The O.J. Simpson affair would seem to have long ago worn out its media welcome. Each news special, documentary and tell-all book has, in the two decades since the so-called trial of the century, increasingly ground us down. As if all that weren’t enough, FX will soon air the fact-based dramatization “American Crime Story: The People v. O.J. Simpson.”
As it turns out, there is another tale left to tell. And it’s a doozy.
FULL COVERAGE: Sundance Film Festival 2016
At the Sundance Film Festival on Friday, ESPN will unveil “O.J.: Made in America.” Directed by the nonfiction filmmaker Ezra Edelman, the documentary series is a sprawling, substantive affair with some startling ideas. Its five episodes will span 7 1/2 hours at the festival (two sessions, with a break in between) and 10 hours when it arrives on commercial television (five nights, likely consecutive, in the spring or early summer).
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Imogen Poots, from the film “Frank and Lola,” poses for a portrait in the L.A. Times photo & video studio at the Sundance Film Festival in Park City, Utah.
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Imogen Poots poses for a portrait at the Sundance Film Festival.
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Imogen Poots and director Matthew Ross from the film “Frank and Lola” pose for an L.A. Times photo at the Sundance Film Festival.
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Louis Black and Karen Bernstein, filmmakers from the film “Richard Linklater: Dream Is Destiny,” in a portrait taken at the L.A. Times studio at the Sundance Film Festival in Park City, Utah.
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Chris Hegedus, left, Steven Wise and D.A. Pennebaker of the film “Unlocking the Cage” pose for a portrait in the L.A. Times studio at the Sundance Film Festival in Park City, Utah.
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Chris Hegedus, director of “Unlocking the Cage,” in a portrait at the Sundance Film Festival in Park City, Utah.
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Jon Shenk, left, subject Daisy Coleman and Bonni Cohen, director from the film “Audrie & Daisy,” poses for a portrait in the L.A. Times photo & video studio at the Sundance Film Festival in Park City, Utah.
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Vincent Piazza from the film “Intervention.”
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Daisy Coleman, subject from the film “Audrie & Daisy.”
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Director Clea DuVall from the film “Intervention.”
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Michael Shannon from the films “Complete Unknown” and “Frank and Lola.”
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Melanie Lynskey from the film “Intervention.”
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Michael Shannon from the film “Complete Unknown.”
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Ben Schwartz from the film “Intervention.”
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Michael Shannon from the films “Complete Unknown” and “Frank and Lola.”
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Jason Ritter, left, Ben Schwartz, Natasha Lyonne, Vincent Piazza, Clea DuVall, director, Melanie Lynskey from the film “Intervention.”
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Ben Schwartz, left, and Jason Ritter from the film “Intervention.”
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Jason Ritter from the film “Intervention.”
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Aaron Brookner, director from the film “Uncle Howard.”
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Executive producer/narrator Katie Couric, right, and filmmaker Stephanie Soechtig from the film “Under The Gun.”
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Executive producer/narrator Katie Couric from the film “Under The Gun.”
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Michael Shannon from the films “Complete Unknown” and “Frank and Lola.”
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Amandla Stenberg from the film “As You Are.”
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Michael Chernus, left, Michael Shannon and director Joshua Marston from the film “Complete Unknown.”
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Michael Chernus, left, Michael Shannon and director Joshua Marston from the film “Complete Unknown.”
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Danfung Dennis, filmmaker, and Casey Brown, producer from the virtual reality experience “Condition One.”
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Ciro Guerra, writer-director from the film “Embrace of the Serpent.”
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Josh Fox, director from the film “How to Let Go of the World and Love All the Things Climate Can’t Change.”
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Christopher Waldorf, left, Chi Chi Mizrahi,, MikeQ, Twiggy Pucci Garçon, co-writer/subject, Sara Jordeno, writer-director, Gia Marie Love, Kenneth “Symba McQueen” Soler-Rios from the film “Kiki.”
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Kahane Cooperman, showrunner/executive producer from the film “The New Yorker Presents.”
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Frankie Shaw, director-writer stars in “Too Legit.”
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Dawn Porter, director from the film “Trapped.”
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Keith Fulton, director, Lou Pepe, director, Jennifer Coffield and A.J. Wright from the film “Bad Kids.”
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Lou Pepe, left, and Keith Fulton, directors from the film “Bad Kids.”
