Unbelievable
Through Psychology, there is the scientific study of the mind and the related behavior. It is a broad field that includes many sub-disciplines like health, cognitive process, clinical, social behavior, and human development. On the other hand, the law is a system of rules formulated and enforced by the government to regulate behavior. Through statute, an individual in a state becomes constrained in the manner of conduct, as stated by the will of the country. The combination of the two brings up another definition. Ogloff and Finkelman (1999) postulated that the field is “the scientific study of the effect the law has on people and the effect people have on the law.” The development of movies tries to bring up psychology and law factors that affect society. The Netflix unlimited series focuses on airing a genre filled with drama. Micheal Chabon, Susannah Grant, and Ayelet Waldman co-created a series about rape in Washington and Colorado. Released on September 13, 2019, the miniseries through writers T. Christian Miller and Ken Armstrong rooted its story from a 2015 news article “An unbelievable story of Rape”(Dibdin, 2019) The drama show of 2008-2011 draws the theme of unbelievable from Maria, a teenager, who gets charged with lying about rape. One example of a show on Netflix is ‘Unbelievable.’
The series tries to show the process of finding the truth concerning what transpired during the ordeal. Through the two detectives, a proper step by step evaluation of the act is investigated. This unlimited series is essential in describing the psychology and law since rape is a psychological issue, and a legislation process takes place.
Women characters are used in the making of the unlimited series to show what women who live alone pass through. The producers used Marie Adler, Lilly Darrow, Doris Laird, Sarah, and Amber Stevenson to pass this information. They undergo thorough psychological challenges as they fall victim to rape. An example of a character is Marie Adler, who, as a rape victim, passes through a myriad of hard circumstances. The people who should stand for her changed their views about the ordeal, thus causing a change in her life. Also, since she is left to stand alone, she becomes overwhelmed by pressure from the investigators. The current state of the victim contrasts with how she was as a toddler. The careless, free, and wind girl turned into a worried and insecure woman. Just like a case study, Kennedy v. Louisiana, 554 US 407-Supreme Court 2008, Marie was physically okay but psychologically affected. The behavior of the victims can be used to justify judgments made by the public, as highlighted in the attribution theory. Also, the presence of the defensive attribution in the scene puts the ordeal on the victim rather than their environment. When these theories are connected to the unfortunate event displayed in the movie, there is a clear presence of rape myth acceptance. This means that people blame victims when they do not have a connection to the victim. An example of a direct scene is when the former foster mother talks to the detectives. Also, The two detectives make Marie Adler retell the ordeal from multiple angles. Since the trial involved a medical examination, she goes to a health facility where she submits an evidence collection and physical analysis followed by a retelling of the story. All these are done to try and twist the story Marie has with the intention of proving her guilt.
Also, rape myth acceptance is depicted in the following ways. The counselors put into helping her start to impose stricter curfew together with other strategies that can be used to follow her movements. Efforts to visit her current foster mother turn out futile as it is said that it is not good for the two to be alone. The effect of social media overwhelms Marie back in Washington. The need for a friend who would help through her condition avails Connor for support. The police also charge her with making false reports causing additional worries. Marie finds help from a public defender Donald Hughes. The public defender attacks the police by saying that police never file charges in such a case and seeks a plea bargain. All the people involved here have no connection to Marie.
The focus on observing another person’s actions brings onto play dispositional attribution. This attribution tries to revolve around the mental state and characteristics to explain the lack of good behavior. The story of Marie differs from Amber as people around the latter try to help her contain the situation. When a victim is more aware of her surroundings, he or she will be perceived as more credible than a victim whose knowledge of surroundings is impaired. The girls pass through a lot. Amber loses her boyfriend, Lilly breaks all her bones, Doris changes her routine, and Sarah trying to forget the event.
The victims had only one common thing: they were women who lived alone. The list of people who become victims is endless; victims of sexual abuse, adults battered by partners, assaulted, robbed, and or raped equal to approximately millions per year. In relation to the statistics of victims, sex-related victims have been helped by focusing on the extent of theory in the field of psychology to protect those victims. In this movie, women are the main targets, but research about rape myth acceptance was found about male victims. It was discovered that males who say they raped are questioned, just like some reported rapes about women. Similarly, questions arise like the failure to defend themselves, reaching climax, and the maintaining of an erection during rape, but what people rarely tend to take into consideration is the difference between wanting to have sex and the mutual want to having sex.
She passes through traumatization (Koblin, 2019). Marie gets disgusted with the probation restrictions on her activities, and this makes her drink, smoke marijuana, and return to her apartment after curfew; thus, she is removed from her program. Also, after losing her job, she gets into a state of helplessness, and her foster mother loans her money for her apartment. The decision to close the case of 18-year-old Marie caused a loss of trust from her counselors and friends (Zilko, 2019). Since then, Marie has had a problem focusing at work. A session with a therapist depicts how Marie hates the judicial system. She is asked what she could do differently if the scene repeated, and she answers that she would lie sooner and forcefully to stay out of the judicial system. She adds that the people in authority dislike the truth.
In conclusion, it is essential to understand the relationship between psychology and law. Such movies and series are designated to understand the issues facing our society. The judicial system should put in place measures to curb the adversities caused by improper investigation. Some of the collateral damage caused by the improper and insufficient investigation are irreversible. This Netflix series is essential in depicting the aspect of psychology and law (Busch, 2018). From the film, it is clear how young girls like Marie and Amber pass through a myriad of challenges as the judicial system sits with assumptions. Marie loses her job and gets into debt as Amber gets involved in sexual intercourse with strangers. It is essential to follow the right order in dealing with major crimes such as sexual assault. From the series, there is much to learn to provide psychological support to those experiencing such scenarios.
References
Busch, J. (2018). Unbelievable: Netflix Orders Limited Series from Erin Brockovich Writer. Comingsoon.net. Retrieved from https://www.comingsoon.net/tv/news/916055 unbelievablenetflixorderslimitedseriesfromerinbrockovichwriterhttps://www.coming soon.net/tv/news/916055-unbelievable-netflix-orders-limited-series-from-erin -brockovich-writer
Dibdin, E. (2019). Unbelievable Showrunner Susannah Grant Breaks Down the Choices That Made the Show So Powerful. Harpers Bazar. Retrieved from https://www.harpersbazaar.com/culture/film-tv/a29093906/unbelievable-netflix -susannah-grant-interview/
Franklin, G. (2018). Netflix Orders “Unbelievable” to series. DarkHorizons. Retrieved from https://www.darkhorizons.com/netflix-orders-unbelievable-to-series/
Koblin, J. (2019). Netflix’s Top 10 Original Movies and TV Shows, According to Netflix. The New York Times. Retrieved from https://www.nytimes.com/2019/10/17/business/media/netflix-top-ten-movies-tv -shows.html
Zilko, C. (2019). Unbelievable’ Trailer: Sexual Assault Victim Fights to Be Heard in Toni Colette-Starring Netflix Drama. IndieWire. Retrieved from https://www.indiewire.com/2019/07/unbelievable-trailer-sexual-assault-toni-colette -netflix-1202158956/