A new documentary on Netflix portrays the 1993 Waco siege in Texas in a
heavy-handed way, with a similar emotional investment to a trailer, despite the
intricate material, tough questions, and expansive grey areas. The first episode
of the three-part series gets straight into the 51-day standoff between David
Koresh and his followers, and American armed forces.
The violence is recreated with never-before-seen footage and
immersive intrigue, but the editing and
gunshot sound effects are overly dramatic. The series focuses on the experience
of what happened around the Mount Carmel compound, but in purporting to be about
both sides of the stand-off, it feels as if it has skipped an episode.
The documentary also does not address the ideas that led to something like
Waco, including that of militia mentalities or even the manner in which an
American like Koresh could have obtained his arsenal.
Overall, the series offers a nuanced survey of how torture-like tactics or
threats of captivity made those bridges of understanding even less likely.
However, the filmmaking is gross, and everyone's vulnerabilities are handled
like one would move pieces on a chessboard. |