Villainizing Their Story: The new Netflix documentary series “Monsters” over-exaggerates the story of Erik and Lyle Menendez

The new Netflix documentary series, “Monsters,” based on the story of Lyle and Erik Menendez, was utterly gut-wrenching as it contained heavy details like deaths and sexual abuse. As expected the series has received backlash by the public for director Ryan Murphys presumably false narrative on the two brothers, making them look like worse people than they actually are. 

The series was released on Sept. 19 and has been number one on Netflix’s “Top 10 TV Shows in the U.S Today” ever since.

Having previously heard about the Menendez brothers’ story through TikTok, I immediately dove into the series once the show was released, eager to finally hear the truth about why Erik and Lyle killed their parents. 

Yet the show overdid their storyline, painting the brothers to be psychopathic monsters and disgusting people through the show title. 

The opening scene in episode one starts by showing the two brothers giving speeches at their parents’, Jose and Kitty Menendez, funerals, while sobbing as they reminisce their parents. Later, we see these same tears in the jail conference rooms, as Erik and Lyle recall the sexual abuse they faced from their father starting at age six.

The brothers however, are shown vulnerable throughout the series due to the constant emotional manipulation and abuse they both received during their childhood. So I think giving them the title of “Monsters” is farfetched after their father pushed them over the top their whole lives. 

In the documentary Erik admitted that Lyle had also been sexually abusing him like their father had their whole lives, Lyle didn’t know it was wrong at the time due to being exposed to it from a young age. While the show mentions their father’s constant abuse cycle, it angered me that Murphy chose to heavily fixate on a storyline that draws away from their father’s abusive actions that their mom was even aware of.

The inclusion of the incest storyline between the brothers was unnecessary and an attempt to justify the father’s same actions. 

When at times I felt uncomfortable by the truth regarding the abuse the brothers faced, the raw emotion and incredible executions of the roles by actors Cooper Koch and Nicholas Alexander made me realize the casting for Erik and Liel was just right.

During episode five, “The Hurt Man” Erik gives a 30-minute dialogue about the sexual abuse he faced from his father throughout the span of his life. His tears, broken voice and storytelling made me sympathize for him and his brother. His monologue made me realize how it would be pretty hard to fake that type of raw emotion.

Don’t get me wrong, the brothers murdered their parents, but their attempt to escape the abusive family cycle made me realize the brothers weren’t the real monsters after all. Yet, the brothers are still facing a life-sentence separated in prison, while other real monsters and killers have been released. 

“Monsters” over-villainized Erik and Lyle Menendez making them look like worse people than they actually are and overlooking their trauma.