of her adoptive mothers concerned that she doesn't seem as shocked as she should. Suddenly, the inconsistencies between their different statements and those of some witnesses begin to make noise in the police investigation that does not seem to search so much for the person responsible, how to determine if the girl is really telling the truth.

The constant pressure from the detectives and the memories of that night begin to take effect in Marie's state of mind, pushing her to give in to her own doubts and finally admit that she cannot distinguish if the rape was real or part of a dream. This act of “lying” about her violation leads her to suffer total rejection from her close circle, isolating her even more, affecting her work and life in an irreparable way.

For me what ultimately makes the series surprising is not the actual case, nor the police investigation, nor, if you will, the feminist outlook on the subject. It is their attachment to facts and real times, to what is known and not to what is speculated, to what matters (the victims and the investigation) and not to what is usually sold as fascinating (the perverse psychology of criminal). 

It shows how rape is a type of crime that is often difficult to prove by police malpractice and is also to make clear that the authorities are not emotionally prepared to handle this type of case, especially when the investigators are men and the Empathy with the victims seems to be less. With victims you must listen to them and understand them, and you must realize that emotional damage often makes them contradict themselves and even become violent due to the accumulated frustrations, without first doubting their complaints.

This miniseries is maddening but in my opinion very necessary to understand and empathize (even more) with victims of sexual abuse, especially those who are judged, even above their attackers. When it seems more important to know what type of clothes she wore or if she was alone late at night and suddenly they must face the accusing gaze of the rest, when in reality they are the victims.

There is a scene where Marie's lawyer say something that really affected me: "You know, no one accuses a robbery victim of lying... but when it comes to sexual assault..." And that is the axis of the story, it is seen how even in 2008 the flaws in the judicial system were enormous, how easy it was for a criminal to pass under the radar, and how it changes your life when suffering an assault.

I recommend that you watch it, it's not only a good police series but a series to reflect and advance positively and if you know someone who has suffered an assault, be there, be understanding and do everything possible to help.

Officer Stacy Galbraith and Sergeant Edna Hendershot

Patrick O'leary

Trailer: 

XOXO LI