With everything at a standstill, everyone at home, cinemas closed, A Quiet Place Part II and all other theatrical releases postponed indefinitely, I had to turn to Netflix for a subject to indulge in. This inevitably led to me to Tiger King. With everyone, including people in my own circles, talking about it I knew I had to watch at least the first episode. After finishing the second, I was hopelessly hooked.

Reviewing this is tough. With the exception of The Act of Killing, which I covered back when I was slightly more naïve than I am now, I haven’t reviewed any documentaries. Unlike a work of fiction, the story of a documentary is already done. The writer and director can’t change anything but the way it’s told. How they do that is up to them. Hence I’m going to judge Tiger King not that differently from how I would judge a film or a book.

However, I’d also like to talk about why it’s so popular and what that says about us in relation to the individuals presented in the series.

The Story and How It’s Told

All the main participants in the story are humanised, from the quirky Carole Baskin to the neurotic Joe Exotic. We see that every one of these characters has an understandable cause but also a number of traits that complicate their endeavours.

Every episode you learn something new about them, things that immediately contradict what you knew before. The characters, like anyone in life, are not what they seem and as the saga progresses you don’t know whose side to take. Your feelings for them changes as your knowledge of them does, which results in an amazingly compelling watch.

Joe is clearly a disturbed man with a troubled history. He’ll fight to the death for his zoo operation and despite the many questionable actions he takes, you do feel for him. It’s strange, you know what he does is wrong but you almost want to see him succeed. The same can be said for Carole Baskin. At worst she’s a hypocrite and a potential murderer but at best, she’s a quirky old woman with a fetishistic like for big cats, who’s been ruthlessly harassed for doing what she believes in and a crime she didn’t commit.

Say what you will about the accuracy of the series, what was left in and what was left out, but the story that we see is told magnificently. What it says thematically however is something I’m still struggling with.

What It All Means

The series concerns the captivity and exhibition of large cats, yet the story that progresses has little to do with them. They’re just goods that these characters display, exchange, defend and, in a certain case, use to lure young women.

Joe Exotic, Carole Baskin and the rest of the cast may appear strange to the majority of us but seeing how at a time when we should be focused on each other’s well being and strengths, we’re instead focusing on the flaws and imperfections of others, suggests that we feel some sort of connection with these characters.

At the moment, I think the series is playing on people’s discomfort regarding their hopes and dreams and what they’re willing to do to realise them. Whether it be a zoo, a business, a piece of art, where do people start building their monuments, protecting it from forces that may prevent its construction, and where do they stop, to make sure that others are not suffering because of their entrepreneurial endeavours?

It’s a dilemma we face everyday and say what you will about how they went about it but Joe and Carole faced that dilemma head-on and chose to proceed with their dreams.

If you’re reading this then there’s a good chance you’ve already seen the show but if you haven’t, watch it. I highly recommend it. In fact, the way it’s told, the history, incidents and individuals involved and what it says about this point in history is all so complex I can’t really give the show a rating.

Maybe in a few years’ time we’ll look back at Tiger King with completely different eyes but for now, watch it. There’s nothing out there quite like it.