The true crime series “Monsters” on Netflix dives into the story of the Menendez brothers, Lyle and Erik, who murdered their parents in 1989 for domestic violence and sexual assault. The show gives a better understanding of their story and shows the psychological factors that may have contributed to the event. Many students have seen the show and enjoyed it.
“The thing that surprised me the most when I was watching the show is that nobody stood up for the brothers, especially their mom. Their father hurt and destroyed these boys’ lives mentally and physically and the mother just stood there and let it happen,” senior Makayla Southern said. “One thing that stood out to me was how these actors make the scenes feel so real and make us have so much sympathy and even though the title is called monsters, lots of people see them as victims.”
These brothers came from a wealthy family and when the news about the murders got out it was a very popular story world wide. The brothers were sentenced to life without parole. They also got sent to different prisons and were reunited 22 years later and now have a new hearing case coming up. Besides the tv show there was also a documentary that dives into the real-life events surrounding the case.
“I think the documentary is way more accurate than the tv show. It goes into more depth about their lives and what happened to them. The documentary came out after the show was made and when I watched it I think I got a better understanding of what actually happened,” junior Gianna Anaya said. “I think the show was more biased and wanted the audience to see them and crazy people. I see them more misunderstood and obviously they are messed up in the heads because they were raised in a terrible family.”
People have many different opinions about this case because this show had a lot of twists and turns and strengths and weaknesses.
“I think the show did a good job showing their back story and what happened and why they did it, but they made the brothers seem psychotic when in the documentary it is not how they are at all,” junior Kyla Bassler said. “They went through a terrible life and childhood and I think they could have done better, but they did an amazing job casting the roles. All of the actors understood what they had to do and did it.”
The show really dives into the brothers’ background and the factors that contributed to their motives. The show examines the influence of wealth, abuse, mental health and how all of those play a role in their actions.
“I feel like I have learned a lot more about outside people that were involved, whether it was lawyers or their friends. I also feel like I know more about their backstory and how that tied into their motivation to kill their parents,” senior Teagan Amenda said. “I think it did a pretty good job at showing different perspectives and it makes viewers wonder who was actually telling the truth when they show the same scene but from a different point of view.”
