...it's like TV Tropes, but LINKED DATA!

An American Crime

205 statements
39 feature instances
7 referencing feature instances

An American Crime	type	TVTItem
An American Crime	label	An American Crime
An American Crime	page	AnAmericanCrime
An American Crime	comment	Elliot Page note then still presenting as female and Catherine Keener star in this dramatization of the real-life story of Sylvia Likens and Gertrude Baniszewski.In 1965, the troubled Likens parents are forced to leave their teenage daughters Sylvia and Jenny with strangers while they work the season with a traveling carnival. Based on one meeting, father Lester Likens leaves his girls in the care of Gertrude Baniszewski, an impoverished mother with six children and more than enough troubles of her own.At first things seem okay. Sylvia and Jenny get along well with the Baniszewski children, and Sylvia befriends eldest daughter Paula. But Gertrude begins to resent these strangers amongst her own family, blaming them for all their recent troubles. Gradually her rage begins to focus exclusively on sixteen-year-old Sylvia, who seems to embody everything Gertrude lacks: youth, beauty, spirit, exuberance, hope. All things that Sylvia must be punished for.For these sins, Gertrude confines Sylvia to the grim, dark basement of the Baniszewski home, where Gertrude, her children, and—eventually—the neighborhood kids gather to "punish" her. Until Sylvia learns her lesson.That lesson culminated in what state prosecutors later called "the worst crime ever committed against a single person in the state of Indiana."Released in 2007, the film was released alongside another adaptation of the Likens case, The Girl Next Door. Unlike The Girl Next Door, which is highly fictionalized and takes a great number of liberties with the case, An American Crime is based heavily on the actual trial of Gertrude Baniszewski and sticks more closely to the facts.
An American Crime	fetched	2023-10-05T13:29:24Z
An American Crime	parsed	2023-10-05T13:29:24Z
An American Crime	processingComment	Dropped link to HistoricalBeautyUpgrade: Not a Feature - UNKNOWN
An American Crime	processingUnknown	HistoricalBeautyUpgrade
An American Crime	isPartOf	DBTropes
An American Crime / int_18baa751	type	Historical Villain Downgrade
An American Crime / int_18baa751	comment	Historical Villain Downgrade: What Gertrude did to Sylvia in real life was far worse than what the movie shows (there's no mention, for instance, of how Gertrude, besides the physical abuse, deliberately starved both Sylvia and Jenny and other horrible deeds she did to Sylvia). The same applies to Paula, whose portrayal in the film implies that she had some sympathy for Sylvia and even requests her mother end the abuse. The Real Life Paula, however, was no different from her evil mother. The real-life Gertrude and Paula also showed no remorse for their crimes, with Paula becoming a real-life case of Karma Houdini Warranty when she went on to live a normal life under a new name... at least until 2012, when she was fired from her job as a school counselor's aide when the school discovered she concealed her true identity on her job application. Her connection to the murder was subsequently exposed to the community. In real life, the incident that got Sylvia locked in the cellar was that she needed a gym uniform for school. When Gertrude refused to give her the money, and found out Sylvia managed to get one anyway, she accused her of theft and imprisoned her of punishment. The movie gives Gertrude the slightly more tragic excuse of seeing her own daughters follow her own mistakes, and take things out on the more innocent Sylvia.
An American Crime / int_18baa751	featureApplicability	1.0
An American Crime / int_18baa751	featureConfidence	1.0
An American Crime	hasFeature	An American Crime / int_18baa751
An American Crime / int_234fa9ba	type	Mayâ€“December Romance
An American Crime / int_234fa9ba	comment	May–December Romance: Gertrude and Andy. Keener was 48 at the time of filming, and James Franco was 29. A case of Real Life Writes the Plot, as the real "Andy" was 18 to Gertrude's 34 when they began dating.
