The Madness: A Netflix Original - An Existential Crisis Disguised as a Blog

When I think of the word "madness" what comes to mind is the situation of the world now. The madness of it all since 2020, when our collective consciousness broke. When I saw that there was going to be a Netflix show titled The Madness starring the talented Colman Domingo, I was intrigued. When it was described as a “post truth thriller” I was hesitant. Sounds less like fiction and more like the state of things as we know it.

There was no reason not to at least give this show a try. The cast is stellar, featuring Stephen McKinley (currently also in another hit Netflix show) and Marsha Stephanie Blake, who stars in another famed recommended Netflix show The Way They See Us. Like any good preview, I was hooked, but still hesitant. The word madness seemed like a word that kept creeping into my psyche. Madness and absurdity felt synonymous of each other. While the show felt like my jam, I was unsure if I wanted the sandwich.

Like much of our current environment, the show seems very straightforward, a case of a mistaken man for the crime, and in that, the question arises: “Who am I?” Yet, unlike the typical white protagonist of this genre who ultimately has the benefit of the doubt of predominant culture. For example, in the Bourne Identity series there was no doubt that they were not going to kill him. The thrill of the story was how he was going to get out. If you look at the Captain America franchise, in many ways Captain America is a traitor, but he is white and American (before the reboot), thus the hero, the liberator.

But what happens if it is a Black man who is accused and is viewed as a traitor? An ordinary citizen with no special military background, no enhancement investments? In other words, high stakes I could get behind. A story line I could see myself in. The lead character is a media pundit named Muncie Daniels. He has a recognizable face, a person just trying to make a difference. Yet, despite his fame, despite his efforts, and despite his intentions, just being in the wrong place at the wrong time, resulted in life threatening obstacles.

White generally protects white, so for me, there is never a real sense of urgency in 'whodunit' thriller or a power dynamic I could relate to. This is often the implicit message of these spy franchises, as brown and Black men serve as the disposable villains. Captain America (white) was ultimately protected by his whiteness, and thus not seen as a traitor, or to be excluded from a system he found unjust. Yet, what happens when you are a nationality but not a part of the group? What happens if you are already viewed as an other? “Where are you really from?”

What happens is the world around us, but more specifically the underlying plot of The Madness. I could relate to Muncie Daniels' character because as a brown man there is this inevitable running from the law, running from the system. Whether it be the legal system or trying to be the best, to be outstanding, every brown man has had the thought that if I get famous enough then I can be free. But I know this is not true. Muncie Daniels knows this is not true.

All it took was trying to do right by himself, taking a break, getting away from it all, even having a holiday, but there is no vacation from the underlying systemic oppression. Muncie Daniels had the bad luck of being in the wrong place at the wrong time, America, now. A greater metaphor for being Black in this country. Everything seemed normal about the out-of-the-way cabin, even down to his distant, off-putting white neighbor. But all it takes is one white man and his hatred of a Black man for this person to feel entitled to, at best, disrupt another life and, at worst, take it.

In other words, stakes I could more identify with. The magic of The Madness wasn’t in the question that most 'whodunit' thrillers possess, which is, "How is he going to get out?" In The Madness, the question is not 'how' but 'if!' This is a far more accurate question concerning Black men and the law. Few bad apples have definitely ruined the pie of due process. For the first time in a long time, I watched something not to see if I was right, but to see if I would be wrong.

Initially, I did not know if I needed a show like The Madness. I assumed it would just be a repackaged spy thriller with a Black lead to appease a broader economic base. However, I did need this show. I needed a show where the villains are everyday villains I recognize as oppressors. A show that wasn’t horror but still terrifying. A show that put billionaires squarely where they belong: at the heart of the problem.

But in full transparency, I was not expecting a philosophical treatise on power dynamics. And in truth, none of that mattered to me in the beginning. I was hooked from the start for the simple reason that the main character was shown to be a purple belt in Jiujitsu. It was then, as a lifelong practitioner of Jiujitsu, that I knew I could embrace the Madness!