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Jennifer Coffield and A.J. Wright from the film “Bad Kids.”
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Michael Villar from the film “Carnage Park.”
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Mickey Keating, director from the film “Carnage Park.”
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Rebecca Hall from the film “Christine.”
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Tahir Jetter, director from the film “How to Tell You’re a Douchebag.”
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Alex Ross Perry from the movie “Joshy.”
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Jenny Slate from the movie “Joshy.”
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Thomas Middleditch from the movie “Joshy.”
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Nick Kroll, left, Brett Gelman, Thomas Middleditch, Adam Pally, Alex Ross Perry, Jenny Slate, Jeff Baena, director, and Lauren Weedman from the movie “Joshy.”
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Jeff Baena, director, from the movie “Joshy.”
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Paulina Garcia from the film “Little Men.”
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Diego Luna, director of “Mr. Pig.”
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Maya Rudolph, star of “Mr. Pig”
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Actors Danny Glover, from left, Maya Rudolph and “Mr. Pig” director Diego Luna.
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Writer-director Richard Tanne, from left, Tika Sumpter and Parker Sawyers, from “Southside With You.”
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Tika Sumpter from “Southside With You.”
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Actor Waleed Zuaiter from “The Free World.”
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Writer-director Jason Lew, from “The Free World.”
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Boyd Holbrook, from “The Free World.”
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Elisabeth Moss, from “The Free World.”
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Elisabeth Moss, from “The Free World.”
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Boyd Holbrook, from left, Octavia Spencer, writer-director Jason Lew, Elisabeth Moss and Waleed Zuaiter, from “The Free World.”
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Octavia Spencer, from “The Free World.”
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Octavia Spencer, from “The Free World.”
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Bobby Naderi, from “Under the Shadow.”
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Bobby Nader, from “Under The Shadow.”
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Jeff Daniels Phillips, right, and Richard Brake from the film “31.”
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Ashley Bell, left, Pat Healy, Mickey Keating, Michael Villar and James Landry Hébert from the film “Carnage Park.”
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Ashley Bell from the film “Carnage Park.”
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Rebecca Hall from the film “Christine.”
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Rebecca Hall and director Antonio Campos from the film “Christine.”
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Dylan Gelula from the film “First Girl I Loved.”
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Writer-director Kerem Sanga from the film “First Girl I Loved.”
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Brianna Hildebrand, left, Kerem Sanga, writer-director, Brianna Hildebrand, Dylan Gelula and Mateo Arias from the film “First Girl I Loved.”
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Brianna Hildebrand, left, Kerem Sanga, writer-director, Brianna Hildebrand, Dylan Gelula and Mateo Arias from the film “First Girl I Loved.”
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Brianna Hildebrand from the film “First Girl I Loved.”
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Mateo Arias from the film “First Girl I Loved.”
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Mateo Arias from the film “First Girl I Loved.”
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Thomas Middleditch from the movie “Joshy.”
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Lauren Weedman from the movie “Joshy.”
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Brett Gelman from the movie “Joshy.”
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Adam Pally from the movie “Joshy.”
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Nick Kroll from the movie “Joshy.”
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Maya Rudolph from the film “Mr. Pig.”
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Maya Rudolph from the film “Mr. Pig.”
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Danny Glover from the film “Mr. Pig.”
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Haerry Kim from the film “Spa Night.”
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Haerry Kim, left, director Andrew Ahn and Joe Seo from the film “Spa Night.”
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Director Andrew Ahn from the film “Spa Night.”
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Joe Seo from the film “Spa Night.”
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Asif Kapadia, filmmaker from “Ali & Nino,” poses for a portrait in the L.A. Times photo & video studio at the Sundance Film Festival in Park City, Utah.
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Alysia Reiner, left, and Sarah Megan Thomas from the film “Equity.”
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Alysia Reiner from the film “Equity.”
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Sarah Megan Thomas from the film “Equity.”
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Steven Caple Jr., writer and director for the film “The Land.”
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Jorge Lendeborg Jr. from the film “The Land.”
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Moises Arias from the film “The Land.”
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Rafi Gavron, left, Ezri Walker, Steven Caple Jr., Moises Arias and Jorge Lendeborg Jr. from the film “The Land.”
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Ezri Walker from the film “The Land.”