An American Crime / int_234fa9ba	featureApplicability	1.0
An American Crime / int_234fa9ba	featureConfidence	1.0
An American Crime	hasFeature	An American Crime / int_234fa9ba
An American Crime / int_33d5b7f2	type	Adapted Out
An American Crime / int_33d5b7f2	comment	Adapted Out: Gertrude had seven children, while she has six in the film.
An American Crime / int_33d5b7f2	featureApplicability	1.0
An American Crime / int_33d5b7f2	featureConfidence	1.0
An American Crime	hasFeature	An American Crime / int_33d5b7f2
An American Crime / int_3618ebb9	type	TheSixties
An American Crime / int_3618ebb9	comment	The '60s: A rather darker side thereof—less free love and more secrecy and lack of child protective services.
An American Crime / int_3618ebb9	featureApplicability	1.0
An American Crime / int_3618ebb9	featureConfidence	1.0
An American Crime	hasFeature	An American Crime / int_3618ebb9
An American Crime / int_3bc88a7f	type	Foregone Conclusion
An American Crime / int_3bc88a7f	comment	Foregone Conclusion: The fate of Sylvia.
An American Crime / int_3bc88a7f	featureApplicability	1.0
An American Crime / int_3bc88a7f	featureConfidence	1.0
An American Crime	hasFeature	An American Crime / int_3bc88a7f
An American Crime / int_40bb59d0	type	Blatant Lies
An American Crime / int_40bb59d0	comment	Blatant Lies: Gertrude's story about Sylvia going to juvie.
An American Crime / int_40bb59d0	featureApplicability	1.0
An American Crime / int_40bb59d0	featureConfidence	1.0
An American Crime	hasFeature	An American Crime / int_40bb59d0
An American Crime / int_40cc0c7e	type	Bittersweet Ending
An American Crime / int_40cc0c7e	comment	Bittersweet Ending: Gertrude and her family are found guilty for their involvement in Sylvia's death, but Sylvia of course is dead and it's implied that her sister and parents will forever endure the trauma of what happened to her for years to come. One bright spot is Sylvia's ghost finding comfort at her parents's carnival, the only place she felt safe.
An American Crime / int_40cc0c7e	featureApplicability	1.0
An American Crime / int_40cc0c7e	featureConfidence	1.0
An American Crime	hasFeature	An American Crime / int_40cc0c7e
An American Crime / int_424c9a9b	type	Cold-Blooded Torture
An American Crime / int_424c9a9b	comment	Cold-Blooded Torture: Poor Sylvia is forced to endure this and eventually dies due to the horrific abuse she suffered.
An American Crime / int_424c9a9b	featureApplicability	1.0
An American Crime / int_424c9a9b	featureConfidence	1.0
An American Crime	hasFeature	An American Crime / int_424c9a9b
An American Crime / int_4548bae	type	Teen Pregnancy
An American Crime / int_4548bae	comment	Teen Pregnancy: Gertrude had her oldest daughter Paula at a young age, and Paula herself gets pregnant by her married, much-older boyfriend. Gertrude is unable to deal with the thought that Paula made the same mistake she did, leading her to blame poor Sylvia for her daughter's choices and ultimately torture her to death as a way to take out her fury on someone.
An American Crime / int_4548bae	featureApplicability	1.0
An American Crime / int_4548bae	featureConfidence	1.0
An American Crime	hasFeature	An American Crime / int_4548bae
An American Crime / int_479d4e5a	type	Would Hurt a Child
An American Crime / int_479d4e5a	comment	Would Hurt a Child: Gertrude Baniszewski.
An American Crime / int_479d4e5a	featureApplicability	1.0
An American Crime / int_479d4e5a	featureConfidence	1.0
An American Crime	hasFeature	An American Crime / int_479d4e5a
An American Crime / int_50b05d30	type	Disproportionate Retribution
An American Crime / int_50b05d30	comment	Disproportionate Retribution: Much of what happens to Sylvia falls under this. The first beating happened because the girls' parents' payment was late, and because Gertrude believed Sylvia was telling lies about Paula.
