Baby Reindeer: Body language experts reveal why Netflix criticism is wrong
NetflixA group of leading body language experts have shared their thoughts on the Baby Reindeer debate, countering the accusation that Netflix and Richard Gadd are in the wrong.
During his interview with Fiona Harvey last week, Piers Morgan argued that the streaming service and Gadd had made a big mistake pitching Baby Reindeer as a “true story.”
After Harvey was outed as the alleged “real Martha,” she claimed she’s never been convicted for stalking and refuted many of the details in the Netflix series. If this turns out to be the case, Morgan believed she could have grounds to sue.
However, The Behavior Panel — a non-partisan group of the world’s top body language and behavior experts, Scott Rouse, Mark Bowden, Chase Hughes, and Greg Hartley — have countered this argument in their latest episode.
While breaking down Harvey’s appearance on Uncensored, Bowden explained, “Netflix says at the start, ‘This is a true story.’ So they’re saying at the start of this in black and white that it is a communication of indisputable fact.
“Now, what we also have to realize is at the end of the Netflix show they then say it’s based on a true story.
“It’s a dramatic convention at the start of something to say, ‘This is a true story.’ Rather like sometimes a magician in a show on TV will say, ‘I’m not using any stooges. All of these people are members of the public.’ They’re not. They’re all actors.”
Rouse added, “Remember what he says before that? He says, ‘I’m not a mentalist, I’m not anything.’ And he tells you he’s going to do that and then he does it.”
“Right,” Bowden replied. “So in drama, it’s a convention to say, ‘This is a true story,’ and we’re meant to know that’s a convention, it’s not a true story. And they cover themselves at the end.”
That being said, Bowden went on to highlight the issue of delusional disorder, which he defines as a situation where you put indisputable facts in front of somebody and they don’t believe them to be the truth.
“My question is, who has delusional disorder here? Is it Richard Gadd, the writer? Is it Harvey, the person that we’re watching here? Or is it Netflix?” he added.
“Because I could pretty much say that all of them are putting down what they think are indisputable facts as the truth and vice-versa. It’s very hard here to work out…
“All of that is just my opinion. Take a look yourself and see what you think. But I think there’s possibly some delusional disorders going on, maybe with everybody involved in this.”
For more on the Netflix series, here’s the Baby Reindeer ending explained, as well as TV shows and movies to watch next and the best series of 2024 so far.