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Moises Arias from the film “The Land.”
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Yoshiki from the film “We are X.”
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Stephen Kijak, left, and Yoshiki from the film “We are X.”
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Co-directors Josh Kriegman and Elyse Steinberg from the film “Weiner.”
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Penelope Ann Miller from the film “The Birth of A Nation.”
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Armie Hammer from the film “The Birth of A Nation.”
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Gabrielle Union from the film “The Birth of A Nation.”
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Gabrielle Union, left, Aja Naomi King, Armie Hammer, Nate Parker, director, Penelope Ann Miller and Jackie Earle Haley from the film “The Birth of A Nation.”
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Nate Parker, director from the film “The Birth of A Nation.”
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Jackie Earle Haley from the film “The Birth of A Nation.”
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Aja Naomi King from the film “The Birth of A Nation.”
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Jessie Kahnweiler, star-director-producer, from the film “The Skinny.”
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Illeana Douglas, star-producer, left, Jill Soloway, executive producer, Rebecca Odes, executive producer, Jessie Kahnweiler, star-director-producer, and Andrea Sperling, producer, from the film “The Skinny.”
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Jill Soloway, executive producer from the film “The Skinny.”
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Jessie Kahnweiler from the film “The Skinny.”
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Rebecca Odes, executive producer from the film “The Skinny.”
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Illeana Douglas from the film “The Skinny.”
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Illeana Douglas from the film “The Skinny.”
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Andrea Sperling, producer from the film “The Skinny.”
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DeWanda Wise from the film “How to Tell You’re a Douchebag.”
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Jenna Williams, from the film “How to Tell You’re a Douchebag.”
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Alano Miller, left, DeWanda Wise, Tahir Jetter, Charles Brice and producers Julius Pryor IV and Marttise Hill from the film “How to Tell You’re a Douchebag.”
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Jennifer Ehle, from the film “Little Men.”
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Jennifer Ehle, left, Michael Barbieri, Mauricio Zacharias, Paulina Garcia, Ira Sachs, director, Theo Taplitz and Greg Kinnear, from the film “Little Men.”
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Greg Kinnear from the film “Little Men.”
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Michael Barbieri, left, and Theo Taplitz from the film “Little Men.”
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Director and co-writer Ira Sachs, left, and co-writer Mauricio Zacharias from the film “Little Men.”
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Ira Sachs, director/co-writer from the film, “Little Men.”
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Mary Stuart Masterson from the film “As You Are.”
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Miles Joris-Peyrafitte from the film “As You Are.”
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Amandla Stenberg from the film “As You Are.”
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Scott Cohen from the film “As You Are.”
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Owen Campbell from the film “As You Are.”
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Parker Sawyers from the film “Southside With You.”
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Tika Sumpter from the film “Southside With You.”
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Richard Tanne, writer-director from the film “Southside With You.”
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Jeff Feuerzig, director from the film “The JT Leroy Story.”
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Robert Jumper, left, director Tim Sutton, Anna Rose and Maica Armata from the film “Dark Night” in the L.A. Times photo & video studio at the Sundance Film Festival in Park City, Utah.
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Director Pieter-Jan De Pue from the film “The Land of the Enlightened.”
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Michal Huszcza, left, Michal Marczak, director, and Kris Baganski from the film “All These Sleepless Nights” get cozy.
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Abigail Spencer from the series “Rectify.”
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Director Robert Greene and actress Kate Lyn Sheil from the film “Kate Plays Christine.”
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Actress Kate Lyn Sheil from the film “Kate Plays Christine.”
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Executive Producer Jim McNiel from the film “Lo and Behold: Reveries of the Connected World.”
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Werner Herzog, director of the film “Lo and Behold: Reveries of the Connected World.”
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Laura Albert from the film “The JT Leroy Story.”
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Jeff Feuerzig and subject Laura Albert from the film “The JT Leroy Story.”
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Jason Benjamin, director from the film “Suited.”
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Jenni Konner, producer, left, Jason Benjamin, director, and Lena Dunham, producer, from the film “Suited.”
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Jared Harris from the film “Certain Women.”
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Jared Harris from the film “Certain Women.”
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Q., director of the film “Brahman Naman.”
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Q., director of the film “Brahman Naman.”
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Naman Ramachandran, left, Q., and Shashank Arora with Werner Herzog.
