Revenge-porn takes center stage on Netflix
A docuseries and miniseries explore the theme
(*this may contain spoilers for "The Most Hated Man on the Internet" and “Intimacy”)
Following the docuseries style that has been finding some success on Netflix lately, The Most Hated Man on the Internet brings a similar experience to The Tinder Swindler, Keep Sweet: Pray and Obey, and Our Father. All of them depict unspeakable villain-like men and their crimes while interviewing and telling the story of the fearless women who took them down.
They are short and enjoyable watches, combining a documentary style with engaging story-telling. After all, in such a misogynistic world, I am at least proud and vindicated by watching those ladies not only survive but make their wrongdoers pay.
But by clearly showing heroes and bad guys and transforming those stories into a heroic arc, those docuseries brush off larger social problems. That's especially so for The Most Hated Man on the Internet.
The Hated Man
The Most Hated Man on the Internet is a three-part docuseries. It's highly watchable if sometimes silly, fueled by its truly horrible real-life, made-for-TV villain. This Hated Man (I won't write his name) achieved notoriety in the 2010s by publicly reveling in his bad-boy image while posting explicit photos of people (mostly women) without their permission on his website IsAnyoneUp.com.
What made the website truly nefarious (and sadly also a massive success) was the fact that the nude photos would be linked to the victim's Facebook and other personal data. Hated Man compounded the bullying and abuse by urging the site's followers to mock and ridicule those featured.
No matter how politely or otherwise the victims asked for the photos to be removed, they were ignored, leaving those affected almost no recourse.
Or at least at first. Because "The Most Hated Man on the Internet" (the headline of a 2012 Rolling Stone article about him) also comes with its own white knight, Charlotte Laws, who turned his actions in posting unauthorized photos of her daughter Kayla into a personal crusade, contacting other victims and lobbying authorities until she found someone, anyone, who would pick up the cause and take action.
This angry mother calls everyone and succeeds. She manages to get the FBI to investigate the website on the grounds of hacking since, at the time, revenge porn wasn't a crime.
Is Anyone Up?
Despite cathartic and filled with real characters that are so egocentric that you laugh out loud at certain points, I was left feeling underwhelmed.
The first and biggest problem is that choosing to make this show gives this despicable man exactly what he loves the most: notoriety. I had never heard of him before watching this show, and probably a lot of people hadn't either. Or at least he may have been long forgotten by now.
The Most Hated Men on the Internet wasn't a suitable title for Rolling Stones magazine then and it gives him way too much importance now.
I wouldn't be surprised if he gets a second wave of fame because of this show. No matter how awful he was, there are certain people that entertain his ideas and will buy his book or give him some kind of notoriety, even if he's banned from Twitter.
That takes me to the second reason this show is problematic.
IsAnyoneUp.com didn't exist in a vacuum
Not portraying other websites that did the same and not giving much of a background on who is this Man and why he felt entitled to do this to people, makes it feels like revenge porn is over.
After watching The Most Hated Men on the internet you get the feeling that there was only this specific website created over 10 years ago by this awful man spreading revenge porn photos on the internet. It ends by saying that now, there are laws in 48 states against revenge porn in the US, the website is down, and he has served some time and lost his Twitter account. It basically says: now everything is fine.
I understand why telling a single story with white knights winning the day is pleasant, but there should be more. The topic of revenge porn is broad enough and deserves better.
There are countless lives around the world that have been destroyed by this practice. It can have horrific consequences for the victims and it's far removed from the past.
The docuseries should have provided a broader context for the problem. Why angry ex-es can have such power, how it continues to happen without this website, and even how people can fight it now if they need it. Oversimplification in this sense is dangerous and unjustified.
Intimacy (Intimidad)
Gladly, there's a recent Netflix miniseries to counteract the docuseries. Intimidad is a Spanish show that deals with revenge porn through a different set of characters.
Differently from The Most Hated Men on the Internet, this show refuses to single out A Man misbehaving and being the all-time bad guy. Although there's also justice brought to the perpetrators, the show makes an effort to point out how there were many around the victims making things worse by their actions, or at least failing in helping them.
Also, how seeking justice is fundamental for improving society, but still doesn't bring the solace the victims were looking for. Justice also can't solve all the destruction this type of crime can cause to someone's life.
It's a beautiful show and by bringing the topic through fiction, it actually makes it much more relatable than the docuseries, which show real people.
What to read?
The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo (Stieg Larsson). I cannot think about a better book on the topic of “a woman taking revenge in her own hands”. This thriller is part of the Millenium series and is much more than just a cold case investigation. In its original in Swedish, the title of the book is "Men who hate women” and I think it's a much more accurate title. If you still haven't read this trilogy, what are you waiting for? Really.
What to watch?
Trust (2010). I have watched this movie only once a long time ago, so don't hold me accountable if it's not that great. But, it's a movie that stuck with me especially because it's about a highly uncommon topic. It tells the story of a teenage girl targeted by an online sexual predator and how this affects the lives of her family and herself.
What to binge?
Intimidad (Intimacy). Intimacy tells the story of a politician of Bilbao, who is planning to run for mayor in the upcoming elections. Her plans take a turn after the release of a sex video of her. She now has to manage her political career downfall and her family's reactions to the video, while pursuing justice for herself. This 8-episodes series portray other characters and different sides to the issue in a delicate way.
Thanks! Look forward to watching Intimidad :)