WE ARE SERIAL – Culture

Even those who are not passionate about this topic have heard about it. Now there is a TV documentary series about the libel trial involving two movie stars Johnny Depp and Amber Heard, after a judge allowed a TV crew to film what happened in a Virginia courtroom.

First, the legal details: In 2018, shortly after the explosion of the feminist #MeToo movement (which lifted the curtain of silence that had hidden for years the abuse that many actresses suffered in the Hollywood system), Amber Heard wrote a commentary in her columns. Washington Post, in which she praises the fact that she did not remain silent about the domestic violence she suffered and in fact became a champion for the cause. In the article, the actress never writes the name of her ex-husband Johnny Depp, but it is not necessary to indicate it, everyone knows that they got married. However, the Caribbean pirate does not put up with being called an executioner, and to protect his reputation, he sues his ex-wife, accusing her of libel. A jury of five men and two women ultimately agreed with Depp, awarding Amber Heard $10.4 million in damages.

It’s impossible to say whether the two acted – during court proceedings that were nonetheless fraught with tension – that doesn’t mean they were lying, but truth is precisely the element that seems to be thinning until it disappears. Of course, each of the two – repeatedly compared in the Emily Cooper series – has a completely different version of the facts, a version that is shown neutrally in the docuseries, without defending one or the other. His merit, however, is not so much in the history of the relationship between two Hollywood stars, but in the ability to show its incredible entertainment, reflecting on the role of the media, journalists, YouTubers and digital content creators. And the amount of material that leaked online, including comments, insults and parodies that particularly affected Amber Heard. During the trial, a large crowd of people, mostly Johnny Depp fans, gathered outside the court.

There are two hard lessons to be learned from Depp’s experience with Heard: the first is that in the modern world, everything, even feelings, can now be reduced to fans being mad at each other. Second, money and fame mean nothing in the face of certain human suffering.