“I ain’t gonna give up. When you know you’re innocent, you keep on going.” - Steven Avery

Making a Murderer is a documentary unlike any other. With raw and real information and footage ranging from the early 1980's to 2015, this filmmaker took smart and careful steps to not only inform but persuade the audience without ever telling you "this is what you need to believe." It's hard to believe that you might feel sympathy for a convicted rapist and murderer, but this documentary (with it's very intriguing purpose, persuasion, and story) shows you that that is in fact, very possible.

SO, WHAT'S THE PURPOSE?

The purpose of this documentary is simply to share the surreal story of Steven Avery and his conflict with his small town police department. Not only does the director want to inform you of his story with a seemingly corrupted small town government, but they easily persuade you with the choice of footage to support the convicted man. They want to make aware that sometimes, a seemingly thriller movie plot can be a real life event.

The interviews that were composed throughout this film could be very intense at times. It got very up close and personal with the Avery family and a lot of people involved. Seeing the tearful eyes of a mother and father who had a son in prison for 18 years for no reason leaves a deep pain within any viewer.

"It's clear that when someone is wrongfully imprisoned, not only that person but all their loved ones endure it as well." - Director Ricciardi

The uniqueness about this documentary was that many of these interviews could be replaced with real footage from a testimony in court, an interrogation by the police, or a recorded phone call in prison that affects the audience in a way different from any other regular interview. It all seemed very, very live. Since this documentary seems like a movie and is just as interesting (rating 5 stars on Netflix, holding the most popular show title for a while), the audience can truly be anyone of a decent age. Especially those with an interest in a real life "murder mystery."

Not only did the filmmakers supply real footage, but the way they ended mostly every episode left the audience craving for more. For example, Avery's blood was found splattered on the inside of a dead girls car. With Avery desperately pleading innocent, his lawyers obviously investigated. They found a blood sample of Avery's in a government building with a small hole tacked in the top. And that's how an episode ended. Brilliance was a definite aspect of this whole series, and the persuading rhetoric the filmmakers supplied grew more and more with each intriguing episode.

LET'S DIG DEEPER

I wouldn’t say there’s bias in any argument, because what the audience sees is what actually happened. The writers can persuade you as much as they can, but there's nothing added or taken away. It’s just a matter of figuring out the mystery for yourself - like stated earlier, its a real life murder mystery. Since this is a story about a man who was wrongly imprisoned for 18 years and got imprisoned again for something he probably didn’t do, the audience is drawn to be on the Avery’s side. I think, in providing better information to the audiences, the director could’ve held interviews with the law enforcement on the opposing side.

But who’s to say they didn't try to interview them and they just refused? That would not be surprising.

CONTROVERSY

This documentary is obviously very controversial: highlighting the almost-proved corruption of a "respected small-town sheriffs department," showing pictures of where a girl "may or may not" have been raped and brutally murdered, a court convicting a 16 year old boy without really knowing the truth, etc. But let's focus on the Manitowoc Sheriffs Department.

Avery's lawyers were trying to defend the idea that the sheriffs department framed him by placing evidence into his home while Avery was not there. And actually, it does kind of make sense. The filmmakers make you believe that by introducing to you all of the evidence, testimonies, and lies that were supplied. Back in the early 2000's when Avery was being released of his wrongful imprisonment for 18 years, the citizens were frustrated with the law enforcement of Manitowoc County. Especially Steven Avery. Just in the midst of his $36 million lawsuit against the county, he gets convicted of murder and rape for something he pleads and pleads and pleads innocent to. So, the focus of the documentary then goes to the men in charge of the law enforcement agency.