What Tiger King Says About Us

Anyone who has opened a browser in the last few months has seen the memes and hype surrounding Tiger King on Netflix. Ostensibly a true crime documentary, the limited series does nothing more than put the lives of what are clearly seriously damaged people on exhibit. Tiger King is not there to inform us, elevate us, or to teach us a lesson; it’s sole purpose is for us to point fingers and feel a little better about ourselves because we’re not quite as batshit crazy as Joe Exotic or as lascivious and creepy as Doc Antle.

This is the same mindset that creates bullies and worse.

Social media resounded with people saying “You HAVE to see Tiger King!” or “This is the most amazing thing EVARRR!” and other similarly enthusiastic encouragements. Wanting to see what all the furor was about I suffered through the parade of dysfunction and all I came away with was sadness that this is what passes as socially relevant today.

Are we nothing more than a culture of reality-television voyeurs delighting in the domestic squabbles of the emotionally immature?

I can’t help but think that watching Tiger King with the glee that so many did is akin to rubbernecking slowly past a terrible car crash in the secret hope of seeing a twisted, bloody body on the side of the road. This entire series is merely a sequence of carnage brought about by bad choices and the unrestrained impulses.

Just as with ‘reality’ television Tiger King serves up lowest-common-denominator fare in the trappings of pseudo-journalism for us to ogle and jeer at. This show takes the human spirit with all its incredible capability and turns us all into Nelson Muntz from the Simpsons, a bully who delights in the pain of others because that is the only way he can feel good about himself.

To be clear, I am not condemning anyone who watched and enjoyed this programme. I’m not saying anyone is bad or evil. But I am asking why you enjoyed it and if this is something you should reflect on? Do we really want to be the kind of people that point fingers at suffering and pain?

You might say “it’s just a tv show” and you’d be correct. But Tiger King is also an opportunity. It’s a chance for us to truly look at ourselves and our motivations, to peer under the covers and see some things that maybe aren’t very pleasant but that we need to know to fully understand who we are. We all have light and dark in us, compassion and rage, love and hatred. I’m not saying don’t watch Tiger King and I’m not saying don’t enjoy it. All I’m suggesting is that we be honest with ourselves as to why.