Missing People: Real Talk on Art and Unseen Stories
2025 Sundance Film Festival Continued Coverage
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In the Wake TV Producers Shayna and Julia have a critical conversation about the missing people crisis and how the true crime genre's sensationalization distorts reality—making what is actually serial femicide appear as isolated incidents for entertainment consumption.
Beyond True Crime Entertainment: Shayna and Julia unpack the dangerous disconnect between true crime's popularity and the systemic violence it often exploits. When missing persons cases—particularly those involving Black women, Indigenous women, trans women, and other marginalized communities—are either ignored by mainstream media or sensationalized for shock value, we lose sight of the pattern: this is serial femicide, not random tragedy. The true crime boom has turned real suffering into content while failing to address the structural issues that make certain lives disposable.
Why This Matters: The "missing white woman syndrome" is real, and its inverse—the erasure of missing Black and Brown women—is deadly. When media treats these cases as isolated incidents rather than evidence of systemic violence against women, especially women of color, we fail the communities most impacted. Art and storytelling have power, but only when they center truth, context, and the voices of those most affected—not when they prioritize entertainment over justice.
Watch the full conversation as Shayna and Julia challenge the true crime industry, discuss responsible storytelling about violence against women, and call for media that honors victims rather than exploiting their stories.
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