Netflix's 'Unbelievable' starts a Twitter storm on why women don't report rape cases
'Unbelievable' traces the journey of a young teenager's struggle in proving her truth after being raped by a stranger. The eight-part Netflix series is based on the Pulitzer Prize-winning ProPublica article 'An Unbelievable Story of Rape', and the 'This American Life' episode 'Anatomy of Doubt' and has garnered rave reviews for its sensitive and solid treatment of the grave subject.
After it premiered on September 13, viewers have dished out strong opinion on the content of the show and its subtle treatment of the characters. What seems to have really touched a chord with the audience is how Marie Adler (played by Kaitlyn Dever) had to wrangle her way despite being in the right. Voicing their thoughts, many Twitter users shared their personal experiences after binge-watching the series.
One of the main points floating around on the micro-blogging site was how the series sheds light on why women are still scared of reporting sexual assault incidents. "Still wondering why people don’t report their assaults? Watch 'Unbelievable' on Netflix," one tweet read, while another said, "The difference between how a female and male detective handles questioning a sexual assault victim says it ALL #Unbelievable."
"In #Unbelievable on Netflix, a sexual assault survivor is basically coerced and threatened by police officers to “admit” that she lied about her assault. It is based on a true story. It makes me wonder how many of the “false accusations” stories we hear weren’t actually false..." one user wrote. Another one posted: "I hate these people. I know that's a strong word, but this is sad, and extremely maddening. No wonder girls/women are scared to come forward after sexual assault. I'm exhausted. #UnbelievableNetflix #Unbelievable!"
The show also brought together many lawyers and women with second-hand experiences to call out the misogyny. "My mother used to prosecute some of the worst crimes imaginable, including violent sex crimes that resulted in murders. After watching Unbelievable on Netflix all weekend, I just texted her to tell her I'm in awe of what she did and all she said back was: 'It had to be done'," one user wrote. Highlighting Brett Kavanaugh's impeachment, British historian Sarah Rees Jones tweeted: "People I used to admire acted like original detectives in #Unbelievable, silencing + shaming victims, lecturing them on the right way to speak about having their entire lives shattered. DO BETTER."
"Having binge-watched all 8 episodes of #Unbelievable in a day (procrastination at its finest), I now have a Toni Collette & Merrit Wever sized hole in my life that I fear may never be filled," one user wrote, and another tweeted, "Just fle w through #Unbelievable on @netflix. Definitely wasn’t easy to watch certain parts and I wouldn’t exactly recommend it to everybody, but overall, it really was an interesting series. #aboutrape."
Several viewers also praised the performances in the series. One user tweeted, "Due to the magic of aviation, I had 7 straight hours to watch 'Unbelievable' on @Netflix and though that may not be 'healthy', I can highly recommend it. Wow. @KaitlynDever I have no words except all these ones: Who allowed you to be this good?"
In all, the series is a sensitive and solid portrayal of a story that needed to be told with a strong hope that the plight would change the perception and attitude of law-makers towards sexual assault survivors.