Netflix is not just a maker of movies and series. Something little highlighted by the media, the platform is also active in the production of documentaries. And Reed Hastings' company is very demanding in their designs. Audrie and Daisy are no exception. Focus on a documentary of high quality and which highlights the stories of two young women victims of sexual assault. Poignant.
A crossroads of two stories
Their names are Audrie and Daisy. They do not know each other but their respective histories have many similarities. This documentary is named after them. Audrie and Daisy compare the stories of Audrie Pott and Daisy Coleman, both raped as teenagers. Netflix, through this documentary, crosses the stories of these two young women whose trajectories are not quite the same but who are vectors of humiliating elements that often make their appearances in this kind of business. The humiliation they feel by the non-consensual act itself is overmultiplied by social networks and their incessant comments.
The documentary begins with the evocation of the sexual assault on Audrie. While playing at a party with schoolmates, she is sexually abused by several boys, who take advantage of the fact that she is heavily alcoholic. They undress her completely and then write insanities on her body. The girl is photographed many times, photos that will circulate in her school and destroy her reputation. Feeling completely humiliated, Audrie commits suicide.
After this short passage on the story of Audrie Pott, the documentary returns at greater length to the sexual assault case on Daisy. While she was having a good time at home with her friend Paige, she receives a message from one of her brother's friends who invites her to go drink alcohol at his house with other guests. She agrees to go to the meeting place, a basement, with her girlfriend. Later, she will try to take on a challenge of drinking alcohol in high doses. For the young woman, this event will be the last she will fully remember. In a daze, she is sexually abused. Her friend Paige will meet the same fate. In Audrie and Daisy's cases, they will be touched by people they trusted.
A criticism of social networks
As mentioned earlier, directors Bonni Cohen and Jon Shenk devote a long part of the film to the dangerousness of social media. Bullying starts in real life and continues online. And vice versa. There is a lot of talk about social networks in the documentary. These digital tools have helped to plunge rape victims into an even more intense state of depression. It is a scheme that is applicable to many cases of the same kind. To counter this, this Netflix Original encourages all women victims of sexual assault to come out of anonymity so that awareness is raised and victims are no longer treated in such a horrible way by public opinion.
If the documentary is called Audrie and Daisy, it is not only about these two young women but also about other victims who have decided to speak out. Daisy, through her media battle, is in a way the standard-bearer of this cause and a source of inspiration for the victims. Audrie and Daisy is mostly a testimonial work. The documentary advances mainly thanks to the testimonies of the protagonists who put together the pieces of the puzzle. We can highlight the few visual discoveries of the directors to support the narration of certain sequences. For example, the documentary uses animation techniques for certain interrogation scenes to protect the identity of the accused.
Audrie and Daisy is a documentary about the difficulty for victims of sexual assault to make their voices heard and survive digital jokes. A militant work of public utility and relevant from start to finish.
