Joe Exotic in Tiger King - NETFLIX

  • The Tiger King documentary series delves into the world of cat owners in the United States.
  • Halfway between Making a murderer and Wild Wild Country , she has all the ingredients to create fascination: sex, drugs, big cats against the background of attempted murder.
  • Back on a phenomenon across the Atlantic.

The new Netflix docu-series, Tiger King [ In the kingdom of wild beasts , in French] has become in the space of two weeks a real phenomenon in the United States. Talk shows and American stars have only the name "Joe Exotic" in their mouths. It must be said that the documentary signed Eric Goode and Rebecca Chaiklin was one of the most discussed topics on Twitter across the Atlantic last weekend.

In a period where more than three billion people are confined between four walls to prevent the spread of the coronavirus, how to explain that Joe Exotic (Joseph Maldonado-Passage of his real name), gay polygamist wearing a peroxidized mule and passionate about fat cats (lions, tigers, ligers ...), fascinates Americans as much? First let's come back to this box made in Netflix.

Got my popcorn. Pressing play on #TigerKing Episode 1. Let's do this @Netflix #JaredLetoCinemaClub pic.twitter.com/ZfDX2QW9F1

- JARED LETO (@JaredLeto) March 27, 2020

The cult of personality

Joe Exotic, owner of a popular Oklahoma zoo, is a paranoid man and a little too focused on guns. He was sentenced for attempting to assassinate his rival, Carole Baskin, an animal advocate and owner of a feline reserve that threatened to end her activities. He is also accused of having shot five tigers in the head to free up space.

The documentary of seven episodes delves into the world of cat owners who enjoy, strangely enough, a real cult of personality and brings to the screen a rather captivating investigation. From the genesis of her conflicts with Carole Baskin (herself suspected of having played a role in the disappearance of her billionaire husband) to the suspicions of mistreatment of her “big cats”, the two directors succeed to break into rural America and let the viewer discover a range of more wacky characters each other.

The containment is certainly not unrelated to the success of the series, but that is not all. “How can you not be fascinated by polygamy, drugs, the cult of personality, tigers and a potential murder? Said director Eric Goode in an interview with The New York Times published Wednesday. It must be admitted that all the ingredients were present to create the appeal. And when we know the madness of the Internet for cats, the documentary series did not take too many risks by attacking their cousins ​​of 400 kg.

A true crime story

“There is a general fascination for wild animals, explains Eric Goode in the same interview. They have something dangerous and beautiful at the same time. And it also has to do with ego and social status: "Look, I have a tiger". It's like […] "Look, I have a Ferrari." […] In the United States, there are also parallels between "I have the right to have a machine gun or a semi-automatic" and "I have the right to have a tiger" ". As the director explains, it's a kind of Breaking Bad , but instead of dealing in crystal meth, they deal in wild animals.

Hey all you cool cats and kittens!

If you've finished Tiger King and have found yourself in full "Where Are They Now?" detective mode, we're going to save you several hours and tell you what's happening with some of the major players (THREAD):

- US Netflix (@netflix) April 1, 2020

Without forgetting the icing on the cake: a true crime story. Again, Netflix is ​​surfing the news wave. In the past, the platform has not been mistaken with its criminal documentaries. Whether Grégory , Abducted in Plain Sight or Wild Wild Country, the public was there. We remember the fascination of millions of Americans for the legal saga Making a murderer , convinced of the innocence of Brendan Dassey.

Bout to start a gofundme account for Joe. He shall be free.

- iamcardib (@iamcardib) March 28, 2020

While American stars, like Cardi B, propose to launch a pot to free Joe Exotic from prison and memes are literally blowing up the Internet, Tiger King may well follow suit. A matter to follow.

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