An American Crime / int_50b05d30	featureApplicability	1.0
An American Crime / int_50b05d30	featureConfidence	1.0
An American Crime	hasFeature	An American Crime / int_50b05d30
An American Crime / int_599f943f	type	Karma Houdini Warranty
An American Crime / int_599f943f	comment	The real-life Gertrude and Paula also showed no remorse for their crimes, with Paula becoming a real-life case of Karma Houdini Warranty when she went on to live a normal life under a new name... at least until 2012, when she was fired from her job as a school counselor's aide when the school discovered she concealed her true identity on her job application. Her connection to the murder was subsequently exposed to the community.
An American Crime / int_599f943f	featureApplicability	1.0
An American Crime / int_599f943f	featureConfidence	1.0
An American Crime	hasFeature	An American Crime / int_599f943f
An American Crime / int_59b571c	type	Destroy the Abusive Home
An American Crime / int_59b571c	comment	Destroy the Abusive Home: The ultimate fate of the Baniszewski home. While plans were made to restore the house as a shelter for abused girls, funding fell through, with many in the community blaming lack of donations on the location being too heavily overshadowed by the murder. Two years after the film's release and almost forty-five years after Sylvia's murder, the house was finally demolished. The site is now a church parking lot.
An American Crime / int_59b571c	featureApplicability	1.0
An American Crime / int_59b571c	featureConfidence	1.0
An American Crime	hasFeature	An American Crime / int_59b571c
An American Crime / int_63389b0b	type	Kids Are Cruel
An American Crime / int_63389b0b	comment	Kids Are Cruel: What Gertrude did was horrific enough, but the real-life fact that so many other kids would join in for twisted fun makes it even worse. During the trial, the lawyer questioning the kids who participated in Sylvia's abuse asks in genuine horror why they would willingly torture an innocent girl for absolutely no reason. Every single one of them replies with, "I don't know."
An American Crime / int_63389b0b	featureApplicability	1.0
An American Crime / int_63389b0b	featureConfidence	1.0
An American Crime	hasFeature	An American Crime / int_63389b0b
An American Crime / int_67a70f33	type	Creepy Circus Music
An American Crime / int_67a70f33	comment	Creepy Circus Music: The end credits, where a children's choir imitates the piping of a circus calliope.
An American Crime / int_67a70f33	featureApplicability	1.0
An American Crime / int_67a70f33	featureConfidence	1.0
An American Crime	hasFeature	An American Crime / int_67a70f33
An American Crime / int_683bb900	type	Last Disrespects
An American Crime / int_683bb900	comment	Last Disrespects: Jenny got hers in real life after Gertrude died a mere five years after being released from prison due to lung cancer. Upon seeing Gertrude's obituary, Jenny wrote to her mother, "Some good news. Damn old Gertrude died. Ha ha ha! I am glad for that."
An American Crime / int_683bb900	featureApplicability	1.0
An American Crime / int_683bb900	featureConfidence	1.0
An American Crime	hasFeature	An American Crime / int_683bb900
An American Crime / int_7ec94d53	type	Woobie, Destroyer of Worlds
An American Crime / int_7ec94d53	comment	Woobie, Destroyer of Worlds: Gertrude is this initially as we see her fall apart from the stress but it becomes harder and harder to sympathize with her as her actions become more horrific.
An American Crime / int_7ec94d53	featureApplicability	1.0
An American Crime / int_7ec94d53	featureConfidence	1.0
An American Crime	hasFeature	An American Crime / int_7ec94d53
An American Crime / int_80251be3	type	How We Got Here
An American Crime / int_80251be3	comment	How We Got Here: The film opens with and switches back and forth to the court trial of Gertrude and the others.
An American Crime / int_80251be3	featureApplicability	1.0
An American Crime / int_80251be3	featureConfidence	1.0
An American Crime	hasFeature	An American Crime / int_80251be3
An American Crime / int_89499ccf	type	Dolled-Up Installment
An American Crime / int_89499ccf	comment	Dolled-Up Installment: The Afflicted, a later true crime film with a similar premise note not inspired by the Likens case, but the equally horrific abuse perpetrated by Theresa Knorr, has the alternate title of "Another American Crime".
