Mirroring our national story

Those who lived through the O.J. Simpson saga may think they’ve heard enough of it. You haven’t, if you haven’t seen O.J.: Made in America, the ESPN 30 for 30 documentary that hit television in June but just began streaming on Hulu. The five-part series might be the best thing I’ve seen this year.

O.J.: Made in America elevates one man’s story to Greek myth, with Simpson as a mirror for our national story. He is the story of our rags to riches, our idolatry of sports, our society of casual sex, our history of race, our justice system, and our sinful, spiraling selves. The documentary’s conclusion brings these societal threads back to our eviction from Eden.

“I told him, ‘You’re breaking the laws of God and you’re going to have to pay for it,’” says Simpson’s childhood friend Joe Bell at one point, remembering Simpson’s adulterous relationships.

Caution: The series contains cursing and descriptions of spousal abuse and Simpson’s affairs. Later episodes show the gruesome photos of the murder scene—a perhaps necessary reminder of the evil committed there. The photos convinced one of Simpson’s close friends to testify against him at the trial.

Director Ezra Edelman weaves national upheaval into Simpson’s story. He cuts together the acquittal of the police officers in the Rodney King beating with police officers passively standing by after Nicole Simpson repeatedly calls 911 for help about the beatings she is receiving.

Though Edelman clearly assumes Simpson committed the murders, he successfully balances all sides of the story without agenda. He leaves hanging in the air both racist comments from authorities and preposterous defenses of Simpson from his civil rights lawyers.

Edelman’s universal, mythic telling helps us comprehend our country right now. We’ve been here before, where the societal fabric seems as if it’s tearing and everyone is doing right in his own eyes.