The Keepers: Full Run

June 27, 2017 5:20 PM - Season 1 (Full Season)

Starting with the unsolved murder of Sister Cathy Celsnik, Ryan White's true crime documentary uncovers a massive history of sexual abuse perpetrated by the Catholic Priest, Joseph Maskell. Moving between the late 1960s (when the bulk of the abuse occurred), the 1990s (when the story began to come to light), and the present day, White follows a number of individuals who have been independently researching the murder. Content Warning: the series deals directly with graphic details of sexual abuse, violence, and murder.
posted by codacorolla (11 comments total)

This was pretty good. I mean, obviously about a whole bunch of horrible things, but a good series that kept us riveted. The final episode was a little less "final" than it could have been, I think, both stylistically and in terms of content, but that is the nature of the crime(s) I suppose.
posted by turbid dahlia at 8:10 PM on June 27, 2017

Abbie & Gemma are my heroes.
posted by Gin and Broadband at 10:42 PM on June 27, 2017 [5 favorites]

ALL of the wonen featured are my heroes. Jean and Theresa (Jane Doe and Jane Roe) are so incredibly brave and strong. I was also really touched and bolstered by the fact that their families have been so supportive, when a lot of staunchly Catholic families would have reacted... not that way.
posted by Pizzarina Sbarro at 1:10 AM on June 28, 2017 [4 favorites]

I agree, the everyday heroism exhibited by the focal characters is really something else. Especially in the face of a bunch of people that as children we have it drummed into our heads are the "real heroes", but appear to be either entirely complicit in monstrous acts, or willfully ignorant of those acts. The Catholic Church's response has been both predictable and disgusting, and indicates that even with parishioners leaving in droves, and waning meaning and influence of the church in modern times, they have no real desire to do anything other than put forward a smiling face while changing nothing underneath.
posted by codacorolla at 9:18 AM on June 29, 2017

Just finished watching this and am so in awe of all of the amazing women featured in it. The subject matter is really tough to handle, not least because the women are given the space to tell it the way they experienced it.

The Keepers deconstructs the true crime genre to focus on women's lives (Jezebel)

"Instead of flattening the women into the accessible narratives that are often the baseline of true crime, The Keepers allows them to be flesh and blood women, to narrate their stories, and to contextualize their abuse on their own terms. They are complicated, they are angry (“those fuckers,” Wehner says with righteous spite at one point), they are loving, they are victims, and they are survivors. The women of Keough are women whom history, time, and power have colluded to silence and The Keepers understands that these women—their unfettered and uncensored stories—are more important than a tidy documentary."

That said, the episode about the suspects (episode 7, from memory) introduced some people and theories I thought were entirely sincere but not credible. But I guess that's what happens when men abuse their families without facing any consequences - it's hard to tell which other horrible acts they might be responsible for as well.

In some good news, the bill extending the statute of limitations for child abuse in that state has finally been passed.

Is it ok to talk in this thread about who we suspect of the murder?
posted by harriet vane at 6:33 AM on June 30, 2017 [3 favorites]

That's fine with me! I have my own suspicions, of course.
posted by codacorolla at 7:10 AM on June 30, 2017

i thought I would need to watch this one sparingly but in the end, I watched the whole thing in one go because these women were all just amazing and I wanted to hear them fully.

I agree that some of the suspects in the suspects episode were a bit..odd. And why so little mention of the fact that Maskell's brother was in the police force. He seemed pretty senior and It just came up briefly but it seems weird to me that an obvious conflict wasn't looked at in the documentary.
posted by halcyonday at 12:40 AM on July 1, 2017 [1 favorite]

Like the journalist Nugent, I'm not particularly interested in Edgar Davidson or the Schmidts. If any of them were involved, it would probably have been at the behest of Maskell or someone else, so although they might be important they aren't quite relevant, if you know what I mean.

However, Nugent is pretty down on Gerry Koob and I just don't know if I can follow him there. Nugent has contacts in the police force, and in my opinion takes on their biases and preconceived ideas. The cops in 1967 were all over Koob, which makes sense - either as the love interest (who should be prime suspect just by statistics of other murders of young women) or as part of a cover up for one of their dodgy mates, it works both ways. Koob presents well: intelligent and capable of seeing nuance. Unlike the other suspects, he's managed to put together a nice life without any further trouble with the law. Nugent, in a Reddit AMA, says he thinks Koob might be Brother Bob. It's hard to believe...

But that story about the cop giving Koob a vagina wrapped in newspaper! What the fuck? I have no trouble believing cops would intimidate a suspect - but the autopsy results mean that it cannot have happened as he said. The lower body had damage from animals. So did Koob naively believe a cop who was not good at the intimidation game (or maybe new to it) or does he think everyone else will believe a weird lie? At any rate it made me go back to re-listen to his initial story. its very romantic, but with nothing but his say-so - plenty of stalkers and friend-zoned guys tell a romantic tale. But then again, the letter from her indicates a more serious relationship. So I just can't tell if he's a spurned or controlling lover who killed her without realising what else she was involved in, or if he's complicit in the covering up for Maskell (and if so, was likely involved in the rapes). I struggle to think he's exactly as he presents himself - completely innocent and ignorant of what was going on at Keogh.

But I have gone back and forth on Koob several times. I just don't know what to make of him.
posted by harriet vane at 7:02 AM on July 2, 2017 [3 favorites]

And oh yes, the brother in the police force - why wasn't that given more attention? Surely the investigation ladies are all over that?
posted by harriet vane at 7:03 AM on July 2, 2017

This was great. I binged all seven episodes over the course of Sunday/Monday.

I love this kind of thing, but usually I have issues with the filmmakers distorting the timeline and/or withholding information to fit their narrative. I didn't get that feeling from The Keepers. I didn't feel like Ryan White had a theory he was pushing. It's left open-ended whether we should suspect Ed Davidson/The Schmidts or Koob as the killer, which is how it should be, given that it's an open case. Maybe more information will come to light, now that the show is out. The only undeniable villains were Maskell and the Archdiocese of Baltimore.

That said, the episode about the suspects (episode 7, from memory) introduced some people and theories I thought were entirely sincere but not credible. But I guess that's what happens when men abuse their families without facing any consequences - it's hard to tell which other horrible acts they might be responsible for as well.

I also have my doubts about the veracity of some of the memories. However, there was enough corroboration about what an evil fuck Father Maskell was, that overall the stories of abuse in the school were compelling. It's so infuriating that the Archdiocese knew he was a sicko (to use Charles Franz's word) and decided to make him the counselor at a high school.

And why so little mention of the fact that Maskell's brother was in the police force. He seemed pretty senior and It just came up briefly but it seems weird to me that an obvious conflict wasn't looked at in the documentary.

Wasn't he also named Bob, or was that another cop? Every time someone named Bob was mentioned, I was sure it was going to tie back to "Father Bob."
posted by donajo at 11:23 AM on July 11, 2017

The Women Of "The Keepers" Aren't Afraid Of The Truth: https://www.buzzfeed.com/annehelenpetersen/dont-mess-with-post-menopausal-women

(Best URL ever)
posted by donajo at 12:11 PM on July 11, 2017 [1 favorite]