The People v. O.J. Simpson: What is a Tragedy?

Tragedy is one of the oldest genres in literature. It’s fitting that The People v. O.J. Simpson opens on onr of the most well documented tragedies in American History. The show opens with the LA Riots, underlining how and why a police force like the LAPD could not only be such a force of violence and oppression, but also how the justice system within the city could get such an obvious and easy case wrong. It also underlines why one of the most popular black men in the country could get away with murder in the eyes of his peers.

If The People had stopped at attempting to provide a black outlook on a popular event from the nineties, that would’ve been enough to make it a great TV show. But what The People v. O.J. Simpson does is much more elemental. It asks one of the hardest questions a piece of art has ever asked, “What is a Tragedy?”

An incredibly bad trap card.

The People opens with the central tragedy: the brutal bloody murder of Nicole Brown Simpson and her lover Ron Goldman. The People isn’t interested in telling us the truth of this tragedy, but rather, other more human truths.

This is how the show makes the question of Tragedy. Most representative of this question comes at the conclusion of the most unique arc in the show: Johnnie Cochran’s. To get there, we must also discuss Christopher Darden.

There are many actors in the series that provide their best performances in a long time. But the two that stand out above the rest are Sterling K. Brown who plays District Attorney Christopher Darden, and Courtney B. Vance who plays Johnnie Cochran. The show is largely painting the viewpoint of the trial from the various narratives of self-interest. Christopher Darden is on the prosecution side and Johnnie Cochran, of course, on the defense. They are both black men.

The tempest of these characters and their relationships with the white people on their respective sides is of huge important. Johnnie is a vital voice, but not the lead of the defense team. Darden is a vital voice, but not the lead of the prosecution team. Johnnie is brought on to make a show of the racial component involved. Christopher is ostensibly brought on to refute that narrative, either with his words or with just his presence.

Darden starts the series by looking at Johnnie as a father figure, a man of the law, fighting for the rights of the black community. Quickly he realizes the mistake he’s made. At the end, he gets to deliver the final condemnation of Johnnie’s character. He leaves Johnnie with words that in any other show, series, or work of narrative would be the final word.

After Christopher gets his last say, Johnnie goes back to the law offices and turns on the TV. President Bill Clinton is discussing what the result of the trial means for the conversation of race in America. It’s then that Johnnie says, “We did it. We made our story heard.”

This is what I mean when the show asks, “What is a tragedy?” Is it a tragedy that O.J. Simpson was corrupted by a patriarchal society that surrounded him with L.A. yes men and brand deals? Yes. Is it a tragedy that a woman was ignored multiple times until she was nearly beheaded by her husband? Yes. Is it a tragedy that Marcia Clark lost one of the easiest and most blatant cases of murder because a social issue got in the way? Yes. Is it a tragedy that miser Johnnie Cochran let a known murderer free by making black issues into national issues? Yes.

These are tragedies of separate and competing strains. But the bigger problem is that our society enabled the discussion to be as razor edged for these characters as it was. That instead of being able to unite, they were separate by work, violence, and justice from achieving what should have been a palpable happy ending for all involved.

It’s fitting that we follow O.J. once the verdict is given. That he throws a party. That he gets to be told that his friends are not coming to party. That he reads a statement to the people at his house, people he doesn’t recognize, and doesn’t know. He tells Robert that the bible he gave him kept him company in prison, got him through the hard times. As he realizes that everything he ever gained and ever enjoyed in his life is falling around him, Robert holds that Bible up and leaves it on his table. He did not escape going to prison for his crimes, the prison is to be carried with him for good. All that O.J. is left with is the false image of his past accomplishments, an incredibly empty and vain appreciation for which he would later go to prison over. Just one of many tragedies wrought by his own arrogance.

If a man falls, and ends up nothing of what he once was, if an entire community gets to voice its pain and its concern in a way that does not destroy property, if a troubled if legitimate viewpoint of the law and justice is under minded so that an oppressed populace can be heard, then what is a tragedy, if not something to build on top of, if not a moment to take advantage of the eye of a nation which can only ever focus on violence and celebrity?

The People v O.J. Simpson is a masterpiece that redefines the very questions we ask with narrative art. Its laser focus on what is and isn’t worth fighting for while it builds heroes and villains that both achieve dual purposes demonstrates the complexity of our own world. As a show that gets to stamp down a truth about history. What that truth is? It finally displays how much tragedy must be endured to make progress, and just when you think you’ve answered every question it has it asks, “Ah, but what is progress?” as O.J. stares at that statue of empty glories in his backyard. So must we.

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