Netflix’s power over public perception: The case of the Menendez brothers

“Monsters” on Netflix tells a story about two brothers who brutally shot and killed their parents, blamed it on the mob, and then went out and bought Rolex’s, fancy cars, and designer clothes, funded by their parents estate. A murder motivated by greed. 

“Monsters” also tells a story about two brothers and the horrific sexual, physical and mental abuse they endured at the hands of their parents, who were robbed of their childhoods, and forced to kill their parents in self defense. 

The point is that the series showed two sides of the famous Menendez Brothers case. The first side was the public's perception of what happened way back when in 1996;  The Menendez brothers were cold blooded killers who shot their parents while they were watching a movie together, in order to claim their inheritance - and they deserved the final verdict: a life sentence in jail. 

The second side depicts a deeper examination of the abuse that Erik and Lyle Menendez experienced their entire lives that led them to do what they did. 

Audiences are then left to decide, much like the jury in the original Menendez case, what they believe to be true. 

The case re-visited 

“Monsters” director Ryan Murphy does an amazing job at not only showing the facts in this series but showing the story from all different perspectives - especially Erik and Lyle’s. 

So much so that viewers have banded together in support of the brothers petitioning for their early release (the brothers are currently serving life sentences). Public perception of the case has done a full 180. Once believed to be cold blooded killers, the Menendez brothers now have the sympathy and support of what feels like the entire world. 

It’s crazy how a case famous from the 1990’s can be turned into a Netflix show that reexamines the case 34 years later and swings public perception, to the point where the public is calling on California authorities to reconsider the sentences of Erik and Lyle. Hell, even Kim Kardashian is on the case now. 

Doesn’t this sound familiar? Fans of the Netflix series Making a Murder will remember that this show similarly revisited an old legal case, after which the public petitioned to free both defendants Avery and Dassey. 

In this blog post we will examine this phenomenon - the phenomenon where Netflix can create a show that then changes public perception of a legal case, to the point where audiences are petitioning for the resentencing of the accused.  

Using Audiense’s audience intelligence we will break down audience sentiment, demographics, influential voices, and the broader cultural discussion surrounding the Menendez Brothers case. 

What does the public think? (Audience sentiment analysis) 

The “Monsters” series might have been a lot of people’s first exposure to the Menendez case - depending on how old they are. 

Nonetheless this case was being re-discussed in recent times because of the reemergence of the original trial videos that include Erik and Lyle's testimonies, thanks to platforms like TikTok and Youtube. 

I actually came upon one such video about two years ago on TikTok. 

Anyways, that’s all to say that the public has essentially been discussing this case since 1997. The difference is that public perception has changed a lot since then. 

Prior to the “Monsters” series the online conversation surrounding the case looked like this: 

You can see that this is probably when Netflix was first announcing the series (like the did in the tweet below), but public perception was still that these two brothers were “cold blooded murderers”, before we see their side depicted in the show when it is released. 

And here’s what it looked like after the show’s release: 

The sentiment is still negative but it is negative towards the justice system, the Menendez parents, and towards how poorly the boys were treated - not towards Erik and Lyle. Look at the top reposted and liked posts after the release of the series: 

When a topic of discussion or a show like “Monsters” goes viral, Tweet Binder is the perfect tool to take a snapshot of what audiences are saying about it online, just like we had above. It shows you just how much influence platforms like Netflix have in changing the conversation. 

Their biggest supporters

We know based on the data above that Erik and Lyle have massive public support, but who exactly are their biggest supporters? 

It’s interesting to see that there are three groups (AmErikan Activism, Palestine Supporters and BTS & Palestine) that seem like the “social justice warriors” so then it’s no surprise that they have taken a vested interest in the Menendez case and are petitioning for the release of Erik and Lyle. 

What’s more interesting though is that a majority of this audience like the Taylor Swift fans, Pop Culture Enthusiasts, and K-Pop Enthusiast are audiences that are on trend right now with things that are very popular in the media. It makes you wonder if their support is genuine or if they are just hoping on to the bandwagon to be relevant? The support is still good for Erik and Lyle, however will these people still be advocating for them when the hype dies down? We will have to run another report in a couple months to find out. 

The social media influencers also give us pause, as they too could be piggybacking onto the case to increase their audience engagement. Either way, this group is an asset to the brothers right now because regardless of their intentions, they are still getting the brothers increased exposure to their larger audience following. 

