Before We Were Innocent

While The Complexities of Adolescent Female Friendships constitute a central focus of the novel, Ella Berman also explores True Crime and Media Distortion in contemporary culture. Although true crime programming has long been part of the American media landscape, its popularity has exploded within the last few decades, and the number of true crime films, television shows, and podcasts has increased exponentially. Thus, Before We Were Innocent explores the ways in which women are often vilified by the media in stories that feature questions of criminality. Two real-world cases have been mentioned repeatedly in the press surrounding this novel: that of Amanda Knox, a girl wrongfully convicted of murder while studying abroad in Italy, and that of Jennifer Levin, the victim of the so-called “Preppy Killer.” Many readers and reviewers have drawn connections between the treatment of Joni and Bess and the vilification of Amanda Knox on the part of the Italian press. Reviewers also observe that both Berman’s fictional characters and Amanda Knox served time in foreign prisons. Berman herself noted that although she set out to write a book about the complexities of female friendships in late adolescence, she was disturbed by the media misrepresentations of Jennifer Levin’s character and wanted to shed light on how the media often perpetuates distorted images of women. Much like Bess, Joni, and Evangeline, Jennifer Levin and Amanda Knox are fully formed, complex individuals with both positive and negative attributes. Thus, Berman argues that in such situations, women tend to emerge as either sinners or saints, and are robbed of a more nuanced and accurate portrayal.

Amanda Knox, who was labeled “Foxy Knoxy” by the Italian media, spent nearly four years incarcerated in Italy after being falsely accused and then wrongfully convicted of killing fellow exchange student Meredith Kercher. The two were roommates in Perugia, Italy in 2007 when Knox was only 20 years old. She initially called the police when she returned home to find her roommate’s door locked and blood in the bathroom. The police suspected not only Knox, but also her boyfriend Raffaele Sollecito and her employer Patrick Lumumba. All three were arrested, but Lumumba had an alibi and was released almost immediately. Rudy Guede, another man known to both Knox and Kercher, was also arrested, and all three were charged. The Italian press seized on the case and made much of Knox’s claim to have spent the evening of the murder with her boyfriend having sex and smoking marijuana. Journalistic portrayals of Knox were especially harsh, and the Italian media even published speculative accounts of the kind of debauchery that they thought was common practice for the young American woman abroad. Following Italian interest in the case, the worldwide press began to publicize speculative stories and misinformation about Knox, and it is believed by many that the media circus was in part responsible for her conviction. Knox, Sollecito, and Guede were all convicted, but Knox’s and Sollecito’s convictions were ultimately overturned. Guede remained in prison until 2021.

Jennifer Levin was found strangled in Central Park, New York City in 1986. There were scratches and defensive wounds on her body, and police quickly turned their attention to Robert Chambers, Levin’s friend and sexual partner. Although he changed his story multiple times during the course of the investigation, Chambers ultimately claimed to have accidentally strangled Levin while trying to fend off an unwanted sexual advance. Chambers was convicted of manslaughter and served 15 years in prison. Although he was clearly the aggressor, Chambers seemed to have been given preferential treatment by the press, for even the moniker “Preppy Killer” reveals a judgement about his grooming and social class. Levin, on the other hand, became a classic case of victim-blaming, and the press mischaracterized the attack as an incident of “rough” sex that was initiated by Levin before going wrong. She was lambasted for her promiscuity, her reputation and moral character were maligned, and she was portrayed as having been “asking for it.” Public opinion seemed to side with Chambers in spite of the extreme brutality of the crime, and the media’s focus on Jennifer Levin’s character rather than Chambers’s is credited with altering the public’s perception of the event.

Aspects of both of these cases can be seen in Before We Were Innocent, for the novel showcases the public’s widespread willingness to blame the women involved in such cases, largely due to media accounts that engage in character assassinations and assign women roles of “good” or “bad” without revealing the true complexities of their identity. Just like Amanda Knox and Jennifer Levin, the characters of Bess and Joni are criticized for freely expressing their sexuality, and such cases demonstrate the double standard that persists between men and women in matters of sex and sexuality.