Content warnings: The following article is a commentary on the newly released Menendez brothers limited series and as such discusses murder, sexual abuse of family members and incest. Reader discretion is advised.
In August 1989, the world was shaken by the case of Lyle and Erik Menendez, shooting and killing their parents, José and Kitty Menendez, in their Beverly Hills home.
While initially claiming to be out of the house as this took place, the Menendez brothers confessed to committing the crime out of self-defence after years of physical, emotional and primarily sexual abuse. The brothers were sentenced to life in prison without parole in 1995.
On Sept. 19, 2024, Netflix released a nine-episode limited series that explored the case in a dramatized manner. Subsequently, it received much controversy and criticism. Monsters: The Lyle and Erik Menendez Story, created and written by Ryan Murphy, is the second season in the Monsters saga. The first was focused on serial killer Jeffrey Dahmer and a third season is in production focusing on serial killer Ed Gein.
Right away, the problems here are apparent to me: Why sandwich the case of the Menendez brothers between two serial killers? The only thing the Menendez brothers have in common with Dahmer is that they’ve ended lives – that’s it.
Dahmer committed heinous acts of murder and cannibalism. Lyle and Erik Menendez killed their parents after reaching a point of fearing for their lives and their well-being as a result of the abuse they endured. It is not accurate to include their case in the same series as Dahmer and Gein.
Dawne Clarke, a criminology professor at STU, said the series’ lack of ideological message makes it fall flat.
“In my crime and popular film class, I always say, we’re not interested in the accuracy of the film; we’re interested in what are the ideological messages that emerge from our watching of this program,” said Clarke.
Clarke elaborated on her opinion of the series, feeling that nothing about it was portrayed respectfully.
“What bothered me about this limited series was how limited it was in its exploration of what is a very complicated case. I think Ryan Murphy focused on the most salacious aspects of the case,” she said.
Clarke also said the series felt like a caricatured soap opera with the over-dramatization and “highlighted salaciousness throughout.” She then added that media giants like Netflix and Prime will always go after money regardless of ethical storytelling practices.
As with many dramatizations of true crime, Monsters is rampant with misinformation. There are multiple sexually charged scenes between the Menendez brothers, including a kiss on the lips, a sensual dance together at a party and a fantasy sequence of Kitty Menendez walking in on the brothers showering together. The latter scene occurred as the fictitious version of Vanity Fair journalist Dominick Dunne theorized incest being a motive for them to kill their parents and this tidbit in itself is unlikely to be true.
As if making a baseless incest depiction with no real purpose other than to sexualize the series further is enough.
Lyle Menendez also confessed during the 1995 retrial to molesting Erik Menendez as children, admitting to it being a coping mechanism while being abused the same way by their father. This moment is depicted in the series, along with insinuated incest, which serves to imply that Erik Menendez ‘enjoyed it,’ acting as though the abuse he endured as a child was consensual and thus invalidating his horrific experience.
Erik Menendez has given a public statement on the series, speaking out against the often unsympathetic characterization of his brother, with many scenes of Lyle Menendez screaming and throwing things in anger, as well as the overall portrayal of abuse.
According to Forbes, Menendez said, “I believed we had moved beyond the lies and ruinous character portrayals of Lyle, creating a caricature of Lyle rooted in horrible and blatant lies rampant in the show.”
He further stated, “Netflix’s dishonest portrayal of the tragedies surrounding our crime has taken the painful truths several steps backwards — back through time to an era when the prosecution built a narrative on a belief system that males were not sexually abused and that males experienced rape trauma differently than women.”
Another critical piece of misinformation was Erik Menendez’s sexuality. Menendez was portrayed in the series as a closeted gay man, grappling with what it means to be attracted to men after the abuse he endured as a child. However, in real life, as of a June 1996 interview with Barbara Walters, Menendez stated that he does not identify as gay.
When it comes to real people, especially ones who are still alive, it is equally important to portray their sexuality in the way that they publicly express it. Monsters‘ portrayal of Erik Menendez’s sexuality is disrespectful to what he has stated in real life. This makes the depiction of Menendez’s sexuality an unnecessary excuse for sexual scenes at best and at worst an attempt to out a closeted gay man
Between the inaccuracies, Murphy attempts to incorporate as many widely differing theories as possible. These theories created random subplots to add runtime involving the Menendez brothers’ defence attorney, therapist and the backstory of José and Kitty Menendez’s marriage.
The show is wishy-washy in its communication of information about the case and what it hopes for its audience to take away.
Monsters is an excellent example of why I’ve always felt weird about dramatizations of actual crimes. Whenever these series and movies keep popping up, I always have to ask; what is the purpose here?
If the purpose is to educate people who may not have been alive to see the case unfold in real time, why not create a documentary? If the purpose is to entertain, why not create fictional murderers and explore their psychology?
I can’t help but feel that the only real purpose of Murphy’s creating these dramatizations is to glamourize crimes and monetize them.
The Los Angeles District Attorney is currently reviewing the Menendez brothers’ case to decide whether or not the brothers should continue to stay in prison for the rest of their lives without parole.
I hope that with the increase in consent education and those coming forward against their sexual abusers, the Menendez brothers may finally reach a place of being believed by the legal system and get their long-overdue justice.
