On may 31st, 2019, the show “ When They See Us” was released. I happened to come across this show as I was scrolling through netflix. I finished the whole series in one day. I didn’t realize how much of an impact this show would have left on me and how eye opening this show truly was. After finishing the show I did some research on the real five victims in the show. I even watched parts of the tapes that were filmed. You may or may not know, but this show is based on a true story. On the night of April 19, 1989, 28 year old Trisha Meili was raped, terribly beaten, and left unconscious. Trisha was in a coma for 12 days at the hospital. That same night, 14 year old- Kevin Richardson, 15 year old-Antron McCray, 14 year old-Raymond Santana, and 15-Yusef Salaam, were outside with a large group of people who were vandalizing and having small fights with one another. Cops were called into the scene and it happened to be around the time Meili was raped. The police immediately assumed that the boys had some connection with the crime. 16 year old-Korey Wise, was told to come with his friend who was being held as a suspect. Korey didn’t realize by coming with his friend to the station he would be framed for a crime he didn’t commit. These young boys were held hostage for more than 24 hours without parental supervision prior to the interrogations. They were coerced into confessing to the attack of the women in Manhattan’s Central Park.

In the show When They See Us there’s dominant ideologies being resisted such as systematic racism, injustice, and capitalist exploitation. None of these issues were something that were agreed upon at the time the Central Park Five came to be about. Instead, people antagonized the young boys and the media further stripped the 5 boys' identity. This media artifact informs racism, economic inequality, and poverty. We see this through the way these young boys were targeted based on the color of their skin. The show adds on this concept in the way the five boys were identified as nothing more than thugs who were capable of committing such a heinous crime. As such, we get a deeper sense of how poverty plays a big role in the criminal justice system. Some people are able to leave on bail whether they commited a crime or not as long as they’re able to afford it. In the interrogation room, authorities took advantage of this situation not due to their financial means, but due to the lack of parental supervision. At this point, parents were terrified for their kids and were willing to get them back by any means. This gave authorities the opportunity to manipulate parents to convince their sons they’ll be able to leave if they signed the confession papers. Authorities were able to maximize their narrative and take control of the situation.

In the explainer video, When They See Us: Let Me Explain. The creator discusses how systematic racism is a major issue where we not only have innocent people getting imprisoned, but it also supports the idea of capitalist exploitation. In this video, the creator showed some clips not only from the show on how easily the justice system can be manipulated, but from different sources. Such as, interviews and from different news outlets. Something that stood out to me in this video is when the creator said, “ If a cop can take 10 days to get their story straight then you're allowed legal counsel. If not, then you’ll be accused of committing a crime you know nothing about and meet your accomplices for the first time in a jail cell”. This really just sums up how people with power can manipulate the narrative and all one can do is live in the trauma. Each of these five boys were exploited in a mass number of ways. Korey Wise who at the time of the arrest was 16 years old got placed in an adult prison and spent 12 years there. Korey Wise was put in that situation all because he was told by an officer to come along with his friend who was being arrested and to support his friend. Korey waited for his friend at the police station and moments later was put in the interrogation room without having any ties to the crime. Korey served the longest amount of time because he didn’t settle or admit to the crime. Years later, he came across the real offender of the crime while in prison. This is extremely sad in the way these five boys' lives were ruined and yet the authorities involved in that case were living without any major consequences.

This ties back to how people are easily able to turn a blind eye to certain things especially if it doesn’t involve them. In Another explainer video, The Central Park Five: A cautionary tale of injustice. The creator includes a clip of what life lessons in life the five men learned from that experience. Antron answered and said, “ Truth…. Always staying true to yourself”. There was another question asked which talked about the settlement money and if that helped in any way. The only thing the settlement money helped them with was moving to a new location. Other than that, they said no money in the world could give them their time back and make up for the physical and mental abuse they went through. This connects to how injustice the case “The Central Park Five” was. Although, the media can easily push the blame towards other sources and not take accountability for providing false information on Antron McCray, Yusef salaam, Raymond Santana, Korey Wise, and Kevin Richardson. This puts us to question our news outlets and which sources to truly trust. The media shifts peoples opinions and creates this narrative where all of a sudden we have to trust or believe because the media shapes our society and has so much influence on us. How much of an influence should we allow the media to have us. When we are only shown what the media choose to show. With the show, When They See Us, we get a deeper understanding of what really happened. This show resisted all the dominant ideologies that were portrayed by the media. When They See Us showed that systematic racism, injustice, and capitalist exploitation was involved. This wasn’t just an issue that can be forgotten and buried by the media. As the audience of the show we understand how racism was a key factor of the arrest of the young boys. One can’t deny that these issues were present. I’m actually surprised that some people are adamant about The Central Park Five being innocent and still truly believe that the five men were involved in some way.

This show has truly shifted the way I take the media. I always wasn’t one to follow up on certain issues and instead just relied on what I would read or hear about. If I was alive and was at the age I am currently during that time. Then, I probably would have been ignorant to the case. I say ignorant because I’m not one to follow up on major cases. I just assume based on what the media shows. I’ve come to the realization that instead of believing what I see in the media. I could take a few moments and question myself whether this story makes sense and if this source of media is truly reliable. I always tend to ask myself if the news media is controlled? The media can choose to show us what they want. So, how reliable is the media?. We can see with the way the 5 boys were made out to be criminals. Even though they didn’t even commit the crime. Which is why I keep coming back to ask myself: To what extent should we trust the media? I honestly believe it’s important to not fully trust the media because remember we only see what the media wants us to see. When They See Us has shaped the way we consume media. With so many life lessons included in the show. I really liked how the filmmaker of the show Ava DuVernay sat down with Antron McCray, Yusef salaam, Raymond Santana, Korey Wise, and Kevin Richardson. She listened to each one's story and personal experience. Ava was able to create a storyline that was engaging with the audience, but also resisted dominant ideologies that were disregarded by the media. Ava showed throughout the show all the trauma the five boys experience throughout their teen years and into their adult life. With systematic racism being present and a big part of the show. Criminal injustice was something that the media denied and When They See Us went against those denials and showed the world that these issues were present and counteracted the media's narrative by releasing a show.