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Tiger King on Netflix is outrageous, but more weird is Indians following it

Tiger King is so alien to the Indian ways of life that it perhaps ends up comforting us at a time when the reality isn’t that inspiring, especially in lockdown.

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There is absolutely nothing to like about Netflix’s Tiger King. And yet, since its release on 20 March, it has been the streaming platform’s most-watched show, garnering 34.3 million unique views in its first 10 days. Every second Instagram meme has a Tiger King reference, every guy who makes a “Feminazi” joke mentions Carole Baskin, who, rumour (arguably fuelled by the show, based on no evidence) has it, fed her husband to the tigers at her sanctuary. Yes, that’s how twisted it is.

It is understandable why Americans are glued to it. But why are Indians obsessed with Tiger King? It’s entertaining, sure, but only up to a point. And it’s so hugely unrelatable to us that its success in this country is somewhat baffling. Is it hate-watching? Is it like cringe porn? Or is it plain old Indian pride? It’s complicated.

The seven-episode true crime show about the bizarre links between big cat collectors in the US, including Joe Exotic (who some may remember from his failed campaigns to run for US president and later, Governor of Oklahoma) and those like Carole Baskin, who call themselves conservationists, is grotesque, terrifying, hyper-sensationalist and cringe-inducing – and yet, no one can stop watching it or talking about it.


Also read: Masakali remix leaves Rahman unimpressed, social media goes berserk with memes, jokes


Misplaced pride or a common enemy

While the show focuses largely on Joe Exotic and his rivalry with Carole Baskin, there are other characters who are a big part of it, notably Bhagavan ‘Doc’ Antle, who is less flashy than Joe Exotic, but equally disturbing. He is someone who forces female employees at his wildlife preserve to dress in cat-print bodysuits, makes them get breast implants and much else.

He is a follower of godman Satchidananda, he believes in something called animal yoga. And then there’s Joe Exotic, who keeps talking, ironically and deludedly enough, about karma.

I have a hunch that this is probably a major draw for Indians: either to hate on the show for its cultural misappropriation (Antle doesn’t even know what Bhagavan means) or to take (hollow) pride in the fact that, like with Wild Wild West, Indian spirituality is coming of age on Netflix. Except it’s not really coming of age, it’s regressing. But then, this is, with due respect to Cat Stevens, a strange, bewildering time and India needs something to cling to.


Also read: Here’s what Indians are watching during Covid-19 lockdown. Spoiler: It’s not Friends reruns


We need something to feel good about ourselves

In the last eight months, the idea of India has taken a real beating. Between the undemocratic lockdown in Jammu & Kashmir, the CAA-NRC-NPR disaster that led to months of protest across India, the Delhi riots in February and the suffering of migrant workers after the lockdown, many Indians have felt depressed and anxious about what the country has become.

Added to that is the general anxiety about Covid-19, worrying about one’s own and one’s parents’ health, worrying about job security in an already tanking economy and trying to learn how to live in isolation.

Enter Joe Exotic, Carole Baskin, and a whole host of unsavoury characters so far removed from everything we have known or ever want to know, that we instantly feel better about our lives. At least we have some values, we think, smugly.

Because the thing is, our social and economic systems and laws just don’t allow for this kind of flashy, bizarre lifestyle. US laws and its unchecked capitalist system didn’t restrict private ownership of big cats, so even though what these people were doing was wrong by any ethics book, it wasn’t illegal.

In India, we have certain family systems, we have all kinds of wildlife laws, plus we have religious and nationalistic associations with the natural world. We worship snakes, cows and monkeys, the tiger is our national animal. We would never, we think in relief, have a situation where the number of captive tigers in our country is higher than the number of tigers in the wild in the rest of the world.

The show also highlights the nexus between big cat owners, drugs and the lack of any meaningful gun control in the US – also not a problem that we in India have right now. We have other problems, sure. But in our self-quarantine, in our loneliness and our uncertainties, we need to hold on to something for comfort. And Tiger King, as insane as it is, is so wildly unrelatable, so alien to the Indian ways of life, that perhaps that is precisely why we are comforted by it.

Views are personal.

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22 COMMENTS

  1. Madam. i think its far better to watch Tiger king and educate oneself about big cats than watching ‘4 more shots please’. The documentary showcases the torture and abuse that animals faces in captivity. There are animals in captivity in India as well and they are not not even cared for properly. Please dig deep before writing a piece of article. With this documentary, Indians will be more aware about the situation of Big Cats in the US

  2. Well Miss Samaira Sood I am calculating that you nothing else to write so you just SHOVED all your personal feelings and assumptions in this so called ARTICLE that too on THE PRINT , its not your personal diary its a website.
    The title is pure BAIT and thanks for your efforts to make the INDIANS look like stupid , misogynistic , pretentious , criminally inclined and what not.
    We as viewers can watch any series we want to, so take a chill pill and make Work from Home worth by not writing another article.
    Take this comment as a lesson and after every series you watch share your views on IMDb not as an article with outrageous title on a news website .

  3. Maybe, just maybe some Indians are actually relate to it. Cause you know we have brains and can appreciate or maybe have interest that you as an author may not. Maybe. Who knows. Clearly not you though.

  4. Samaira Sood: Why are Indians watching Tiger King? It’s so unrelatable.
    Le Indian: I apologize. I’m only supposed to watch saas-bahu content, despite being the hottest target market for the Netflixes of the world. All thanks to articles such as this one.

