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[justthemis124]

God please take away all of the Menendez brothers’ pain and give it to Ryan Murphy

[justthemis124]

Monsters: The Lyle and Erik Menendez Story

(tw: rape/abuse/incest)

My Review -

When the trial originally began in 1993, society was intrigued and attached to the idea of these brothers. It began controversy between people, some of whom agreed that the brothers only murdered their parents for financial gain. Whereas, others believed the brother's story about the abuse they endured from their father, during their upbringing. The release of this true-crime series by Ryan Murphy and Ian Brennan has caused the controversy to resurface. The younger generation have become increasingly interested in the case and most believe the brothers story of abuse. The brothers have become a popular and trending topic on Tiktok and other social media platforms.

In the show, the casting is excellent, with standout performances from the actors portraying the brothers. Their ability to convey both vulnerability and violence adds depth to characters who could easily be reduced to sensationalized figures. The supporting cast, particularly the actors playing José and Kitty Menendez, give chilling portrayals of the family’s toxic dynamics.

However, from my perspective, the series seems to focus more on glamorizing the brothers rather than acknowledging the terrible abuse they endured, perpetuating the same pattern of turning them into media spectacles. The portrayal downplays the severity and lasting psychological impact of their abuse, making it seem far less serious than it truly was. The boys are portrayed as spoiled, rich kids who do terrible things just because they can and want to, a narrative most people familiar with the case know is far from the truth. When Erik recounts the abuse they endured, the story shifts to one of survival—where they were acting out of self-preservation, aligning with the film’s title Kill or Be Killed. This perspective reflects the trauma and violence they faced.

The portrayal of the brothers is unsettling, with their relationship being depicted in a way that borders on incestuous. It’s deeply disturbing that the brothers were ever portrayed so inaccurately, and worse, without their consent. Turning victims into media spectacles, especially after they’ve already suffered the consequences of not being believed, is inexcusable. This series was incredibly well shot and beautifully executed by the actors, but it’s impossible to shake the feeling of intruding on someone’s deeply personal life—especially knowing the brothers were unaware it was being filmed. For me, this lack of consent discredits the entire production. Had they received permission, it could have been a powerful and moving series. But without it, I can’t appreciate it in the same way.

They completely glamorized the entire situation, and many, including myself, feel it’s overly Hollywood-ized. It comes across as romanticizing the abuse they endured, which is just unacceptable. It’s like, what the hell? Also, why make this without asking the brothers for their consent? Even if it’s a public case, it’s just downright strange. It’s their life and their trauma, and yet people are profiting off it. It really pisses me off, because it’s not anyone’s place to exploit their story, especially without their permission.

A comment was made by Erik Menedez stating: "I believed we had moved beyond the lies and ruinous character portrayals of Lyle, creating a caricature of Lyle rooted in horrible and blatant lies rampant in the show. I can only believe they were done so on purpose. It is with a heavy heart that I say I believe Ryan Murphy cannot be this naïve and inaccurate about the facts of our lives so as to do this without bad intent. It is sad for me to know that Netflix’s dishonest portrayal of the tragedies surrounding our crime have taken the painful truths several steps backward - back through time to an era when the prosecution built a narrative on a belief system that males were not sexually abused, and that males experienced rape trauma differently than women. So now Murphy shapes his horrible narrative through vile and appalling character portrayals of Lyle and of me and disheartening slander. Is the truth not enough? Let the truth stand as the truth."

The fact that Ryan Murphy not only failed to seek consent but also portrayed the brothers in such a disturbing way is deeply unsettling. I completely agree with Erik’s statement—the entire portrayal was appalling. While the brothers may have trauma-bonded due to the abuse they suffered, the series crosses a line by depicting them as outright incestuous, even in its promotion, where both brothers are seen as shirtless. It’s both disrespectful and disturbing.

Overall, the series is a chilling and dark portrayal of the case, with truly spectacular acting. However, the entire project feels deeply unsettling. Ryan Murphy had no right to depict the brothers this way and profit from their trauma and abuse, much like what he did with the Jeffrey Dahmer series and the victims’ families. He seems incapable of seeking consent before exploiting people’s lives for entertainment, and it’s frustrating to see him being praised for it. This could have been a completely different story if he had asked for permission and portrayed the brothers differently —but he didn’t. And due to these facts, i can only rate the series negatively. The show could have been used to show the impact that SA and trauma could have on a person but unfortunately that was not the case. This should never have been released but i am glad that the release of this show has brought attention to the case of the Menendez brothers and the disgusting man that is Ryan Murphy.

