By Lauren Nolen, Senior
Chaotic yet gripping, Netflix’s documentary series Tiger King: Murder, Mayhem, and Madness leaves the audience in disbelief as they learn the story of a man named Joe Schreibvogel - better known as Joe Exotic. The 7-episode series details the unbelievable escalation and rollercoaster of events that resulted from a feud between Carole Baskins and Joe Exotic - both passionate owners of big cats (tigers, lions, ligers, etc.) and other exotic animals but quite the opposite in morals and beliefs.
Ever since the series was released to Netflix on March 20, 2020, viewers have been amazed by the completely bizarre and interesting story that it documents. Everytime you think the people, events, or truth cannot get any more outlandish, something even stranger is revealed. Joe Exotic himself is a man full of unbelievable surprises. In a sense, he becomes sort of a character as you learn more about him; he’s a famous, narcissistic, roadside zoo-owner described best by the series as a “redneck, gun-toting, mullet-sporting, tiger-cackling, gay polygamist”... who is now in jail.
The docuseries is well put together in the sense that once you start watching, you become so absorbed with the subject that you simply cannot stop until all your questions are answered, if they even are answered. The series manages to become less about the mistreatment and exploitation of exotic animals in America and more specifically about the eccentric participants in this mistreatment and their absurd corruption and conflicts with one another. What made this series possible was the self-obsession and narcissism present in all of the people it was about. Joe Exotic loved being on camera; he adored every second of it, and as a result, there’s endless footage of Joe Exotic being absolutely outrageous yet completely entertaining.
Tiger King is definitely worth watching, and being bound by quarantine is the perfect time to do so. There are so many take-aways from this enthralling story. One of the most important details, perhaps, is the fact that there are more tigers in confinement, specifically in the US, than there are tigers in the wild.
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