Amongst the chaos and mayhem of the COVID-19 outbreak, Netflix released a documentary series, “Tiger King: Murder, Mayhem, and Madness,” which is arguably one of the craziest true stories the platform has produced so far. The series has even made its presence across the internet with memes on several social media platforms, including Twitter and Instagram.
Before reading farther, be aware, there are spoilers below.
“Tiger King” debuted March 20 and has maintained the status of number one streamed show on Netflix. It focuses on rivals between multiple big cat enthusiasts, with Joe Schreibvogel, who is referred to as “Joe Exotic,” as the main attraction.
At the beginning of the series, the producer reveals that the show has been filmed for five years. We find out that Joe Exotic is in federal prison for reasons related to Carole Baskins. The filming process started before Exotic’s incarceration and from there the story unfolds.
Three main big cat owners are filmed throughout the series: Joe Exotic, Carole Baskin and Bhagavan “Doc” Antle, each with their own big cat facilities where they sell tickets for tours. The main difference between the three is that Exotic and Doc Antle breed cats and use the cubs for paid petting sessions. Baskin promotes her facilities as a rescue center that is trying to end all big cat breeding, even though Baskin used to breed big cats herself.
Before assuming that Baskin is the better of the bunch ethically, it is important to note that while Exotic and Doc Antle take advantage of their employees by severely underpaying them, Baskin heavily utilizes volunteers, which makes it hard to decide which is worse: paying your employees below minimum wage or having an extensive volunteer program with absolutely no monetary compensation. What stands out to me with the volunteer program is that there aren’t any paid employees, which is concerning for any organization. Regardless, this show brings to light how easy it is to take advantage of people in desperate situations who truly love animals, specifically large exotic cats.
Several problems coexist during the show; all of the characters are villains in their own ways. Antle has formed a cult which allows him to take advantage of young girls and elevate himself to a godlike figure. Exotic is completely obsessed with himself while having unlogical anger issues towards Baskin. He also takes advantage of ex-convicts, more specifically those addicted to meth. And if you haven’t read it through a meme yet — people are crazy about the possibility that Carole Baskin fed her late husband to the tigers.
While it is revealed by the end of the series that Exotic was found guilty for killing several of his tigers and attempting to murder Baskin, I find myself wanting Baskin to be the villain.
Yes, I do think Exotic was wrong, but from the perspective of the series, Exotic was a crazy man who was pushed by equally crazy men with bad intentions. The fact that Exotic hired an individual to murder Baskin cannot be forgotten. Maybe Exotic should be locked up for life, but so should others who were involved in the scheme.
Episode three of the series is dedicated to the possibilities of Baskin killing her late husband, Don Lewis, and allegedly feeding his dead body to the cats. Right after the couple started having serious problems in their relationship, Lewis disappeared. If Lewis went forward with a divorce, Baskin would be left with nothing. Regardless of speculation and motive, having no body and evidence would guarantee Baskin to walk free if charges were pressed.
If Exotic is in jail, my question is how are Antle and Baskin not? Antle disgusted me by how he allegedly treats women and how he allegedly killed his own tigers. At the same time, the case against Baskin killing her late husband is crystal clear to me. My other initial thought is that Exotic was doomed the day that he decided to go after Baskin. Do you really want to mess with a woman who is rumored to have killed her husband and made his body disappear? My answer will always be no.
I would argue that all three should be locked up for some reason or another. I can only think that the other two were more clever in their criminal activities and that is why they are free. Exotic is definitely not innocent by the slightest means, but he received the short end of the stick in that he let his anger towards Baskin affect his judgment, resulting in him being locked up. This could be why so many “free Joe Exotic” memes are circulating through the internet.
Tiger King is a great watch and a must-binge-watch show. Understanding these people’s world is thrilling, but convincing enough for me to never want to own a zoo or any type of big cat sanctuary. My take away: Big cat enthusiasts are crazy, and Baskin killed her husband.