An American Crime / int_89499ccf	featureApplicability	1.0
An American Crime / int_89499ccf	featureConfidence	1.0
An American Crime	hasFeature	An American Crime / int_89499ccf
An American Crime / int_916c9d1b	type	Mark of Shame
An American Crime / int_916c9d1b	comment	Mark of Shame: Gertrude (and later Ricky, when Gertrude is unable to finish) burns "I'M A PROSTITUTE AND PROUD OF IT" on Sylvia's stomach with a hot needle due to Gertrude's delusional belief that Sylvia is promiscuous.
An American Crime / int_916c9d1b	featureApplicability	1.0
An American Crime / int_916c9d1b	featureConfidence	1.0
An American Crime	hasFeature	An American Crime / int_916c9d1b
An American Crime / int_96709930	type	Posthumous Narration
An American Crime / int_96709930	comment	Posthumous Narration: A deceased Sylvia is telling her own story.
An American Crime / int_96709930	featureApplicability	1.0
An American Crime / int_96709930	featureConfidence	1.0
An American Crime	hasFeature	An American Crime / int_96709930
An American Crime / int_9e447c8c	type	Suspiciously Apropos Music
An American Crime / int_9e447c8c	comment	Suspiciously Apropos Music: When the courtroom doors open immediately after the intro, a triumphant gospel choir sings "Tell the World About This" on the verge of the truth about Sylvia being revealed to the world. May double as Soundtrack Dissonance, considering the grim story about to unfold, though the upbeat tempo may reflect on Gertie about to receive her just deserts.
An American Crime / int_9e447c8c	featureApplicability	1.0
An American Crime / int_9e447c8c	featureConfidence	1.0
An American Crime	hasFeature	An American Crime / int_9e447c8c
An American Crime / int_a1b141f4	type	My God, What Have I Done?
An American Crime / int_a1b141f4	comment	My God, What Have I Done?: Maybe. By the end, when Gertrude is sentenced, her kids cry due to realizing the consequences of their actions and the loss of their mother. When Gertrude is put in prison and sees the spirit of Sylvia looking at her, she begins to tear up and tries to mouth the words "I'm sorry", before Sylvia fades away.
An American Crime / int_a1b141f4	featureApplicability	1.0
An American Crime / int_a1b141f4	featureConfidence	1.0
An American Crime	hasFeature	An American Crime / int_a1b141f4
An American Crime / int_a8559a9f	type	RealLife
An American Crime / int_a8559a9f	comment	Sylvia and Jenny manage to reach their parents on the phone, and manage to hint that they're experiencing trouble, but are interrupted by Gertrude's kids discovering them. note In Real Life, Lester and Betty Likens actually visited their daughters several times during their time with Gertrude, but apparently found no evidence of the abuse, and their daughters were too frightened of Gertrude to speak out.
An American Crime / int_a8559a9f	featureApplicability	1.0
An American Crime / int_a8559a9f	featureConfidence	1.0
An American Crime	hasFeature	An American Crime / int_a8559a9f
An American Crime / int_a90fff3	type	Based on a True Story
An American Crime / int_a90fff3	comment	Based on a True Story: Based on the murder of Sylvia Likens, a.k.a. "The Indiana Torture Murder." All dialogue from the courtroom scenes are drawn directly from the court transcripts.
An American Crime / int_a90fff3	featureApplicability	1.0
An American Crime / int_a90fff3	featureConfidence	1.0
An American Crime	hasFeature	An American Crime / int_a90fff3
An American Crime / int_b77808f2	type	"Where Are They Now?" Epilogue
An American Crime / int_b77808f2	comment	"Where Are They Now?" Epilogue: In the final scenes, Sylvia relates the fates of many of her tormentors.