[justthemis124]

My opinion on "Monsters: The Lyle and Erik Menendez story" PART II

Hello everyone! I'm back for the second part of my opinion on the show "Monsters". If you haven't read the first part, go check it out right here :)

III. THE PORTRAYAL OF THE PARENTS

If I previously talked about the brothers’ portrayal in part 1, I also have a LOT of things to say about how the parents were portrayed.

Like I mentioned in part 1, I do believe that Ryan Murphy produced the show with the idea in mind that Erik and Lyle were liars. So, ultimately, it wasn’t that surprising to see that José and Kitty (in my opinion) weren't exactly portrayed as the monsters they truly were.

First things first, I would like to address the very last scene of the show, when they are on the boat shark fishing. In all honesty, I really did not understand that scene and the reasoning behind putting it at the very end. The feeling that I got when this scene came on was that, somehow the show was trying to depict José and Kitty as a nice couple that was trying to overcome their past difficulties, a depiction that I, obviously, absolutely hate. In my mind, it was just so weird to put that one scene at the end, after everything. You know what they've done, who they really are, and still there is that clip of them as a happy married couple spending the afternoon on a boat. If anyone has any insight or an opinion on that scene please don't hesitate to leave a comment!

Now there is one main episode where we get to see a lot of José and Kitty, and that's episode 7 when Kitty is seeing a therapist. She proceeds to talk about how Erik and Lyle scare her and don't care about her at all. In my opinion, this is just a sickening stunt of Ryan Murphy to try and get us to have empathy towards the parents. And I truly felt that this specific episode was just full of moments like this, moments that depict Erik and Lyle as spoiled kids, undeserving of what they have and not appreciative towards the parents. While Kitty and José are shown as parents trying their best, giving their kids everything they ask for, but ultimately powerless against the anger and ungratefulness that their children hold against them. No need for me to explain how such a representation of literal child m*lesters is extremely dangerous.

In that episode we also learn that, apparently, José was also m*lested by his parents when he was a child. Now I did some research on that because I was quite shocked to hear that in the show, because I don't remember hearing that anywhere. Now I wasn't able to find anything, so if anyone has any informations on that please leave a comment! Because here's the thing, my fear is that RM might have lied about this part to try and justify the abuse that Erik and Lyle suffered from José, which, if that's the case, I genuinely have no words to describes how vile, sick and straight up psychopathic it is. So again if anyone has any information about that, please leave a comment!

IV. THE ACTORS' PERFORMANCES

Having said everything that I said up until now, I wanted to dedicate a part to the actors' performance and all the work that they put into it.

I mentioned at the end of the first part, that all this criticism was directed at Ryan Murphy and not at the actors, because at the end of the day, actors have to follow a script and do the best they can with the instructions that they've been given. So If we forget for a second everything that's wrong with this show, I think it's important to salute the incredible performances that Cooper Koch (Erik Menendez) and Nicholas Alexander Chavez (Lyle Menendez) gave us. As we've seen before, yes, the portrayal of Lyle was not accurate at all and quite defamatory, but still as an actor, Nicholas did an amazing job. Especially during the trials scene, when he is taking the stand, that seems to be the only accurate thing they got of Lyle.

Of course I have to mention episode 5, where Cooper Koch delivered an outstanding and heartbreaking performance in a 35 minutes monologue in one single take. It almost brought me to tears, and for me this is one of the few scenes that does the brothers justice. I also have to mention Cooper Koch's involvement with the actual case, you all probably know this by now but he went to visit Erik Menendez in prison, he said that they had a long conversation, that they hugged and Cooper told him that he was standing with them (Erik and Lyle) and that he believed them. He also told Erik that he did everything he could to try and portray him as best as possible. And I'm so happy that at least one person of the project actually understood what it truly meant to do this show.

CONCLUSION

In conclusion, I can only express disappointment and disgust towards this show. I was really pumped at its announcement and couldn't wait to see it. Because for me, the name "monsters" was obviously directed towards the parents, but then I saw that it was actually for the brothers and I really couldn't believe it. And no amount of billboards trying to turn this around with "are they monsters?" can make up for anything (see below).

As you all probably know by now, a Netflix documentary about the brothers and their perspective is coming out on Monday 7th October, and after that show I am glad Netflix gave them a chance to express themselves.

Alright guys that was it for my opinion on the show, I hope you liked it! Again if there is anything you disagree with or if you'd like to add something, another point of view or another insight please do and leave a comment! Thanks to everyone who read this post all the way to the end!

See you in the next post!

