"Tabloid" is a film about Joyce McKinney--an ex-beauty queen who drew international attention when she was arrested in the UK for kidnapping her ex-boyfriend and supposedly forcing him to have sex with her. While some of the details are fuzzy and open to various interpretations, the bottom line is that McKinney escaped from custody and the case was eventually dropped. Part of the film chronicles this but the bulk of it simply consists of McKinney talking about the case and herself (and MOSTLY herself) in the decades following this weird incident. Much of the time, McKinney talks about how tabloids and the Mormons have destroyed her life. All I could CLEARLY see was that this lady seemed to love having the spotlight on her once again.
In the past, I have enjoyed Errol Morris' documentaries and really respected them. However, with "Tabloid", it sure seems like Morris has taken a huge step backward when it comes to his Oscar-winning reputation. Not only has he made a film that had a lot of flaws, but it gave a HUGE platform for a very dysfunctional woman*--a woman who ate up all the attention that was heaped on her for all the wrong reasons. By this same standard, you could also make documentaries with the help of various murderers, pedophiles and the like--many would LOVE the attention but you also wonder about the morality of letting these leaches have this platform. What about all the people they'd hurt? Isn't it rather insensitive to their victims as well as doing society a disservice to make such films?! And, if this lady is NOT evil and wasn't involved in an actual kidnapping, then why make a film where it seems designed to get people to laugh at her and her pathetic life?! Either angle seems very wrong--especially since McKinney seemed to have severe personality disorders.
*She seems to have a Borderline Personality with Narcissistic and Dependent features--based on my own experiencing working as a psychotherapist--and as such, really was rife to be exploited by Morris because of her pathological need for attention. However, without conducting an exhaustive interview, this is only a best guess. Regardless, she is NOT a healthy person and someone who you would want to encourage or exploit.
In the past, I have enjoyed Errol Morris' documentaries and really respected them. However, with "Tabloid", it sure seems like Morris has taken a huge step backward when it comes to his Oscar-winning reputation. Not only has he made a film that had a lot of flaws, but it gave a HUGE platform for a very dysfunctional woman*--a woman who ate up all the attention that was heaped on her for all the wrong reasons. By this same standard, you could also make documentaries with the help of various murderers, pedophiles and the like--many would LOVE the attention but you also wonder about the morality of letting these leaches have this platform. What about all the people they'd hurt? Isn't it rather insensitive to their victims as well as doing society a disservice to make such films?! And, if this lady is NOT evil and wasn't involved in an actual kidnapping, then why make a film where it seems designed to get people to laugh at her and her pathetic life?! Either angle seems very wrong--especially since McKinney seemed to have severe personality disorders.
*She seems to have a Borderline Personality with Narcissistic and Dependent features--based on my own experiencing working as a psychotherapist--and as such, really was rife to be exploited by Morris because of her pathological need for attention. However, without conducting an exhaustive interview, this is only a best guess. Regardless, she is NOT a healthy person and someone who you would want to encourage or exploit.