When it rains it pours. Both Netflix and Hulu decided to come out with documentaries about the Fyre Festival at almost exactly the same time.
The main takeaway from both is just how easy it is to separate people from a *lot* of money if you're willing to lie with a straight face, and when it comes to that, there's really no substitute for letting McFarland tell the story in his own words, which is what the Hulu version does. Unfortunately, so much of that version is devoted to him that they leave out some pretty important things, so if you only watch one, definitely watch this one instead.
This version is a much better documentary all around, and gives a much more complete picture of what happened.
I had exactly the same reaction watching this as I do watching documentaries about religious cults. There's no question McFarland is a pathological liar and narcissistic sociopath, and absolutely everything about him is a red flag. If I ran into someone like that, I would immediately conclude he was at best a blowhard, and more likely a straight up con man, yet somehow he was able to put a lot sincere, hard working people under his spell, some of whom were young and naive, but some of whom definitely should have known better.
My guess is he's already running scams from inside Club Fed, but if not, there's no question he'll waste no time once he gets out, and he'll have no trouble finding marks.
Of course, in the end, the real victims are the Bahamians worked round the clock trying to make this happened, and then didn't get paid. They were pretty much left out of the Hulu version, but my understanding is that this film is raising awareness of them, and they're getting some relief.
The main takeaway from both is just how easy it is to separate people from a *lot* of money if you're willing to lie with a straight face, and when it comes to that, there's really no substitute for letting McFarland tell the story in his own words, which is what the Hulu version does. Unfortunately, so much of that version is devoted to him that they leave out some pretty important things, so if you only watch one, definitely watch this one instead.
This version is a much better documentary all around, and gives a much more complete picture of what happened.
I had exactly the same reaction watching this as I do watching documentaries about religious cults. There's no question McFarland is a pathological liar and narcissistic sociopath, and absolutely everything about him is a red flag. If I ran into someone like that, I would immediately conclude he was at best a blowhard, and more likely a straight up con man, yet somehow he was able to put a lot sincere, hard working people under his spell, some of whom were young and naive, but some of whom definitely should have known better.
My guess is he's already running scams from inside Club Fed, but if not, there's no question he'll waste no time once he gets out, and he'll have no trouble finding marks.
Of course, in the end, the real victims are the Bahamians worked round the clock trying to make this happened, and then didn't get paid. They were pretty much left out of the Hulu version, but my understanding is that this film is raising awareness of them, and they're getting some relief.