Netflix
It all started when director Eric Goode saw a tiger in a cage in the back of someone’s truck. From that point forward, he decided to explore the bizarre carnival sideshow that is the exotic cat community. The people he meets unveil a twisted web of polygamy, coercion, cult-like devotion, animal abuse, alleged murder and a rivalry that culminates in an attempted hit and a resulting two-decade prison sentence.
The key figure in this freak show is
Joe Exotic, a big cat collector who made hilariously bad albums, ran for
President and was arrested for hiring a hitman to kill his rival. That rival is
Carole Baskin, an animal rights activist who is alleged to have murdered her
second husband and looks like what a fandom mom who dedicates her time to
creating flower crown edits would probably look like.
The documentary itself strays from
the exotic cat community and becomes a character study of Exotic, Baskin and other
“colorful characters”
such as Doc Antle, a man who grooms numerous young, naive and virginal women to
be part of his harem. The documentary exposes the traumatic narcissism of those
involved in ways that is both hilarious and terrifying.
Nowadays, documentaries are equally
about being as entertaining as they are informative, but some lean more towards
the former than the latter. With Tiger King, I feel as though they cared more about being provocative
than they did about conveying the real story from a neutral perspective.
These people are so bizarre that
they make the characters from It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia seem like functioning
members of society. It would be so easy to view their antics as simply mindless
entertainment to help us cope with a global pandemic—but the reality is that
they are not just “colorful characters,” as previously described. They are
either evil people exploiting and abusing both their employees and animals, or
they are victims of manipulation who feel as though they are broken to the
point of no return.
I also take issue with the
production of this documentary. The director cut several scenes that exposed
Joe Exotic’s racism, including his justification for white people using racial
slurs. The director also refused to show footage that revealed the extent of
the animal abuse occurring at Exotic’s zoo. Saff, a survivor of being mauled by
a tiger, is a transgender man who was misgendered throughout the documentary
despite being open about his identity in real-life.
Decisions like that only further
harm the credibility of the docuseries. If I am so disgusted by the refusal to
hold a confirmed animal abuser accountable that I would gladly watch PeTA’s planned rebuttal,
that is how badly they screwed up.
A lot of the focus is on Carole
Baskin’s alleged
involvement with her second husband’s disappearance. While I do not claim to
know whether or not she did it, I want to call attention to how hypocritical
people are being in their indictment of her.
We do not even know if she killed her husband. Just because she had potential incentive to do so is not equal to a conviction. Meanwhile, Joe Exotic and Doc Antle openly admit to calling their posse of loyal worshippers “[their] own little [cults].” Women who were previously involved with Antle described the extent of his sexual coercion and predatory behavior. The two men Exotic “married” were not only substantially younger than him, but they were straight men he coerced into a polyamorous relationship in exchange for drugs. If you are going to burn Carole at the stake over allegations that have yet to be formally investigated, you better have that same energy in condemning Exotic and Antle for their admitted abuse of power.
I would not necessarily say Tiger King has no substance
whatsoever. It is ultimately a character study of people like Exotic and
Baskin, but in some ways, it also offers insight as to why people within exotic
animal communities strive for relevance to the point of indecency.
Baskin does not truly care about animal welfare. She only cared about what she could gain from it. Exotic started his zoo to honor his brother, but he became so wrapped up in the fame and notoriety that he lost sight of why he built his empire to start with. Associates like Doc Antle and Jeff Lowe then took their statuses within Exotic’s trusted group to lure in and groom young women. All of this is essentially a darker take on the cost of fame.
Tiger King is also a horrifying
look at modern-day cults. When we think of cult leaders, we think of people
like Charles Manson and Jim Jones, men who were as terrifying as they appeared.
However, just like how an abusive relationship does not start out abusive, a
cult leader does not begin as one. The trauma of cult abuse is no different
from other types of abuse in that it is a slow-acting poison that ultimately
renders victims unable to function without their abusers. Men like Exotic and
Antle use their charm and unconventional appeal to lure in curious,
unsuspecting people—and that is how they are ultimately pigeonholed into
unwavering loyalty.
Like any other true crime media
spectacle, Tiger King raises an important question: to what extent do we end up
glorifying people like Joe Exotic?
I fully believe those who view
Exotic as a meme or a hilarious icon of redneck America would be disgusted by
online communities’ glorification of people like Ted Bundy, Jeffrey Dahmer or
the Columbine shooters. Joe Exotic does not seem as terrifying as the
aforementioned individuals were, but that only adds to the chilling nature of
his impact on the collective unconscious of others. Like cult leaders such as
Manson or Jones, Exotic started out as just a quirky man with a dream before
becoming a true nightmare of a person.
Enjoy laughing at Tiger King as much as you want. I am not one to tell you what to be entertained by, especially when entertainment and escapism are seemingly all we have right now. But eventually, we will have to leave the comfort of our safe spaces, and when we do, we need to start a dialogue about people like Exotic—and how to never again let them gain the notoriety that shields them from the consequences of evil.