I watched Tiger King the way most of us did, as a guilty pleasure, an amusing look into a sleazy but fascinating world, full of slimy but entertaining characters, plus the beautiful animals. The humans are all either cons, sleazes, victims, or some combination. The Tiger King himself is a loudmouth ignoramus, a thief, and a sneak, but he has a certain flamboyant charm. Jeff Lowe has the most appropriate name ever. He makes you want to shower after his scenes, he's such a scuzzball. All the world's a strip club for Jeff and his doxies. Carol is an attention addict who may also be a murderer, altho there is room for a reasonable doubt there, and at least her animals appear to be cared for. The amount of vitriol she comes in for on social media to my mind has more to do with misogyny than degree of blame, but they're a dubious lot, no doubt about it.
Doc Antle appears at first to be just another lowlife egotist using the poor animals as status symbols and seduction tools with very little thought as to their well-being. But apparently the makers of the first round of shows saw something darker and more unsettling in him, and so he got a whole little series all to himself. It is my opinion that this one was not done for entertainment like the previous episodes, although it is entertaining in its way. This one wanted to expose Doc as a true criminal. Joe Exotic might deserve to be in jail, although it is not blindingly clear that he contracted someone to kill Carol, although his obsession with her was definitely used by Lowe to manipulate and cheat him, and he certainly made very public credible threats. In Doc's case, there is no doubt. He belongs in jail, period. They all abuse and use the animals for base purposes, but he's the one with a freezer full of dead tiger cubs.
They all lie about their past and qualifications, but he's the only one claiming to be both a doctor and a holy man, calling himself Bhagavan, a word used in Indian religions used to denote figures of religious worship. No evidence of any medical training exists, and his claims to holy man status have their roots in his membership in one of these cultoid 70s communes headed by self-styled maharishis preying on gullible westerners. Somehow these maharishis always seem to end up charged with some sort of financial and sexual misconduct. Which is all Doc appears to have learned from his "spiritual education." And he learned it well.
But the real core of his criminality is in his long history of recruiting, seducing, abusing, and virtually enslaving underage girls, in one case actually abducting one across the country. People toss around the terms groomer and pedophile a little too freely these days, but in this case, they both apply. It is amazing to me he is not facing any charges on this account, much less being in actual prison. It becomes clear that the real story here is not his financial skullduggery, animal abuse, exploitation of workers, and even a possible murder, although all these are very real, but his sexual abuse of a long string of underage girls. I believe that this is what the filmmakers wanted to expose.
But he has yet to face a single charge on this matter, as far as I can tell. He was arrested by the FBI for charges related to money laundering. He also faces charges relating to illegally trafficking animals. But nothing on what I consider to be his worst wrongdoings, the ongoing, habitual sexual abuse of minors. Not that the other charges are not real and criminal. But everyone seems more worried about the animals than the kids.
This spin off, as it were, of the Tiger King series is not intended, in my opinion, as entertainment, but as activism. It's darker and more sinister, as we watch him move from girl to girl to girl. He was in his thirties when the stories begin, and he has amassed a long trail of victims. It does not appear as if any of them will receive any justice, but the makers of this show have done their damndest to expose him for the slimy pedophile he is.
It's as well made as the original, with good footage, clear storylines, and all the technical skill, but I think it was made with slightly different intentions.
Doc Antle appears at first to be just another lowlife egotist using the poor animals as status symbols and seduction tools with very little thought as to their well-being. But apparently the makers of the first round of shows saw something darker and more unsettling in him, and so he got a whole little series all to himself. It is my opinion that this one was not done for entertainment like the previous episodes, although it is entertaining in its way. This one wanted to expose Doc as a true criminal. Joe Exotic might deserve to be in jail, although it is not blindingly clear that he contracted someone to kill Carol, although his obsession with her was definitely used by Lowe to manipulate and cheat him, and he certainly made very public credible threats. In Doc's case, there is no doubt. He belongs in jail, period. They all abuse and use the animals for base purposes, but he's the one with a freezer full of dead tiger cubs.
They all lie about their past and qualifications, but he's the only one claiming to be both a doctor and a holy man, calling himself Bhagavan, a word used in Indian religions used to denote figures of religious worship. No evidence of any medical training exists, and his claims to holy man status have their roots in his membership in one of these cultoid 70s communes headed by self-styled maharishis preying on gullible westerners. Somehow these maharishis always seem to end up charged with some sort of financial and sexual misconduct. Which is all Doc appears to have learned from his "spiritual education." And he learned it well.
But the real core of his criminality is in his long history of recruiting, seducing, abusing, and virtually enslaving underage girls, in one case actually abducting one across the country. People toss around the terms groomer and pedophile a little too freely these days, but in this case, they both apply. It is amazing to me he is not facing any charges on this account, much less being in actual prison. It becomes clear that the real story here is not his financial skullduggery, animal abuse, exploitation of workers, and even a possible murder, although all these are very real, but his sexual abuse of a long string of underage girls. I believe that this is what the filmmakers wanted to expose.
But he has yet to face a single charge on this matter, as far as I can tell. He was arrested by the FBI for charges related to money laundering. He also faces charges relating to illegally trafficking animals. But nothing on what I consider to be his worst wrongdoings, the ongoing, habitual sexual abuse of minors. Not that the other charges are not real and criminal. But everyone seems more worried about the animals than the kids.
This spin off, as it were, of the Tiger King series is not intended, in my opinion, as entertainment, but as activism. It's darker and more sinister, as we watch him move from girl to girl to girl. He was in his thirties when the stories begin, and he has amassed a long trail of victims. It does not appear as if any of them will receive any justice, but the makers of this show have done their damndest to expose him for the slimy pedophile he is.
It's as well made as the original, with good footage, clear storylines, and all the technical skill, but I think it was made with slightly different intentions.