An American Crime / int_b77808f2	featureApplicability	1.0
An American Crime / int_b77808f2	featureConfidence	1.0
An American Crime	hasFeature	An American Crime / int_b77808f2
An American Crime / int_c2afffe	type	Take Me Instead
An American Crime / int_c2afffe	comment	Take Me Instead: When Gertie is about to beat both Likens girls, Sylvia offers to take both beatings to spare her disabled sister. This appears to be the one point in the film that was invented for drama; in real life, Gertrude initially beat both girls indiscriminately before focusing on Sylvia.
An American Crime / int_c2afffe	featureApplicability	1.0
An American Crime / int_c2afffe	featureConfidence	1.0
An American Crime	hasFeature	An American Crime / int_c2afffe
An American Crime / int_c3c18143	type	Hope Spot
An American Crime / int_c3c18143	comment	Hope Spot: Sylvia and Jenny manage to reach their parents on the phone, and manage to hint that they're experiencing trouble, but are interrupted by Gertrude's kids discovering them. note In Real Life, Lester and Betty Likens actually visited their daughters several times during their time with Gertrude, but apparently found no evidence of the abuse, and their daughters were too frightened of Gertrude to speak out. Sylvia's Dying Dream of escaping and reuniting with her parents. A part of you wants it to be real, but you know it isn't. Paula Banszewski seems to experience a crisis of guilt when she timidly suggests that maybe Sylvia's been punished enough. Paula then gives the family pastor a very, very abbreviated version of what's been happening at the house, prompting him to visit and inquire about Sylvia. Gertrude lies to his face and eventually he leaves without intervening. There's a point where, after spending all of her time torturing Sylvia, Gertrude gently washes her and is able to interact with her calmly, indicating that she's got a grip again. She loses it as soon as the local church's pastor speaks to her about suspicions that Paula is pregnant, causing her to start lashing out at Sylvia yet again.
An American Crime / int_c3c18143	featureApplicability	1.0
An American Crime / int_c3c18143	featureConfidence	1.0
An American Crime	hasFeature	An American Crime / int_c3c18143
An American Crime / int_c4db6423	type	Yank the Dog's Chain
An American Crime / int_c4db6423	comment	Yank the Dog's Chain: There comes a point where we're led to believe that Sylvia will escape and be reunited with her family. The audience knows this won't last. There's also a literal moment of Yanking The Dog's Chain when young Johnny Baniszewski torments the family's starving chained-up pooch by leaving its food bowl just out of its reach. While it seems to be symbolic of Johnny's budding sadism and his later role in torturing Sylvia (as well as Sylvia's own situation), this scene is actually taken from real life.
An American Crime / int_c4db6423	featureApplicability	1.0
An American Crime / int_c4db6423	featureConfidence	1.0
An American Crime	hasFeature	An American Crime / int_c4db6423
An American Crime / int_c972d624	type	Slut-Shaming
An American Crime / int_c972d624	comment	Slut-Shaming: Gertrude does this to Sylvia for allegedly flirting with a boy during a town picnic and believing that she's "been with every boy in town".
An American Crime / int_c972d624	featureApplicability	1.0
An American Crime / int_c972d624	featureConfidence	1.0
An American Crime	hasFeature	An American Crime / int_c972d624
An American Crime / int_ca967579	type	Torture Cellar
An American Crime / int_ca967579	comment	Torture Cellar: Where Sylvia is eventually kept.
An American Crime / int_ca967579	featureApplicability	1.0
An American Crime / int_ca967579	featureConfidence	1.0
An American Crime	hasFeature	An American Crime / int_ca967579
An American Crime / int_cf6541ad	type	Social Services Does Not Exist
An American Crime / int_cf6541ad	comment	Social Services Does Not Exist: Very nearly literally. Many laws regarding mandatory reporting of suspected abuse came into being directly because of this case.
