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Arts & Life
The Clarion \ April 22, 2020
Netflix Review
'Tiger King' captivates
ByAia Andonovska
Arts & Life Editor
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By now, you’ve probably heard of the series
on Netflix called “Tiger King.” Memes have
exploded on the internet featuring Joe Exotic
and his fellow tiger enthusiasts. If you haven’t
seen it, you most definitely have heard about it!
This show follows the crime ridden lives of
Americans who have become addicted to power
by owning and breeding big cats. These people
run this front successfully by advertising their
breeding operations as zoos or safe havens for
big cats.
“Tiger King” exposes an underground
crime ring happening in our country at this
very moment that most people previously did
not know much about. It educates on animal
rights while captivating viewers because of the
ludicrous things that occur all captured on tape.
This is the thrilling crime documentary that
people need during quarantine. The chaos that
ensues throughout the short series has boggled
the minds of many. The arson, a disappearance
and an alleged murder plot that the viewer
witnesses is really what makes the story draw
one in. As one watches, the story unfolds and
gets wilder by the minute.
Joe Exotic is, as described in his own words,
“A gay, gun-carrying redneck with a mullet,”
and is also the proud owner of the G.W. Zoo
in Oklahoma, where he breeds and owns 1,200
tigers for his zoos or for other owners, to the
horror of animal rights activists.
Exotic has a showman-like personality and
is fixated on his fame, so much that he creates
his own reality show about running the zoo. He
even tried to run for president and for governor
of Oklahoma. A lot of the incredible footage
that gives “Tiger King” its big laughs and scope
comes from Exotic’s constant documentation of
everything and a lot of these videos have been
on YouTube for years.
The beginning of this show only starts with
Joe Exotic. The documentary branches out to
his employees, his two husbands and fellow
tiger owner Bhagavan “Doc” Antle, who lives
out his guru dreams at his own complex in
Myrtle Beach, South Carolina.
Each person represented here has a long
history of loving wild animals, an enigmatic
presence in front of a camera and a closet
full of dark secrets. Perhaps no one has more
secrets than Carole Baskin, whose popular
Big Cat Rescue tiger haven down in Florida
is aligned strictly with PETA against Joe and
tiger breeders.
As you can imagine, Joe hates her as much
as he loves his cats, and his big ego knows no
censorship when it comes to sabotaging her,
her image, threatening to kill her or trying to
convince the world that it was Carole who made
her third husband Don disappear.
This feud is between two polar opposites who
will stop at nothing to hurt each other. I give this
series 4.5 stars out of 5 and highly recommend
it to anyones who needs something to watch to
pass the time in quarantine.
Joe Exotic and one of his tigers from the Netflix show “Tiger King.”