    . It’s like asking, why Americans found the Osho documentary interesting. Curiosity? Knowledge? Entertainment? Such a shame that you handpick Indians for literally watching what the f they want and then go on to ask,

  5. I absolutely disagree with this article.
    This documentary is called Tiger King and not something like “Tiger trade” is because the docuseries is meant to be a character sketch of the people involved in the trade, and not about the animals. (which is made clear in the end when its mentioned how the biggest sufferers in this whole chaos are the animals)
    For me as an Indian, the first few lines of episode 1 when they mention that there are more big cats captive in the states than there are free anywhere else in the wild was enough to get me curious, especially knowing how challenging it has been for conservationists in India to revive the local population of tigers here.
    It shows the absurdity of personalities like Joe, Doc and Carol who are possibly not very different from each other. (And the documentary also had law enforcement and others perspectives confirming that there was no evidence that her absconding/dead ex-husband was fed to the big cats)
    Dont for a second think that Doc Antle is gullible enough to not know the meaning of Bhagwan. He just didn’t like the position he was put into by that question, and thus deflected the answer like a kid caught stealing cookies from a jar. It’s even clearer when his own son (If I remember correctly, it was the exact next shot) defines what bhagwan is and radiates his distaste for his father.
    The memes aside, it has reached the popularity it did because it has a great story and I really can’t understand how it’s any different from an Indian audience expressing interest in western shows like GOT, Narcos, Money Heist etc etc.

    However, what bothers me a bit about the docuseries is it no doubt sensationalizes certain events to create a more intriguing story. For example, with the release of the bonus episode,*SPOILERS* its revealed that Travis might have accidentally killed himself, but was presented to have succumbed to the pressure of his relationship with Joe in the show.
    But then again, it’s how the death was dealt with than the death itself that makes Tiger King what it is.

    And yes, I’m not sure if your CAA/NRC ‘trying to feel good about ourselves’ argument holds much merit. But then again, it’s just my opinion against yours

  6. What a load of bullshit. It truely takes a lot of stupidity and hatred to link CAA and this good awful documentary. Well, the Print is one of the good news outlets in this current mess, but stop stretching your limits.

  7. I disagree. Just because it doesn’t feature what you would consider Indian problems, it’s not relatable to Indians? Ever watched a Hollywood film? There’s a spectrum of human emotions that universally are relatable, fear, anger, deceit, hope, doubt, to name a few. Tiger King is well made and very well balanced. Apart from anything else it’s a documentary, so it’s a sense of realism that you don’t find in most content. Because it is in fact real.

  8. After reading your first few lines couldn’t care less….
    You actually went ahead and wrote a whole article???

    You have a lot of time.
    Please find something better to write on. This was not worth the effort.

  9. Extreme bullshit.. a complete click bait article. There is a much larger meaning to this whole thing if only you spared some time to watch it.. and how can you even make the connection with CAA..
    You are trying to say that we are watching this show to make ourselves feel better in comparison??? Really??
    Your article is only based on the fact that there are so many views for this show.. but does it anywhere mention what are our thoughts after watching it??
    Atleast do a thorough research before giving your opinion about something..

  10. Hi Samira,

    While your views are somewhat intriguing, it also makes me think why does it disturbs you so much that you took time to post an entire article about cultural sensitization and national regression.

    Is it because you felt the same emotions watching the series like any other person would as you implied? Or is it because you think of yourself so far above the society that it gives you right to impose your opinion on what someone might think?

    Tiger King is the most watched and recommend series at the current time and since people have plenty of time to waste now than ever they watch whatever they like and I don’t think anyone has any right to judge.

    Also since I have watched this series it interests me more because it involves Big Cats and not the spiritual or criminal orientation. Yes I understand that crime against Wildlife is the main focus of the series and I condemn the act of breeding and raising big cats for personal interest.

    If you can take out some time to research then you would know that after US, UAE is a country where big cats are kept in captivity just for status. People have person zoos full of exotic animals. And just because that is not televised doesn’t mean that it’s not happening.

    If you want to be a messenger of hope please do us a favor and write about current affairs to educate people on COVID-19 that might get you some good views, rather than criticizing what people are watching on streaming services.

  11. Only channels like you can link Joe exotic to CAA, 370. What a waste of time reading this. Find something useful to write.

  12. Miss Sood is certainly entitled to her own “personal views” and I haven’t ever watched an episode of “Tiger King” , but after living in India for 8 years and watching how neighbors in Hyderabad have killed snakes found in the parking lot, visited the polluted beaches of Tamil Nada where sealife is suffocated in garbage, and seen first hand the beating of chained elephants in Kaziranga, I’m not sure the rest of the country shares her vision of how to respect nature. The backside plot has a family burning a pile of plastic just now, I’m sure that’s doing wonders for the environment as well (even though yes, we have laws against it).

  13. The author’s life has probably been governed by hate and contempt and hence she expects others to be similar. A person can also watch the movie because he/she appreciates and loves the freedom in the USA and wants to experience the same vicariously. I envy the USA people for the freedoms they enjoy – the freedom to own wild animals and guns, the freedom to be lionzens rather than sheeple. If you cannot appreciate other’s love for freedom at least don’t denigrate their choices by assuming it is inspired by contemp.

  14. What click bait. The writer says nothing thought-provoking about the appeal of the show. Instead, uses the popularity of the show to push a political agenda. Can any of you people at The Print keep politics out of anything at all? Try. Lastly, it’s quite immature to project your agony about the course the country has taken under the current political leadership upon your readers and assume they feel the same way. A vast majority do not. Maybe next time stick to the subject, and use a pillow maybe to scream your political frustrations at? Just a suggestion.

  15. Instead, in India you have laws revoking the citizenship of millions. Congratulations, you managed to take America’s willingness to look this tremendously ugly element of our society square in the face and turn it into a reason to ignore the horrendous social arc India is nosediving into. Rest assured that if India produces a compelling look at the brutal rape culture in India I will not treat it as an opportunity to celebrate the US.

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