This New Streaming Crime Documentary Will Make You Reconsider One of Reality’s Worst Trends

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This New Streaming Crime Documentary Will Make You Reconsider One of Reality’s Worst Trends

Can something that brings justified damnation to society’s most reviled evildoers be questioned, or should it even be? Predators raises this same question, with an insightful look at the popular To catch a predator series. Hosted by Chris Hansen, To catch a predator documented the process of luring pedophiles to a watch house, where their arrest is filmed. Of course, no one will ever sympathize with these criminals, and Predators doesn’t. But it gives pause on the process and its legacy.and reconsider what is really driving this trend.

“Predators” challenges what was learned in “To Catch a Predator”

To catch a predator created in 2004 as a series of segments on Data lineand it quickly became the most popular segment of the flagship series. It was positioned as a public service announcement in a way, alerting parents and guardians of the dangers that await their children on the Internet. To do this, the production team turned to actors who would enter online chat rooms, posing as young teenagers, boys or girls, and, once someone took the bait, steer the conversation toward a promise to meet in person at a home in the area. Once initiated, the team would wait in the watch house until their mark appeared, after which Hansen would come out and question the individual. Once this was done, he would allow the individual to leave; only the police would wait for them on the other side and arrest them. All of this, from the point of contact to the point of their arrest, filmed.

The show received applause from those who simply wanted to see these sick men captured and kept away from innocent children, regardless of the process. However, it is also sparked controversy from critics which called into question the ethics and motivations of production. No one would have a problem if the show was truly about protecting children, but it would be a different story if the intention was simply to create a circus spectacle around the exposure of these men, generating both money and ratings. Unfortunately, the evidence suggests that it is the latter solution, with Brian Montopoli from CBS News among the first to assert that To catch a predator lacked journalistic integrity.

Predators argues that the series’ legacy also leans toward the latterwith those who followed the trend started by To catch a predator and used it for likes and shares out of a genuine desire to do something noble. To that end, the documentary highlights the work of a Chris Hansen copycat on YouTube (by Collider), who lured a man into a cheap motel room by telling him, “You’ve been Skeeted,” while the man sat in the corner, crying about being suicidal because of his sexual desires. It’s a testament to the skill of the documentarian David Ositewho made the film, that it does not create sympathy for the evildoer, but rather questions the staged nature of the event, replete with its own catchphrase.

‘Predators’ Reveals the Truth Behind ‘Catching a Predator,’ But Misses an Opportunity

To catch a predator ended shortly after the suicide of a Bill ConradAssistant Texas Attorney. He was a target of the team, but never showed up at the Sting House, leading the team to make the questionable decision to confront Conradt in his own house, only for Conradt to shoot himself in the head when a SWAT team entered. The consequences of this tragedy constitute one of the Predators“The strongest examples of how the series impacted those involved. Dan Schrack was a cast member on the show and the one who posed as the decoy that lured Conradt in, and it still haunts him today. “You could offer me $10 million to re-film that episode in Texas,” Schrack said of the episode that led to Bill Conradt’s death. “I wouldn’t accept it. I wouldn’t accept it and I would be happy with that decision.” Former detective Walt Weisswho participated in the scam, had even harsher words for Hansen’s show and himself, saying, “They went out there and did that in that house because it would do something for the show, not something for society, not something for the benefit of law enforcement. And the role that I played in it. It’s a stain on my soul that I’m going to live with if I’m a human being.”

The Truth Behind NBC’s ‘To Catch A Predator’ Is Much Darker Than You Think

The predators in the series weren’t the only ones talking about it.

Coupled with withdrawals of To catch a predator which show captured men asking for help, knowing that life as they know it is over, thanks to impulses they don’t understand why they have, the documentary shows the forgotten part of these stings. There is a human element, and these men are still people, Predators shows, and as sick as they are, they still need help. And while it’s easy to feel little empathy for them – and, again, Predators don’t make it up – an interview with the mother of an 18-year-old, who was caught dating a girl he thought was only three years younger (which is legal in most states), highlights the dangers of these stings, putting entertainment above due process and ruining a life in the process.

To be fair, Predators devote time to those who believe in people like To catch a predatorwho believe that the end justifies the means, allowing the viewer to draw their own conclusions without providing a clear answer. But the documentary misses an opportunity to make a deeper statement by overlooking whether these things even sting work. According to the previously cited Colliderthere is one case in Murphy, Texas, where 24 men were arrested, but never charged, with the prosecutor and mayor refusing to prosecute, believing the situation had been tainted by the involvement of the cameras. And in another casea twenty-six-year-old man, accused of having attempted to have sexual relations with an actor in the series playing a 13-year-old girl, was simply acquitted, the judge having dismissed the case and accusing To catch a predator trapping.

Predators doesn’t give viewers the answer, nor does it condemn those on either side of the debate, but it does ask questions, asking us to look at the gray of a black-and-white issue before solidifying our position.

Predators is now available to stream on Paramount+ in the US