Predators

In the early 2000s, a sensation unlike anything seen before came to America’s TV screens. To Catch a Predator claimed to catch child predators by luring them to a film set before interviewing and arresting them on camera. This public humiliation proved to be a hit and spawned an industry of copycat vigilantes, inspired by host Chris Hansen’s self-appointed role as moral crusader. David Osit (Mayor, T/F 2020) forensically peels back the layers of the show’s legacy, speaking with those behind the scenes of the original and the click-bait spin-offs. As Osit shifts closer to the center of the frame himself, he masterfully interrogates the complicated implications for filmmakers and audiences alike. Predators is an unsettling and essential investigation into America’s relationship to crime and punishment, the ethics of public shaming and the murky interplay between entertainment and justice. (CT)
This film discussion of child sexual abuse and suicide.