OJ: Made In America Review

OJ: Made In America Review

What makes OJ Simpson such a fascinating figure? It has been more than 20 years after OJ Simpson was acquitted in the “Trial of the Century” and it seems that he is as relevant as ever. Not that long ago, the FX show “The People vs. OJ Simpson: American Crime Story” aired and was a huge hit. Is it that we are fascinated with crime stories? Is it that OJ Simpson fell from a football hero to a pariah? Or maybe nostalgia is a big thing now? 

There is some truth to all of these theories but after seeing “OJ: Made in America” I realized what makes OJ such a captivating figure. OJ Simpson is a product of America and it’s indiscretions. While the 7-1/2 hour documentary is about OJ Simpson, it also touches on racism in America and the downsides of the American Dream. The film is thought provoking and haunting, and it is one of the most mesmerizing documentaries I have ever seen. 

Throughout the film, Ezra Edelman uses OJ Simpson’s story as a template to talk about America’s history of racial divide and the American Dream which is becoming successful at any cost. With video and photos, he illustrates the American Dream as OJ Simpson is pursuing fame while also illustrating America’s history of racial divide by showing the story of the racial tensions in LA since the 1960s.

In the first two parts, we see OJ’s rise to fame. OJ was born in the projects in San Fransisco. Then he becomes a football star at USC, rushes for 2000 yards in one season for the Buffalo Bills, and then becomes a spokesman for companies like Hertz. After he retires from football he even becomes an entrepreneur and an actor. 

At the same OJ is having success, tensions between blacks and whites increase due to years of racism. In the 60s, the Civil Rights Movement is at its peak and athletes like Muhammad Ali and Jim Brown are speaking on segregation and social issues. In the 80s and 90s, racial prejudice is exhibited by the LAPD (Los Angeles Police Department) as they destroy black people's homes in search of drugs that were not there. Then it seems that justice system was racial bias as the cops beating up Rodney King shown on the video were acquitted of any assault charges. 

With amazing editing, Ezra Edelman is able to perfectly contrast the world of celebrity that OJ is in with the world of Civil Rights and racism that the rest of Black America have to deal with. Edelman does this by showing footage from OJ’s perspective and then showing footage of the perspective of African Americans outside of OJ’s perspective. In one scene in part one, we see comedian Bob Hope making jokes about OJ Simpson at USC while it is being announced that Dr. Martin Luther King was shot.   

However as OJ is perusing the American Dream, he is losing his identity. When OJ is asked to be a Civil Rights Activist he refuses. To OJ, image and fame are everything to him. We see at very young age, OJ Simpson’s goal was to be famous. He even tells his friends that someday their kids will look up to him. He believed that in order for him to be successful he needed to be seen as more than just black. His motto was “I’m not black. I’m OJ”. So the more successful OJ became, the most he ingratiated himself with rich white people. He even marries a white woman named Nicole Brown.

Also because OJ was a celebrity he got special treatment from the media and LAPD which creates two sides to OJ. One is the warm and charming guy that the public sees on TV. The other side is a narcissistic egomaniac who got what he wanted because he was OJ Simpson. This lead to his abusive relationship with his wife Nicole Brown Simpson that got so bad that Nicole tells people that OJ is going to kills her.

Then in the climax, or in the third and fourth part of the film, the stories come together when OJ Simpson is charged with the murder of Nicole Brown Simpson and Ronald Goldman. While a majority of white America thinks that he is a murderer due to the mountain of evidence against him, most of black America believe he is innocent because of their distrust of the LAPD that arrested OJ.  OJ’s defense team then decide to use the LAPD’s racist history to smear the evidence against OJ. In an ironic twist, OJ’s defense is trying to convey OJ as a black victim of a racist LAPD when OJ did what he could to not be identified as black.  

We also learn a lot from the people being interviewed in the film. These included interviews with OJ Simpson’s former friends, LAPD, and other who are somehow connected to OJ. Two interviews that really stand out are Joe Bell, one of OJ’s childhood friends, who talked about what OJ was like when he was younger and a juror who confessed that the jury acquitted OJ as payback for Rodney King. 

As someone who knew quite a bit about OJ Simpson and the trial, I was shocked how much more to the story there is. On the surface, OJ’s story is a tragedy about somebody who became a celebrity and then became an outcast. But when you look deeper his story it is the result of America’s faults. Like the title says, America made OJ Simpson.

Grade: A+