So, it was hardly surprising that Netflix jumped on a four-part documentary series, directed by Lisa Bryan and executive produced by Joe Berlinger ( Paradise Lost trilogy) and James Patterson, the author of countless bestsellers and a non-fiction book on the subject. With his access to vast wealth and proximity to incredible power, Jeffrey Epstein, the predatory billionaire at the center of an international sex-trafficking ring, is a uniquely gripping subject for an investigative documentary. Although New Yorkers may still deride the tourist spot, it wasn't always full of Broadway shows and M&M stores, and the docuseries examines its history in the '70s and '80s when the neighborhood was mainly for drug use and sex work, allowing for the Times Square Torso Ripper to run rampant. The series tries to make sense of theories that arm chair detectives have evaluated for years, ever since the case's surveillance footage went viral online, and there are enough peculiarities here to keep you from cutting your stay short. Then, for its second season, the series heads across the country and back in time to examine another site of infamy: Times Square. The subject of this doc, though, is the death of Canadian traveler Elisa Lam, whose body was discovered in a water tank in the hotel in 2013. In its first season, The Vanishing at the Cecil Hotel, the series checks into LA's scariest hotel: the Cecil, which has experienced more than a few horror stories. We must do the work, each of us, and the time is now to move ahead.Crime Scene is an anthology from Paradise Lost trilogy and The Ted Bundy Tapes filmmaker Joe Berlinger, with each installment unpacking the infamy behind specific locations where crimes have taken place. No one will swoop down upon public life and politics like a knight on a white horse to “save” us. ![]() We fell back into our old, prevailing habits.Įach of us can help to set the new conditions we so desperately need and want through out daily words and actions. I believe, for instance, the reason that our pledges for change after 9/11 did not stick was that we did have enough of a foundation upon which to build a more robust, vibrant public life and politics. If you look back over the course of American history, moments of great change were always preceded by a collection of smaller actions that set the conditions – the right environment – to galvanize larger change. There are small everyday actions we can take to reweave the fabric of our communities – and to be citizens again, not just consumers.ĭuring a discussion last night here in Las Vegas, one person asked me if I thought such change could ever come about. Each of us as individuals can think about our relationship to our local schools, to children, and to our neighbors.Journalists can more accurately reflect the realities of people’s lives and move away from sensationalism, hype, and conflict-driven stories.Private sector leaders can engage in their development work and community leadership in ways that reflect the values and aspirations of their communities – to view their work as part of the community rather separate from the community.This will require moving away from “mechanistic responses” and engaging in a new level of being “ruthlessly strategic” and spreading a sense of hope ( This was the subject of the previous entry). Foundation officers and heads of non-profit groups can conduct their work in ways that both address core social needs and build community at the same time. ![]() For different people, such actions will take different forms. And it is only through our collective actions that change will emerge. I remember a woman from Richmond, VA., one of the people I interviewed for the book in 1998, turning to me and saying, “If you look at the whole picture of everything that is wrong, it is so overwhelming you just retreat back.” Many people share her feelings and sense of frustration.īut my response to the question about what each of us can do is this: none of us alone can “solve” the negative conditions in public life and politics there is too much work to be done. The negative conditions we face, and the sheer magnitude of the challenge, can be overwhelming. As I travel the country talking about Hope Unraveled and the conditions of American public life and politics, inevitably someone asks, “It’s all so overwhelming, what could I ever do to make a difference?”
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