‘Unabomber’ Tops Streaming Charts; Victim’s Son Blasts Netflix
Netflix has lost a number of shows and movies over the last several months, but the streamer has also invested heavily in original content that continues to thrill subscribers. Unabomber, a true-crime drama about the harrowing Ted Kaczynski case, was released just days ago and is already topping the charts. But while viewers are enthralled, the son of one of Kaczynski’s victims is not amused.
A chart-topping debut
Unabomber, which follows Kaczynski from his years as a young Harvard student through the events that made him one of America’s most notorious criminals, was released on Netflix on Sept. 25. Just one day later, it was the No. 1 movie on the platform worldwide, according to FlixPatrol. It also hit No. 1 in the United States, United Kingdom, Australia, Canada, Germany, Italy, and numerous other countries.
While the movie hasn’t been well received on Rotten Tomatoes, its success points to an interesting trend for Netflix: dramatized true crime, often based on notorious American cases, sells, and it sells well. Viewers seem to be logging on in droves to watch these grim stories play out, but not everyone thinks creating such content is a good idea. The son of one of Kaczynski’s victims slammed the streamer ahead of the movie’s release.
A victim’s son speaks out
When Netflix released the trailer for Unabomber in August, Jonathan Epstein spoke out against the project almost immediately. His father, Dr. Charles Epstein, was severely injured and lost three fingers when a bomb Kaczynski mailed him exploded at his home in 1993.
Epstein argued that the “inspired by true events” label allowed Netflix to overdramatize the story and offer rationales for Kaczynski’s actions that are offensive to his victims. He also took issue with the film’s focus on Kaczynski’s mental health, arguing that it painted the domestic terrorist too sympathetically.
Dr. Epstein was targeted by mistake. Kaczynski believed the doctor was involved in genetic engineering, but he was actually researching Down syndrome. Dr. Epstein died in 2011.
Epstein’s criticisms are shared by others. IndieWire called the movie dangerously simplistic in its retelling of historic events. Others worry that dramatizing such crimes for the screen could inspire or embolden potentially dangerous individuals.
Who was the real Ted Kaczynski?
Ted Kaczynski was born in Chicago and entered Harvard at just 16 as a math prodigy. While there, he took part in a controversial, psychologically stressful personality study led by psychologist Henry Murray, an experience some have pointed to as potentially damaging to Kaczynski. He continued his education regardless, earning a Ph.D. in mathematics from the University of Michigan. His career took off quickly: He became one of the youngest assistant professors ever hired at the University of California, Berkeley, before abruptly resigning in 1969.
By 1971, Kaczynski had retreated to a remote, primitive cabin near Lincoln, Montana, with no electricity or running water. It was there that he hatched a deadly plan. Between 1978 and 1995, he mailed or planted 16 homemade bombs around the country, killing three people and injuring 23 others. Kaczynski chose his targets based on his belief that technology was destroying human freedom.
In 1995, Kaczynski demanded that major newspapers publish his 35,000-word manifesto, “Industrial Society and Its Future,” promising to stop the bombings if they did. The Washington Post and The New York Times printed it that September, and the decision ultimately led to his capture. His brother, David Kaczynski, and sister-in-law recognized his writing style and contacted the FBI. Agents arrested Kaczynski at his cabin in April 1996.
To avoid the death penalty, Kaczynski pleaded guilty in 1998, rejecting his lawyers’ efforts to pursue a mental illness defense. He was sentenced to eight life terms without the possibility of parole. He died by suicide in a federal prison medical center in North Carolina in June 2023.