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Tanmay Dhanania, left, Shashank Arora, Naman Ramachandran, Steve Barron, producer, Q., director, Sid Mallya, screenwriter, from the film “Brahman Naman.”
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Ralph Rodriguez, left, Brian “Sene” Marc, Morgan Saylor, Adrian Martinez, India Menuez, Justin Bartha, Elizabeth Wood, filmmaker, and Anthony Ramos from the film “White Girl.”
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Brian “Sene” Marc from the film “White Girl.”
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Morgan Saylor from the film “White Girl.”
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Anthony Ramos from the film “White Girl.”
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Adrian Martinez from the film “White Girl.”
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India Menuez from the film “White Girl.”
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Justin Bartha from the film “White Girl.”
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Elizabeth Wood from the film “White Girl.”
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Gavin Free for Lazer Team levitates.
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Anne Fontaine, director from the film “Agnus Dei.”
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Chloe Sevigny, left, Danny Perez and Natasha Lyonne from the film “Antibirth.”
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Chloe Sevigny from the film “Antibirth.”
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Chloe Sevigny from the film “Antibirth.”
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Natasha Lyonne from the film “Antibirth.”
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Rachel Grady, co-director from the film “Norman Lear: Just Another Version of You.”
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Heidi Ewing, co-director, Norman Lear, Rachel Grady, co-director, from the film “Norman Lear: Just Another Version of You.”
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Norman Lear from the film “Norman Lear: Just Another Version of You.”
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Heidi Ewing, co-director from the film “Norman Lear: Just Another Version of You.”
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Heidi Ewing, co-director from the film “Norman Lear: Just Another Version of You.”
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Kenneth Lonergan, director from the film “Manchester by the Sea.”
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Lucas Hedges, left, Kenneth Lonergan, director, and Casey Affleck from the film “Manchester by the Sea.”
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Lucas Hedges, left, and Casey Affleck from the film “Manchester by the Sea.”
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Lucas Hedges, left, and Casey Affleck from the film “Manchester by the Sea.”
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Lucas Hedges from the film “Manchester by the Sea.”
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Casey Affleck from the film “Manchester by the Sea.”
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Casey Affleck from the film “Manchester by the Sea.”
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Writer-director Sian Heder from the film “Talullah.”
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John Benjamin Hickey, left, Allison Janney, Ellen Page, Sian Heder, writer-director, and Tammy Blanchard from the film “Talullah.”
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Ellen Page from the film “Talullah.”
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Director Roger Ross Williams from the film “Life Animated.”
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Allison Janney from the film “Talullah.”
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John Benjamin Hickey from the film “Talullah.”
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Tammy Blanchard from the film “Talullah.”
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Brooklyn Decker from the film “Lovesong.”
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Jena Malone from the film “Lovesong.”
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Jena Malone, left, and Riley Keough from the film “Lovesong.”
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Director Roger Ross Williams from the film “Life Animated.”
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Jonathan Freeman, left, Owen Suskind, Gilbert Gottfried and director Roger Ross Williams from the film “Life Animated.”
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John Krasinski from the film, “The Hollars,” poses for a portrait in the L.A. Times photo & video studio at the Sundance Film Festival, in Park City, Utah. (Jay L. Clendenin / Los Angeles Times)
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John Krasinski, left, Charlie Day, Margo Martindale, Sharlto Copley and Josh Groban from the film “The Hollars.”
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Josh Groban from the film, “The Hollars,” in the L.A. Times photo & video studio at the Sundance Film Festival, in Park City, Utah. ( Jay L. Clendenin / Los Angeles Times)
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Sharlto Copley from the film, “The Hollars,” in the L.A. Times photo & video studio at the Sundance Film Festival, in Park City, Utah. (Jay L. Clendenin / Los Angeles Times)
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Margo Martindale, from the film, “The Hollars,” in the L.A. Times photo & video studio at the Sundance Film Festival, in Park City, Utah. ( Jay L. Clendenin / Los Angeles Times)
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John Krasinski from the film, “The Hollars,” poses for a portrait in the L.A. Times photo & video studio at the Sundance Film Festival, in Park City, Utah. (Jay L. Clendenin / Los Angeles Times)
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David Wheeler, left, Nicole Hockley, Mark Barden from the film “Newtown.”