FREE THE MENENDEZ BROTHERS

[justthemis124]

The Menendez boys show on Netflix (the Ryan Murphy one) is making me very upset with the way it is portraying them. The very fact that the show is titled Monsters, and by default put them on the same level as Jeffrey Dahmer... haven't those boys suffered enough? Do we really need to cast doubt on what they went through nearly 30 years after they were unfairly sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole? When will we start believing in & taking seriously male survivors of SA?

Like the fact that they killed their parents is undeniable, but the question of WHY is important. If you hear their testimonies, it will make you nauseous. The cinnamon and the lemon juice. That on top of all the other abuse. Verbal, physical, psychological. José and Kitty were the real monsters. And for Ryan Murphy to even imply the boys made it up after the fact and that the real motive was the inheritance... it does a diservice not only to the Menendez brothers but to all male survivors of sexual abuse.

The boys are spending their life in prison for the crime of defending themselves. At this point they have been behind bars for longer than they have been free men, and in comes Ryan Murphy to say "they made it all up or at least exagerated it also one of them is a literal sociopath". Honestly, it's offensive and a disgrace. Erik was right to speak up against the show through his wife's social media.

I'm not surprised though. I studied the Dahmer case extensively when I was a teen (we all have weird hobbies, okay? True Crime is mine), and Murphy took many liberties with that story too. But at least Dahmer was, in fact, a monster. (Mentally ill as all hell, but that's not an excuse). Dahmer deserves to be remembered as a monster. The Menendez brothrers do not.

[justthemis124]

imagine literally clapping back at Erik Menendez because he's unhappy about the salacious, untruthful and exploitative Netflix series you made about his traumatic life story where you depicted him being all incestuous with his fucking brother like this might genuinely be the most unhinged indefensible thing Ryan Murphy has ever done and that is saying something lmao

[justthemis124]

SUMMARY

last updated: 04/10/2024

PRESENTATION POST

MY OPINION ON...

TRUE CRIME STORIES (coming soon)

WHAT'S NEW? (coming soon)

CRIMINOLOGY 101 (coming soon)

more to come

[justthemis124]

MY OPINION ON...

"Monsters: The Lyle and Erik Menendez story" PART I PART II

MORE TO COME

[justthemis124]

My opinion on “Monsters: The Lyle and Erik Menendez story” PART I

If some of you guys have read my presentation post, you know that this show encouraged me to create this blog, because after finishing the last episode, I just needed to talk about it to someone. Unfortunately nobody I know has seen it or is even interested in seeing it. Anyway that’s not the point, I have a lot of things to say about the show, that’s why this post is only a part 1, and I’ll try my best to organize my thoughts as best as I can.

I. THE RYAN MURPHY PROBLEM

I feel like I needed to start with the most obvious one.

So first of all you need to know that my only knowledge of Ryan Murphy comes from the 5 seasons of American Horror Story that I watched. And the thing that I noticed straight away when watching AHS was the omnipresence of very, very uncomfortable and weird s*x scenes. Every 5 seconds you get these scenes that serve no purpose to the plot whatsoever, it feels like they’re there just for the sake of making people uncomfortable and satisfying whatever perverse desire Ryan Murphy has. Now, I’ll say that American Horror Story is fictional and that, at the end of the day, no matter how disgusting these scenes are, they remain in the fictional realm.

BUT the problem is that RM has clearly brought his weird and obscene fantasies into the world of what I can only think of calling “True Fiction” (a show or movie based on real events, and that wants itself to be accurate). It’s something that you can so clearly see in each and every episode of the show, and while watching it, I remember thinking how disgusting it was that this almost 60 years old man was just forcing his perversion into a representation of literal victims of incestuous s*xual abuse. And I genuinely cannot express how sick to my stomach it makes me.

Furthermore, I think that it is also very clear whose side Ryan Murphy seems to be on, and in my opinion and based on the way he decided to portray the brothers, I think that he clearly thinks that the boys are liar. Which okay, he is of course entitled to his opinion on the matter, even if I (along with a lot people) strongly disagree with it. The problem is that he should not bring his opinion into the show and make his opinion seem like the real and factual events.

On that same note, I’m sure most of you are aware, but Erik released a statement through his wife about the show, I’ll put it below :

And I’m so glad he spoke up and said how much fake things, inaccurate portrayals and misinformation this show was spreading. Unfortunately, Ryan Murphy responded to this statement, in the worst manner possible, here is his response below :

I find it absolutely insane to tell people, whose life you tried to recreate on screen, that you did an amazing job at it while these persons themselves tell you that you failed to put in light the truth that they spent their whole lives trying to be heard.

