From Slate Magazine · Sam Adams · · 1m
Primetime: The Predator Sting
Robert Pattinson's chilling Primetime exposes the dark side of NBC's To Catch a Predator.
In brief
Robert Pattinson's chilling Primetime exposes the dark side of NBC's To Catch a Predator. Robert Pattinson portrays Chris Hansen in a documentary about NBC's reality show To Catch a Predator that targeted sexual predators. Originally reported by Slate Magazine.
Security Camera Sting
NBC journalist chris hansen targets a marine veteran for sex with a teenager.
“the sting house where hansen and his to catch a predator crew have set up shop is fitted with hidden cameras”
To Catch a Predator
a 20-episode reality show aired from 2004 to 2007 targeting sexual predators.
“to catch a predator was a pop-culture sensation, fusing the thrill of vicarious vigilantism with the compulsive rubbernecking of reality tv”
Hansen's Method
hansen posed as a free target while police waited outside to arrest suspects.
“he would tell his targets that they were free to go, but police officers were usually waiting right outside the door to arrest them”
Predator Sting
hansen worked with perverted-justice to pose as teenagers online.
“he worked regularly with the group perverted-justice, whose operatives posed as teenagers in online chat rooms”
The Moment
hansen's quips capture the moment a predator realizes his life is gone forever.
“what drove to catch a predator was the moment hansen stepped through a door with one of his carefully practiced quips”
Pattinson's Performance
pattinson's grin is stilted, almost alien-like in its intensity.
“pattinson’s performance is a marvel of grinning grotesquerie, so stilted in his attempts to sound casual that you half expect his face to swing open and reveal a tiny alien at the controls”
Decoy Perspectives
decoys like del harvey question the show's effectiveness in curbing real predation.
“del harvey, an advocate for victims of sexual exploitation, doubts whether staged shaming on network tv is the most effective tactic”
The Real Impact
the show's abrupt cancellation followed a fatal miscalculation.
“the fatally miscalculated setup led to its abrupt cancellation”
Here's the gist
Robert Pattinson portrays Chris Hansen in a documentary about NBC's reality show To Catch a Predator that targeted sexual predators.