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Kim Snyder, left, director, and Maria Cuomo Cole, producer, from the film “Newtown.”
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Nicole Hockley, David Wheeler, Maria Cuomo Cole, producer, Kim Snyder, director, and Mark Barden from the film “Newtown.”
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Todd Solondz, director of the film “Wiener-Dog,” poses for a portrait in the L.A. Times photo & video studio at the Sundance Film Festival in Park City, Utah.
( Jay L. Clendenin / Los Angeles Times) Over that running time, “Made in America” covers a lot more than the murder of Nicole Brown and Ronald Goldman and the sociological Rorschach test that sprung up in its wake. The miniseries, which The Times was shown in advance of the festival, uses the life of the former USC star as a means of investigating race in America--a Trojan Horse, if you will.
Edelman’s tale is something of a double helix, telling the origin story of a complex crossover celebrity while chronicling black-white tension in Los Angeles, from Watts to Rodney King. The trial is important, but only as the convergence of those strands.
“What I want people to think about is that there’s more to think about,” Edelman said during an interview in New York this week. “This isn’t a story that started in June 1994 and ended in the fall of 1995. It started in the 1960s and even before that. And it continues today.”
At a moment when crime-themed docu-series have taken hold on television, and when the issue of double standards of black justice crop up in areas as different as police behavior and the Oscars, “Made in America” is a timely exercise. It is also a bold one, taking one of the best-known stories of our time and seeking to reshape the context in which we place it. Edelman’s series could change how people view the O.J. trial — in part because they’ll stop viewing it as being much about a trial.
That is evident early on: Apart from an opening scene showing O.J. talking to officers in his current Nevada prison (in archival footage supplied by the prison), the first few hours of the miniseries don’t deal with many of the star’s legal troubles at all.
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Long before that fateful June night, Simpson is depicted as a unique post-Watts figure who broke a glass ceiling when he achieved mainstream celebrity status, via the famous (and, given the eventual development of black athlete megastars, gamechanging) Hertz airport commercial of the 1970s. But he did so seemingly apart from every major civil rights flashpoint of the era. We watch a charismatic football prodigy finding his way in college and eventually with the NFL’s Buffalo Bills. Yet even as Watts and other crucibles were happening, he was uttering his now-infamous line “I’m not black; I’m O.J.,” according to a childhood friend, setting himself apart from the very cause his fame was helping to further.
The third and fourth episodes do tangle with the legal proceedings, and it is with this that Edelman is on well-trod ground. But he manages to find plenty of new terrain here too, weaving the chase into a thriller whose inevitable conclusion makes it no less taut. (He is helped in this by new perspectives that give the events a panoramic sweep: a SWAT team chief racing to beat Simpson to his home; a helicopter traffic reporter who first spotted the Bronco.) The fifth chapter provides a kind of surreal epilogue, focusing on Simpson’s bizarre and finally doomed post-trial life.
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The festival store on Main Street in Park City, Utah, during the 2016 Sundance Film Festival.
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Robert Redford, founder and president of the Sundance Institute, speaks at the premiere of “Norman Lear: Just Another Version of You.”
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Director Nate Parker, left, actors Armie Hammer, Penelope Ann Miller and Chike Okonkwo discuss “The Birth of a Nation” at the Deadline.com panel.
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Producer Laura Rister, left, actor Boyd Holbrook, writer-director Jason Lew, actors the Intervention Happy Hour at the Samsung Studio.
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Music composer Jay Wadley, left, and general manager of St. Regis Deer Valley Edward Shapard attend Rand Luxury Hosts cocktail reception.
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Actress Chloe Sevigny, left, and Glamour Editor in Chief Cindi Leive attend Glamour’s Women Rewriting Hollywood Lunch.
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Director Jacqueline Lyanga attends Glamour’s Women Rewriting Hollywood Lunch.
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Director of Sundance John Cooper, left, director Anne Fontaine and producer Eric Altmayer attend the “Agnus Dei” premiere.
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Actress Kristen Stewart, left, and director and writer Kelly Reichardt at the premiere of “Certain Women.”
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“Lovesong” cast members Brooklyn Decker, from left, Jena Malone and Riley Keough pose alongside director So Yong Kim and her daughter Sky Ok Gray at the premiere of the film.
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Actresses Jenny Slate, left, and Zoe Kazan pose at the premiere of “Joshy.”
