True crime documentaries and docuseries continue to thriveEspecially on Netflix. While the upcoming topics and topics may be different, almost all of these documents share a familiar formula: Talking -Head interviews are cut between the archive news and stylish dramatic relaxation of events. In most cases, these relaxation also follows a familiar formula: the faces of the actors who portray real figures are usually hidden, and their movements often occur in slow motion for additional effects.
If you’ve ever asked yourself Why So much real crime material states from this familiar approach that the answer to Errol Morris’ groundbreaking documentation “The Thin Blue Line” can be attributed. Morris’ film followed the story of Randall Dale Adams, a man who was convicted of murdering a police officer in Dallas. Morris ‘film made it clear that Adams was innocent towards the crime, and the documentary was so effective that he actually contributed to leading Adams’ relief a year after his publication.
While “The Thin Blue Line” is highly valued today, Morris’ film was actually controversial when he arrived for the first time. When Morris made “the thin blue line”, he decided to use stylish, dramatic relaxation of certain events, and while modern spectators view this approach as a standard (and even cliché) in the true genre of true crime documentation, such an approach was very unusual when the film was published. Some critics even claimed that the film was not considered a “real” documentary since it used so many relaxation. Nevertheless, the reputation of the film in the years since its publication only increased, and its approach to his material became very influential among other Doc filmmakers of real crime.
The Charles Manson story … with a turn
Due to the influence of “The Thin Blue Line”, Morris can be seen as the father of the documentary film genre for true crime – practically every modern doc for true crimes follows his blueprint. Now Morris is back with a brand new documentary true crime that deals with a topic that is very familiar with the murders of lovers: The Manson Family Movers.
But Morris’ new Netflix film “Chaos: The Manson Murders” does not tell the same old familiar story that Vincent Bugliosi and Curt Gerny’s book “Helfer Skelter” made so popular. Instead, Morris deals with the book “Chaos: Charles Manson, the CIA, the CIA and the secret history of the 1960s”, which offers a rather shocking conspiracy theory, who may perhaps have something with the Manson, that with the Manson, with the Manson, those with the Manson, with the Manson, that with the Manson, with the Manson, with the Manson Manson, who may only be with the Manson, who with the Manson, who was able to face the Manson, who could be with the Manson.
Most people probably know the basic details of the Manson story. In the 1960s, a short would -be musician named Charles Manson gathered a cult of mainly female hippies to form a kind of community in California. With the hope of starting a racing war, Manson sent out some of his followers in the course of two nights in August 1969 to commit a series of cruel murders, including the murder of the pregnant actress Sharon Tate. While Manson himself does not contest any of these murders himself, he was seen as a ring conductor of the entire situation. Manson was ultimately sentenced to life in prison and died in 2017 when he was still imprisoned.
For various reasons, Manson still appears great over the landscape of pop culture. The crimes of his family who came in 1969 signaled a kind of end of the free love hippie era. The fact that the crimes also had the life of a young, beautiful (and pregnant) actress also made her a heavy food for media consumption, as well as the sensational attempt against Manson and his follows. The “Helter Skelter” book has only increased this attention, as did various other books and films, including Quentin Tarantino’s latest “It was once in Hollywood”, “ What it dared to offer an alternative approach to the story in which Manson’s stabic disciples were finally defeated (and violently) before they could hurt someone.
Did CIA Mind Control have something to do with the Manson murders?
Despite so much reporting on media and pop culture about the events around Manson, some unanswered questions remain about the case. The biggest question that is repeatedly asked is: “How?” How exactly did Charles Manson make some children celebrate a number of terrible murders? The common consensus, including among Manson’s family members themselves, is that Manson was somehow able to undergo brainwashing. But here too the question remains: how?
In 1999, journalist Tom O’Neill was hired by the Premiere Magazine to write about the Manson murders. O’Neill had three months to submit the piece, but in the end he missed his deadline – and continues to dig. The end result of O’Neill’s work was the extensive book “Chaos: Charles Manson, the CIA and the secret history of the 1960s”. I read it, I found it fascinating for a while, I also have to admit that it caused me a bit of a headache. O’Neill’s book goes off some wild paths and feels like the printed word recreation of the Famous “Pepe Silvia” moment of “It’s always sunny in Philadelphia”.
In the book, O’Neill and the co-author Dan Piepenbring state that there is a chance that the Mover Manson has something to do with the notorious Multra program of the CIA. While it sounds like the stuff of the cellar fiction, Mkultra was very real: The CIA really experimented with possibilities to control people’s thoughts about drugs and other methods. The “Chaos” book tries to draw the points by drawing a figure called Dr. Louis “Jolly” West, a psychiatrist who worked for the CIA who worked in the Haight-Ehbury area at the time when Manson was lurking in the Haight-Eshbury area, and still gathered in the family. The only problem is that, despite his best efforts, O’Neill has never been associated with Manson and West.
Chaos is worth watching, even if it requires a fairly simple approach
To be clear, O’Neill’s book never comes out directly and obviously says something like: “Charles Manson worked with the CIA!” He only points out that Manson’s supposed brainwashing of his family, in which plenty of hallucinogenic medication contains, is striking with the work that the CIA does with Mkultra. Everything could be a coincidence. Or it could be something more scary.
After reading the book, I was very curious to see how Morris would tackle the “Chaos” material. Disappointingly, Morris’ approach is surprisingly uncomplicated. The filmmaker has already worked with Netflix on the sub -measurement and quite brilliant “Wermension,” A mini series that combined documentary and fiction. This work felt really groundbreaking (and like “chaos” and how “chaos” Also Concentrates on potential CIA -Mind Control elements), while “Chaos” is more or less a standard document for real crime in which the case is determined. Morris seems to be more interested in presenting the timeline of events instead of going too deep into the weed of the Mind Control material, and it is pretty clear from the start that the filmmaker does not get anything.
“Do I think Manson was programmed by the government by the government – a Manchurian candidate who was programmed to kill?” The filmmaker said to The guardian. “Not quite. Can it be detected? I don’t think. But can it be refuted? I don’t think it can be. You can provide the required skepticism.”
I wish Morris had dared a bit formally with this documentary, “Chaos” still ensures a fascinating watch that leaves more than a few restless questions.
“Chaos: The Manson Morders” stream on March 7, 2025 on Netflix.
