"American Crime Story," one of the newest, anthology television series to hit Hollywood has been received with mostly positive reviews. The first season, subtitled The People v. O. J. Simpson, tells the real-life story of the infamous trial surrounding the murders of Nicole Brown Simpson and Ron Goldman (though it is officially based on Jeffrey Toobin's book, "The Run of His Life: The People v. O. J. Simpson".) Among the cast is Oscar-winner Cuba Gooding Jr. as O. J. Simpson; John Travolta as one Simpson's lawyers, Robert Shapiro; David Schwimmer as Simpson's friend, Robert Kardashian; and Courtney B. Vance as Johnnie Cochran (the mind behind "If it doesn't fit, you must acquit".)
While nearly all critics and the public responded highly positively to the series, some people criticized the performances of Cuba Gooding Jr. and John Travolta for not accurately depicting the real-life people they portray (others praised their performances.) Other people that criticized the miniseries were certain people connected to the case. One these people was Fred Goldman, Ron Goldman's (one of the people O. J. Simpson was accused of murdering) father. Goldman said that not only was his son not given enough attention (ironically the miniseries has Goldman giving a speech stating his son was just a "footnote" in his own murder trial), but also that he was afraid it would be taken at face-value by young people not old enough to understand the trial at the time.
This is a highly-possible situation. Even with warnings that one should not trust everything they see or hear on TV or the internet, young people continue to use social media and artistic representations of real-life events (such as biopics) as their primary source of information. This is one of the problems with "American Crime Story: The People v. O. J. Simpson." A second problem (and a related one) is that the well-known faces that fill the historical miniseries. These well-known faces could create emotions in the viewer based on their opinions of the actors. For example, if someone loved Cuba Gooding Jr. they may unconsciously side with him (and therefore O. J. Simpson) while watching the show. This somewhat mimics the problems that occurred in the trial and people's opinions about O. J. Simpson as a football player and personality.
Ultimately, "American Crime Story: The People v. O. J. Simpson" reveal a truth about biopics: that famous actors and Hollywood can compromise the work of art's ability to accurately and fairly portray the past. I suppose Hollywood chose money over accuracy though.