Breaking down the entire audience further, the majority of their supporters are females aged 25-34 that reside in the US. This makes sense considering it’s the same target demographic for Netflix. 

What’s not surprising is that a lot of this audience lives in LA where this case originated. What is though, is that the top second location for this audience is in London UK, which goes to show that back when the case was first going on their might not have been much media coverage on it in London, but with the help of Netflix, this case has become known across the globe. 

Most of this audience are married with children, which makes sense. A parent with children will find it hard to imagine any child having to go through what the Menendez brothers have gone through.  

These supporters are influenced by current popular actresses and music artists, and then we see that on a more micro level they are following Tammi Menendez, Erik Menendez’s wife. 

It’s interesting that none of their top pop culture influencers have spoken out about the Menendez case, although many celebrities have (more on that later). 

Their interests paint the narrative that these people are very involved in society and are keen on educating themselves with what’s going on in the world, and they are also very interested in movies and TV, so the “Monsters” series combined a lot of their interests into one. 

Where they get their news isn’t the typical CNN news outlets, we're actually seeing sites like BuzzFeed and PageSix, so it’s definitely new sources that tend to focus on news in US pop culture not necessarily world-wide news coverage. 

When we look at the type of content they are sharing, it includes links to gofundme pages:

Or posts that expose injustices or unethical practices. 

This data is extremely insightful. For a platform like Netflix it shows the audiences most invested in cases/shows like this, and who are willing to talk about and promote their shows on social media. And for Erik and Lyle (or their lawyers), it shows them who their biggest advocates are and why.  

Explore the full Audiense report here. 

The Kardashian effect 

Shows or cases like these, that go viral, grab the attention of influencers and celebrities who feel the need to add their two cents. By commenting on something so timely, their audience engagements go up, and now they become part of the conversation - almost piggybacking off the success of the show.  

Kim Kardashian is a good example of this, she is known (among other things) to advocate for prison reform and resentencing of innocent people. To date, she has freed hundreds of people from prison. 

After the show’s release, Kim contacted the brothers and visited them in prison. She then wrote an essay that called for Lyle and Erik's release from prison. 

A post like this got 44 thousand likes - it just goes to show how much influence this Netflix series had over celebrities and how much influence those celebrities have on their audience, much like a domino effect. 

And she’s not the only one, celebrities like Rosie O'Donnell are also calling for their “convictions to be vacated”. 

All of this public support is working, and the LA County District Attorney’s office is  George considering legal requests to resentence the brothers. 

Public debate

The narrative surrounding this show goes deeper than celebrity endorsements and whether or not Lyle and Erik were justified in killing their parents. It has emphasized themes like injustice, trauma, sexual abuse and systemic issues.

The 1990’s were a different time, and society had a much different attitude towards victims of abuse. Today thankfully this has changed and it has been a huge topic of discussion to come out of this show. 

When we look at the data surrounding the online discussion, one of the most reposted posts talks about sexual abuse, and why it wasn’t so easy for the brothers to just leave their abusive household: 

The current status of the case 

Since the show aired, new evidence has resurfaced in the form of a letter from Erik Menendez to his cousin when the abuse was taking place. 

LA district attorney George Gascon has come out and said “it is his moral and ethical obligation to review the Menendez brothers' case. It has been 35 years since their sentencing. It is time to decide whether these men have paid their dues to society.” 

The brothers are appealing their convictions and a new hearing where they will present this new evidence is set for November 29th. Remember that the show came out September 19th, and just 71 days later, they will have their case revisited. That’s the power of Netflix for you. 

A modern way to enact change 

What’s surprising in all of this is that throughout this public perception overturn, the Menendez brothers are actually upset by the “Monsters” series. But Director Ryan Murphy argued that the season of Monsters is “The best thing that has happened to the brothers in 30 years”. He even believes that they could be out of prison by Christmas. 

Whether that comes true or not, the reaction that this show has gotten so far goes to show just how much influence Netflix has in changing public perception. We hope that they continue to highlight cases like these in their shows - because it’s the best way to tell the story of injustice in this day and age and the seemingly most effective way to enact change. 

By using tools like Audiense you can gauge just how much of a difference or effect a show has had on any audience, and it can reveal the shift in public perception and sentiment around any cultural event. 

Unlock the Full Audiense Report: Dive deeper into the audience analysis behind the Netflix show “Monsters” and see the power of Audiense in action.