working w some unsolved mysteries episodes today and since I know a lot of folks have been watching the reboot or returning to the original for pandemic viewing, pls allow me to share some info and a few of my thoughts on the show:

ok, first off unsolved mysteries is an INCREDIBLE 80s/90s artifact!! the way it aggregates cultural myths & actual events into one spooky genre: kidnappings, cults, & unsolved murders alongside ghost stories, alien abductions, and conspiracies, oh my! soooo of the era!!

this shading of the real & unreal is a hallmark of crime TV, but this was one of the first shows that turned crime stories into participatory entertainment by asking for “help” in solving “mysteries” & providing updates so that the audience felt involved in active investigations

in the 70s & 80s there was tons of crime entertainment & LOTS of crime news but this was a hybrid of both & the participatory model became more prevalent in shows that followed; most famously america’s most wanted, which worked directly w the FBI

unsolved mysteries told stories thru a hybrid reenactment/first-person interview model & could get away with a LOT more (or rather, less) in terms of evidence than formal news. even tho events were staged & performed by actors, eyewitnesses lent the imagined scenes credibility

the show often baselessly linked well-known murders to unsolved cases, like in season 1 when a detective from the (already solved) son of sam case was allowed to speculate that the killer had actually had a partner still at large who was plotting murder in a satanist cult

cops gave a lot of interviews (more to say on this, but another day). most importantly imo, the ppl sharing their accounts/theories ab mysteries often did not have media training & came off as quaint/folksy tho their words were given relatively equal weight to cops, drs, journos

unsolved mysteries & shows like it were thus successful bc they invited amateurism into the glamorous expert world of crime solving & allowed audiences to feel useful, like they were doing something for society by helping to catch bad guys while sitting on the couch & watching tv

for what it's worth, these shows WERE actually responsible for the resolution of a number "mysteries," and they always let their audience know when the tips they called in helped to solve a criminal case

critiques of true crime as voyeurism & fantasy abound but imo a more nuanced takeaway here is that “true” crime wields more power than we give it credit for when it empowers ppl to speak candidly of fears, fantasies, & traumas without connecting them to broader social issues

in this style of documentary tv, each "mystery" is a vignette - a flashpoint w no context - but taken together they comprise a significant body of knowledge ab a "public" experience of danger & fear devoid of politics but which brought ppl to carceral communities/beliefs/actions

I know folks have deep attachments to unsolved mysteries (it's a fun show!) & also that true crime is a source of therapy for many, especially women. I don't mean to ruin all your favorite tv & I don't think it is possible or realistic to expect ppl to never watch true crime!

I've begun to understand it as a kind of accidental public history & this helps me to appreciate its value & learn from it in my own thinking ab violence as I consider its consequences. what does it mean for ppl to encounter historical source material first thru crime tv, for ex?

ok that's enough rambling for now, but if you have memories or different knowledge about unsolved mysteries, please feel free to share!!!!!! I would love to hear your stories