Predators

Documentarian David Osit (Thank You For Playing, Mayor) provides a hard-hitting exposé of the Dateline NBC spinoff To Catch a Predator, the ultimate "gotcha-TV" show in which host Chris Hansen would work with local law enforcement to set up sting operations using young-looking actors to lure wannabe pedophiles to their "homes." Instead of the underage sex these men were expecting, they were surprised by Hansen and a TV crew that suddenly surrounded them. With videotape rolling, no lawyer, and no reading of Miranda rights, Hansen would shame these guys, get them to confess, break down, and often weep, in the hopes they'd get out of the situation they'd gotten themselves into. But, of course, the cops were always waiting just outside to take them in.

The show ran from 2004 to 2007, coming to an abrupt end when one of the setup subjects took his life during the filming. Still, the three-year run of that show probably did more to fuel America's obsession with pedophiles than anything until Jeffrey Epstein's death. Osit, a survivor of childhood sexual abuse himself, was a fervent viewer of To Catch a Predator when he was young, and now that he's older, he questions if the show provided him with catharsis or perpetuated his trauma. The film delves deep into the consequences of turning the ugliest aspects of humanity into entertainment. The film explores the culture of copycat vigilante-style YouTube shows hosted by Chris Hansen wannabes, and puts the real Hansen in the hot seat himself. Hansen's legacy isn't as bad as turning out to be a pedophile himself, but still, how he has chosen to capitalize on the show that made him a star comes off pretty gross. The documentary never fully comes down on the side of whether the program was a net positive or negative. Still, Osit is a thoughtful filmmaker who values passé journalistic concepts such as context and consequence, making him the polar opposite of the tabloid network ratings whores and amateur YouTubers who have cashed in on this questionable program's popularity.