To Catch a Predator aired on mainstream television for years. With actors and hidden cameras, the producers would lure abusers to a house under the guise of finally meeting the child they thought they’d been messaging online or speaking to by phone. In a dramatic sting operation, host Chris Hansen would confront the offender on camera, at which point they would usually leave the house to be met by police waiting outside. Each episode played like a closed case, as clear as black and white. The reality was more complicated. Director David Osit painstakingly explores the public fascination with the show and the ways it reinforced viewers’ sense of moral high ground and complacency. Through interviews with the show’s participants and others impacted by its production, law enforcement officers, and the copycat hosts inspired by it, Osit’s examination prompts a broader meditation on justice, punishment, and healing, inviting the audience to consider questions of right and wrong, even when an act is unforgiveable.  ST

Q&A following screening.