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American Crime Story (Season 2; E1-9)
The Assassination of Gianni Versace (2018)
There used to be a time when random killings, serial killings, and killing sprees only happened in the United States. At least, that was what it was till about the turn of the last century. So, that was how the Generation-Xes and Boomers felt when John Lennon was gunned down by a deranged fan, Mark Chapman, in the streets of New York on a December morning. Almost everyone accepted the fact that it was what some fans do to their idols in America.
In the same manner, when we heard of Gianni Versace, the fashion icon, being shot down at his doorstep in 1997, the same thought went through the minds of newspaper readers. The stress of modern living did that to people, we thought. Till such a random killing hit our shores, a 16-year-old was stabbed by a schoolmate in Banting, and a 19-year-old college student was stabbed 61 times in Terengganu. If not for our strict gun laws, the victims would have been shot instead.
There is something queer about the modern groups that scream at the top of their lungs that there should be a separation between physical intimacy and deep, exclusive commitment. Who better to promote this than the LGBT movement itself! They preached free love and the pursuit of authentic relationships devoid of restrictive societal and state norms.
So, when Versace, an unabashed gay personality, was shot down by Andrew Cunanan, another gay man, the investigators sat down to investigate. The dizzy LGBT world was not about creating a world of apple bees and honey bees, but had its own testosterone-raged moments. Infidelity, abandonment, domestic abuse and violence are there just like in any heterosexual union. Added to intoxicants and abuse of substances, the outcome is lethal.
This mini-series is an attempt to give a human face to the killer who shot a man for no apparent reason. Told in the 'Memento' fashion of 'non-linear' storytelling, it tries to find the possible reason why Cunanan did what he did and the trail of brutal killing he left before being cornered for this one.
At the end of the show, what can one sum up from his story is these. Andrew grew up in a family with an abusive but extremely timid mother. Despite being abusive to his wife, Andrew's father, a Filipina immigrant, put Andrew on a pedestal. He even gave up his master bedroom to his son to use while the parents used one of the other regular rooms, even though Andrew had two other siblings. Andrew was pampered with money and gifts. He grew up to be a prolific liar who thrived on telling tall tales about his life. This narcissistic smooth-talker identified as gay and moved along that circle. He befriended lonely, wealthy, older gay men to have sexual liaisons in lieu of cash. Amid the constant changes in get-ups, narration, and friends, Andrew also befriended other contemporaries who eventually discovered his lies.
Feeling disappointed, unable to be the most liked, successful and wealthy person he always thought he would be, and looking at Versace as the gay icon that he should have become, the experts feel that led to Andrew Cunanan's killing spree. Technically, he is not a serial killer, as serial killers kill in a particular pattern, leaving signature marks.
Farouk Gulsara (asokansham@gmail.com) is a content creator under the Newswav Creator programme, where you get to express yourself, be a citizen journalist, and at the same time monetize your content & reach millions of users on Newswav. Log in to creator.newswav.com and become a Newswav Creator now!
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