The Podcast \u201cSerial\u201d by Sara Koenig and Julie Snyder is a nonfictional investigative podcast that strives to display real experiences to its audience. In Season 3, Serial introduces a new realm of discussion, where they explore the United States criminal justice system and its response to a variety of cases \u2013 small or large. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
In Episode One, \u201cA Bar\nFight Walks into the Justice Center,\u201d we are given an in-depth exploration,\nfull of analysis and narrative of the structure\/events and characters in the\nstory. All of this is done brilliantly; Koenig strategically places all the\ndescriptions, interviews and events throughout the podcast. Ultimately, you can\nsee the shift from summaries to interviews, to adding personal opinions and biases.\nFor example, she gives a general outline of the Cleveland, Ohio justice center\nby stating \u201cThe system consists of one building which houses the city and county\ncourts, sheriff\u2019s office, police office, and jail\u2026\u201d (Serial, Koenig), which\ngives a comparison to other justice systems, provoking a initial viewpoint on\nthe setting for the audience. This is\neffective, because it provides an image of a tight-knit system that is productive\nand methodical in its overall judicial process. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
However, the layout of\nthe podcast doesn\u2019t always follow the trend discussed above. For example, Koenig\ndiscusses the flaws within the justice system by explaining a previous case like\nAdnan Syad\u2019s case and states, \u201cThey didn\u2019t have evidence on him, nor did they\nreach out to witnesses, they just sentenced him. His case wasn\u2019t normal, imagine\nwhat would happen to cases that are normal like felonies, misdemeanors \u2026 the\nones regular to see\u201d (Serial, Keonig). You may ask why does this matter? Why\ndoes this make a difference? This is because it provokes a negative view on the\njustice system for the audience; it shows how cases like Syad\u2019s are neglected and\nstruggle to be given a chance. The purpose of this is so Koenig can portray how\ncases can be treated differently by prosecutors, lawyers, and others involved, indicating\nthat judgements on cases can be based on incorrect terms. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
The podcast then\ncontinues by talking about the actual case where she simply states, \u201ca woman\nsent to jail for being sexually harassed\u2026\u201d (Serial, Koenig), the purpose of\nthis technique is to exaggerate and give the audience a bias \u2013 altering the\ncase\u2019s perception and understanding which Koenig aims to do. This is an act of persuasion,\nas many podcasts already have a viewpoint, position and try to encourage the listener\nto agree with them, so much of the mentality of the audience is impacted from\nthe very start. Although, many podcasts cast their opinions on articles, and\naren\u2019t presently active in the stories they discuss, Serial is different.\nKeonig and her colleagues are involved; they are part of the stories they present\n\u2013 they have the credibility, experience from being a part of the story which\nallows the story to become compelling, and for the source to become more\ncredible. For example, when the victim, Anna is sexually harassed Keonig states\nthat she was groped seven different times by two different men. That\u2019s one of\nthe opening sentences, which makes the audience think about how a victim could\nland in jail? It already forms a bias, and then the narrator increases this curiosity\nby asking \u201cwhat was your reaction? How did you feel?\u201d. The audience can see the\nconcern Keonig has for the Anna. See, the audience isn\u2019t simply reading an\narticle or listening to someone\u2019s opinions, they\u2019re able to experience what the\nvictim has to say, what the supporting parties say and what the opposers have\nto say. The occasional interviews and Q&A\u2019s Keonig does adds to the\nsuspense, credibility of the podcast and helps show the entire story instead of\njust one aspect. Not only that, she displays the flaws in the system by showing\nhow the individuals that harassed Anna were let off by the police officers with\nminimal context or concern without looking at any evidence. This type of\nplacement of the facts and interviews with the victim helps the audience think\nabout what officers can miss in similar situations, and even crucial cases like\nmurder scenes, and why the jobs weren\u2019t fulfilled properly. This helps Keonig\non the entire issue of criminal justice systems being careless and making\ndecisions based off of insufficient evidence. It leaves a lot of questions and\ndoubts for the audience \u2013 allowing them to formulate various opinions that can\nimpact their perspective on things to come. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Also, other examples of the justice system having weaknesses can be seen by reactions and judgements of its officials. For example, the prosecutor on the case, Jennifer King, originally said that Anna was to be charged with assault on a police officer even if it was an accident. The prosecutor said that it didn\u2019t make a difference whether Anna was charged with disorderly conduct or felony \u2013 it was meniscal. However, Keonig adds to that by saying that for prosecutors\u2019 charges may seem small, but for the individuals it can make or break their lives, and many authorities overlook that. She basically indicates the negligence, and the harsh reality of the justice system, and how minor cases like Annas\u2019 can be turned into large cases for no reason. To the audience, this poses an important question, can the United States system properly decide and execute judgements for horrendous crimes? How do they deal with other significant crimes when they can\u2019t make a proper judgement on small-scale cases? The entire episode is brilliantly planned when Keonig backups what she says with recordings from lawyers, Anna, the victim, or prosecutors like Jennifer King. Serial structures itself in such a way that it gives a brief overview of the situation, an example of a previous monumental case, narration on the story, recordings of the individuals involved, personal opinions via rhetorical questions, and then finally a twist in the end to leave the audience thinking. Podcasts like Serial leave the audience engaged and wanting for more. The involvement, facts and detail that\u2019s presented really makes the podcast interesting, and Serial is impressive. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Word Count: 1,014<\/p>\n\n\n\n
By: Jaskaran Johal<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
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