Telling the stories of real people with always carries with it a great deal of responsibility. And of course the question of why revisit the greatest tragedy of their lives. I felt this most strongly in the moment when I heard from Monika Kramná's friends about their memories and confronted them with her media image.
The way in which the media reported on Monika and how through sensationalism and the use of negative stereotypes, she was instrumental in shaping public opinion and her subsequent victimisation, still remains for me one of the strongest themes of the entire series. And it is i my answer to the question of why it makes sense to revisit the case i all these years later.
The reports focused on superficial aspects of her life, did not address the substance of the case, and the information they gave about her was incomplete and often distorted. The public debate, full of unnecessary speculation, constantly evaluated Monika Kramna as a wife and mother, which ultimately led from downplaying her suffering and death to absurdly accusing Monika of being responsible for her own fate.
We therefore saw it as an enormous responsibility to tell Monika's story in the series, and it was particularly important for us to offer a new perspective on how the media treated Monika Kramná.
We approached all sides of the conflict with equal responsibility, however. We set out to reconstruct the case with distance, with fidelity. We worked carefully, with the utmost effort to understand and capture all the key moments of the story. Our aim was to tell the story with respect for those affected by the case, without media hysteria, shortcuts and feeding into stereotypes. And above all, to give space to all those who want to say something about the case and have not yet had the opportunity. Equally important for us was that TV Nova shared this approach.
Even eleven years on from Monica's death, I feel, particularly in online discussions, that the perception of female victims of crime is still burdened by a number of prejudices. I would therefore like our series to help open up this discussion, offer viewers a new perspective on familiar realities and allow them to rethink old attitudes. To inspire greater critical thinking and empathy. And most importantly, it helped to understand how society and the media affect victims of crime and how we can work together to provide support, respect and justice for those whose lives have been affected by tragedy.
Source and photo: TV Nova s.r.o.