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Director Jeff Baena and actress Aubrey Plaza at the premiere of “Joshy.”
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Kevin Smith, left, director of “Yoga Hosers,” and cast member Jason Mewes.
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Actors Ralph Garman, from left, Jason Mewes, Austin Butler and Justin Long at the “Yoga Hosers” cast party.
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Director Kevin Smith with his daughter, actress Harley Quinn Smith, at the “Yoga Hosers” cast party.
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Recording artist Questlove, left, and director Spike Lee at the “Michael Jackson’s Journey From Motown to Off the Wall” premiere.
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Bryce Dallas Howard, director of the short film “Solemates,” poses before a screening of the film.
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Actor John Krasinski walks along Park City’s Main Street during the Sundance Film Festival.
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Actor Thomas Middleditch walks along Main Street during the Sundance Film Festival.
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Actress Lorraine Toussaint on Park City’s Main Street during the Sundance Film Festival.
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Anderson Cooper on Park City’s Main Street during the Sundance Film Festival.
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Actor Matt Damon takes part in a panel discussion on the global water crisis during the 2016 Sundance Film Festival.
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Sting performs at the 2016 Sundance Film Festival.
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Actresses Kate Beckinsale, left, and Chloe Sevigny at the premiere of “Love & Friendship.”
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Singer John Legend, executive producer of “Southside With You,” poses at the premiere of the film.
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“Southside With You” writer and director Richard Tanne, left, with cast members Tika Sumpter and Parker Sawyers at the film’s premiere at the Sundance Film Festival.
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Matthew Gray Gubler poses through a cardboard frame at the “Trash Fire” premiere.
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Actress Maude Apatow, right, and her father, Judd Apatow, at the premiere of “Other People” at the Sundance Film Festival.
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Casey Affleck, left, and Jon Hamm attend An Artist at the Table, a cocktail and dinner program benefit, in Kamas, Utah.
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Singer-songwriter Nick Jonas attends An Artist at the Table in Kamas, Utah.
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Filmmaker Kevin Macdonald, left, musican Sting, artist Cai Guo-Qiang and actor Fisher Stevens attend the “Sky Ladder: The Art of Cai Guo-Qiang” premiere at the Sundance Film Festival.
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Producer Sam Bisbee, left, actress Maude Apatow, actor J.J. Totah, actress Madisen Beaty, actor Jesse Plemons, actress Molly Shannon, director Chris Kelly, actor Bradley Whitford, actor John Early, producer Naomi Scott and actor Adam Scott attend the “Other People” premiere.
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Snowy conditions on Park City’s Main Street.
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Bill Hill, Sundance projection and inspection manager, wipes down film reels at the festival’s print traffic room.
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Adrianne Jorge, left, prepares films in digital formats as Bill Hill, right, Sundance projection and inspection manager, works on a film reel at the print traffic room for the Sundance Film Festival.
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Moderator Sean Means; Robert Redford, president and founder of the Sundance Institute; executive director Keri Putnam; and director of Sundance Film Festival John Cooper
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Robert Redford, president and founder of the Sundance Institute, and Keri Putnam, executive director of the Sundance Institute, take part in the 2016 Sundance Film Festival opening day press conference.
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Salt Lake Tribune film critic Sean Means, festival director John Cooper, Sundance Institute executive director Keri Putnam and actor and festival founder Robert Redford attend a press conference to open the 2016 Sundance Film Festival.
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An Oscar Mayer Wienermobile passes a sign welcoming visitors during the 2016 Sundance Film Festival.
(Danny Moloshok / Invision / Associated Press) Yet it is the subject of race, and how Simpson both experienced and refracted it, that is the documentary’s central narrative. Not the question of innocence — Edelman presents the evidence in a way that makes pretty clear he’s concluded Simpson committed the murders — but the significance of exoneration. “Made in America” offers the provocative implication that although the bulk of evidence points to Simpson’s guilt, the tide of black history and injustice may argue for his acquittal.
“To me a lot of this becomes about emotion versus intellect,” Edelman said when asked about this duality. “And the intellect is easy to glom on to because it’s about the evidence. But how do you convey emotion? How do you convey the depth of historical experience? That’s what I was trying to do.”