In conclusion on this whole part about Ryan Murphy, I was just really disappointed in the way that he produced and realised the whole show as well as the way he handled the aftermath of its release, this man even had the audacity to say that he had no interest in talking to the brothers so that tells us everything that we need to know about him. And I think that he should just stick to fiction and stop trying to film true crime shows if he’s gonna ignore the facts and just build the show on his opinion instead.

II. THE PORTRAYAL OF THE BROTHERS

The issue with the portrayals of the brothers is obviously directly linked to Ryan Murphy but I wanted to dedicate a part about it and not it be a sub part to the RM problem.

When I was watching the show, the first thing that struck me was the portrayal of Lyle. I was familiar with the Menendez case way before the show because, like a lot of people, I had watched the trials on YouTube. And while I cannot claim to know what Lyle is like, and none of us can, because we don’t know him, I was still quite shocked to see the way they made him act on the show. I guess that this arrogant, angry, violent and spoiled rich kid act just wasn’t what I was expecting, along with a lot of people. And we were right to find this representation to be odd because Erik, himself, talked about how inaccurate and defamatory this representation of Lyle was in his statement that you can read above in the Ryan Murphy problem.

So there's already that. And then, the worst part in my opinion, is the way that Lyle and Erik were, first of all, highly s*xualized and also represented as if they were in some kind of incestuous relationship with each other. If we focus for a second on the s*xualization of the brothers, the first example that comes to my mind is the shower scene with Erik in prison. What purpose does that scene serve in the telling of Erik and Lyle's story? I cannot help but think that this is just another manifestation of Ryan Murphy's perverted mind. On that same note (I'm gonna try and explain this next part as best as I can) but I think we all know now that RM has a tendency to cast attractive actors for these type of roles (ex: Evan Peters as Jeffrey Dahmer) to later s*xualize them non stop. And words are failing me to express how wrong that is, because in Dahmer's case he was literally s*xualizing a serial killer, and in the Menendez' case, victims of incestuous s*xual abuse. Again I fail to understand how this man doesn't see any wrong in that.

Now, about the representation of the brothers' relationship. As I was watching the show, I remember noticing all these little things that were insinuating that something romantic was going on between them, again I cannot express how uncomfortable it made me, I can only assume that it was the case for everyone else watching. And again, I cannot find the words to say how disgusting and sick this is. Because here is the thing, so we know that Erik was m*lested by Lyle, because Lyle was himself being abused by José Menendez, he was child and he didn't know any better than to try and recreate what he though was an act of love. BUT knowing that and willingly deciding to subtly portray these brothers as if they were in a consensual incestuous relationship is digusting and sickening.

And I want to clarify that this critic of their portrayal is aimed at Ryan Murphy and in no way at the actors, I will be talking about the actors' work in the second part, in another post.

Alright guys that's it for the first part of my opinion on "Monsters", I hope that maybe some of the points I addressed will help you see the show in another light if you didn't share my point of view. And if my post didn't convince you of anything and if you disagree with me on certain point, please leave a comment so we can discuss it :)

The second part will be focusing on the portrayal of José and Kitty Menendez as well as the work of the actors.

See you in the next post!

[justthemis124]

PRESENTATION POST

Hi everyone and welcome to my blog!!

First things first, let me introduce myself! I’m a future criminology student who is fascinated with true crime and understanding the criminal mind! I have not started officially studying criminology at university but I use my free time to gain as much knowledge as I can on the matter by reading books, listening to podcasts and lectures and watching documentaries…

I have always been fine just doing my thing on my own until the recent release of the show “Monsters:The Erik and Lyle Menendez Story” on Netflix, that’s when I realised that I desperately needed to share my opinion with people.

That’s why I decided to make this blog! I want to be able to share my opinion on criminology and true crime related things such as the show “Monsters” and be able to discuss it with you guys! I am deeply passionate about criminology and I’m eager to share stuff with you that we´ll be able to discuss and even debate!

DISCLAIMER: while saying this, I do want to emphasize that I am in no way an expert and I don’t claim to be one. When sharing stories with you, I will be 100% factual and try my best to give you truthful facts, but of course when sharing my opinion, that’s all it will be, just my opinion. So if you don’t agree with whatever I might say, please leave a comment so we can discuss/debate together, that’s what this blog is for! I also want to say that English is not my first language, so if I make any spelling or grammatical mistakes I apologize in advance!

I hope you’ll like the content provided on this blog, see you in the next post!!