An American Crime / int_cf6541ad	featureApplicability	1.0
An American Crime / int_cf6541ad	featureConfidence	1.0
An American Crime	hasFeature	An American Crime / int_cf6541ad
An American Crime / int_dca97045	type	Just Following Orders
An American Crime / int_dca97045	comment	Just Following Orders: In the courtroom scenes, there is a horrific sequence in which child after child, when asked why they hurt Sylvia, replies, "Gertie told me to." Remember, the dialogue in the courtroom sequences is taken from trial transcripts, meaning that they all really said this.
An American Crime / int_dca97045	featureApplicability	1.0
An American Crime / int_dca97045	featureConfidence	1.0
An American Crime	hasFeature	An American Crime / int_dca97045
An American Crime / int_dcd423d2	type	Affectionate Nickname
An American Crime / int_dcd423d2	comment	Affectionate Nickname: Sylvia's father calls her "Cookie."
An American Crime / int_dcd423d2	featureApplicability	1.0
An American Crime / int_dcd423d2	featureConfidence	1.0
An American Crime	hasFeature	An American Crime / int_dcd423d2
An American Crime / int_e13156e1	type	Mama Bear
An American Crime / int_e13156e1	comment	Mama Bear: Most of the abuse starts when Paula complains to Gertrude about Sylvia "spreading lies." Although this could be argued as Gertrude looking for an excuse to start abusing Sylvia as "punishment".
An American Crime / int_e13156e1	featureApplicability	1.0
An American Crime / int_e13156e1	featureConfidence	1.0
An American Crime	hasFeature	An American Crime / int_e13156e1
An American Crime / int_e4965307	type	Composite Character
An American Crime / int_e4965307	comment	Composite Character: Patricia “Patty” Ryan is a composite of three real-life girls involved in the historical events - Darlene MacGuire, Anna Siscoe, and Judy Duke. It says something about the horror of the case that so many outside people were involved that some of them had to be condensed for the sake of clarity.
An American Crime / int_e4965307	featureApplicability	1.0
An American Crime / int_e4965307	featureConfidence	1.0
An American Crime	hasFeature	An American Crime / int_e4965307
An American Crime / int_f792bc7b	type	Dying Dream
An American Crime / int_f792bc7b	comment	Sylvia's Dying Dream of escaping and reuniting with her parents. A part of you wants it to be real, but you know it isn't.
An American Crime / int_f792bc7b	featureApplicability	1.0
An American Crime / int_f792bc7b	featureConfidence	1.0
An American Crime	hasFeature	An American Crime / int_f792bc7b
An American Crime / int_fb3576b2	type	The Dog Bites Back
An American Crime / int_fb3576b2	comment	The Dog Bites Back: After the police are called, the first thing Jenny does is run to the cops and tell them "Get me out of here and I'll tell you everything". The next shot? She tells the court everything Gertrude did to her sister.
An American Crime / int_fb3576b2	featureApplicability	1.0
An American Crime / int_fb3576b2	featureConfidence	1.0
An American Crime	hasFeature	An American Crime / int_fb3576b2
An American Crime / int_name	type	ItemName
An American Crime / int_name	comment
An American Crime / int_name	featureApplicability	1.0
An American Crime / int_name	featureConfidence	1.0
An American Crime	hasFeature	An American Crime / int_name
An American Crime / int_name	itemName	An American Crime

The following is a list of statements referring to the current page from other pages.

An American Crime	hasFeature	Corruption of a Minor / int_562d56cb
An American Crime	hasFeature	Destroy the Abusive Home / int_562d56cb
EllenPage	seeAlso	An American Crime
An American Crime	hasFeature	Exploitation Film / int_562d56cb
An American Crime	hasFeature	Teen Pregnancy / int_562d56cb
An American Crime	hasFeature	The '60s / int_562d56cb
An American Crime	hasFeature	Torture Cellar / int_562d56cb

Copyright of DBTropes.org wrapper 2009-2013 DFKI Knowledge Management. Imprint. - Thanks to Bakken&Baeck for hosting. Contact.
Copyright of data TVTropes.org contributors under Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 3.0 Unported License.