Edelman is ideally suited to examine, and bridge, this divide. The son of a black activist mother and white professor father, he said his own identity has been informed by multiple racial perspectives. At 41, he’s also old enough to have experienced the trial as an adult but not so old his views about it were cast in concrete.
“Made in America” was first thought up by ESPN as a five-hour look into Simpson, a kind of supersized installment of its acclaimed 30 for 30 series. Network executives came to Edelman, who was well-credentialed to explore the subject, having previously investigated competing racial perspectives in sports (“Magic & Bird: A Courtship of Rivals”) and the intersection of athletes, money and pop culture (the stellar 2014 film “Requiem for the Big East”). Eventually it mushroomed into something larger.
Connor Schell, the senior vice president and executive producer at ESPN who oversaw the project, says he thinks even without a specific peg — and even after the FX series, which debuts Feb. 2 — there will be plenty of reasons for people to tune in to ESPN’s effort.
“This story is a vehicle to speak about race and celebrity, two of the dominant themes of the last 50 years.” Though he acknowledged that finding five consecutive nights clear of live programming will be difficult, he said it wasn’t airtime that gave the network pause. “Our concern was never, ‘Is this going to be so long that people won’t watch?’ It was, ‘Is this going to be good enough to merit the length?’ And I think with all it gets into, it is.”
Indeed, for those looking for fresh details, there is plenty to sate. Edelman conducted interviews with 72 people and features 66 of them — experts, activists, friends, trial participants — peppering the series with personal insight. There is the tale from a childhood pal about how Simpson once tried to steal his own best friend’s girlfriend, an anecdote that will have more sinister echoes when he rails again his estranged wife’s new lovers years later.
There are other contradictions. Simpson as portrayed here often seems likable — indeed, if one knew nothing of later events and just watched him in action in the 1960’s and 1970’s they’d fall hard for his selflessness and outgoing charisma — but can also turn radically on a dime. He switches on the charm for one of Brown’s romantic partners, for instance, just a moment after mortally threatening him.
There are also touching accounts from those who knew the victims, particularly Robin Greer, an actress and Brown’s longtime friend, who offers key insight into Brown’s thinking, which combines potently with images of her sad fate.
And the piece hints are more Freudian overtones when it suggests Simpson might have harbored shame about his gay father, though Edelman does not spend a lot of time on these more tabloid-y details.
The trial features its share of revealing personalities too. Simpson, prosecutor Christopher Darden and Judge Lance Ito declined to be interviewed, but there is much material from prosecutor Marcia Clark, LAPD Det. Mark Fuhrman and Dist. Atty. Gil Garcetti for the prosecution (the last one giving a rare interview), as well as Barry Scheck and Carl Douglas for the defense.
The Fuhrman section becomes a mini-portrait in its own right, and viewers will be left to argue over whether he is a decent man exploited by cutthroat lawyers or a flawed racist with a talent for self-justification.
Douglas, meanwhile, is one of the most colorful subjects, and is particularly good at exploring the idea of the Simpson trial as theater. Of the decision before a jury visit to Simpson’s house to adorn the walls with photos of black people whom Simpson rarely spent time with, so as to sway black members of the panel, Douglas quipped, “If we had a Latin jury, we would have had a picture of him in a sombrero. There would have been a mariachi band out front.”
The lawyer’s point is humorous, but it captures a key irony: After years seeking to distance himself from his race, Simpson was a very unlikely repository for its hope.
The series reaches the heights of sociological complexity when Edelman asks the civil rights activist Danny Bakewell — along with Walter Mosley, one of the more persuasive race commentators in the series — whether this means Bakewell used Simpson “for your cause.”
No, Bakewell replies, “for our cause.”
Edelman ultimately takes a dim view of how the Simpson saga resolved itself.
“O.J. is a sad, depressing American story, and a tragedy,” he said in the interview. “But the tragedy is not that this beautiful, charismatic person ended up where he is today. It’s that the people who invested in him had so little hope that this was something so important to celebrate — that they were left to fight over crumbs.”
The series is an illumination of both sides of the debate about the acquittal— or, more plainly put, of black and white views of the case. Edelman offers hard evidence to counter those convinced of Simpson’s innocence, but at the same time suggests solid reasons why those certain of guilt might question their desire for a conviction.
In other words, though it features a very compelling figure, the most fascinating character in “O.J.: Made in America” isn’t the former football star: it’s us.
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