154: O.J.: Made in America - Part 1 (with Karen Geier)

The writer and content strategist Karen Geier returns for a deep dive into Ezra Edelman’s Oscar-winning documentary from 2016, O.J.: Made in America, made for ESPN’s film unit ’30 for 30’ but released in theatres (the Academy changed the rules for the Documentary category after this 5 part docuseries won).

This episode covers the first half of this fantastic 467 minute documentary, from O.J.’s origins as a superstar athlete and celebrity pitchman, his stormy marriage to Nicole that led to her vicious murder and the manhunt once he became the prime suspect. But this story takes place against the larger story of Los Angeles; the mass post-war migration of Black Americans from the South to the west coast and the evolution of the racist LAPD’s law enforcement in the city that culminated in the beating of Rodney King and the subsequent riots in 1992, creating the conditions that gave O.J.’s “Dream Team” their winning strategy for the “Trial of the Century”.

Karen and I discuss our favourite parts of the documentary, O.J.’s narcissism and disinterest in the civil rights movement, his strange showbiz career and finally the night of the Bronco chase, which marked the beginning of a bleak new chapter in American life.

Part 2 of our discussion (about the trial, the verdict, and the aftermath) will be available exclusively to patrons of the podcast.

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Follow Karen Geier on Twitter.

O.J. “Flying” Hertz commercial, 1980

O.J. “Nobody Does It Better” Hertz commercial, 1978

Trailer for 1988’s Traxx (the attempt to make a movie star out of local LA deejay Shadoe Stevens)

Trailer for O.J.: Made in America (Ezra Edelman, 2016)