In the last few years, a strange but recognisable character has emerged on social media feeds: the lifestyle influencer. Preying on our voyeuristic tendencies, some of them stand at the junction of substance and salaciousness. Every trending topic becomes an opportunity to package their grandstanding as introspection, and monetise their exhibitionism. It’s an endless repository for ‘content’, and it is only a matter of time before the dopamine spikes (surrounding engagement) begin to sidestep the ethical quagmires. 

I was reminded of lifestyle influencers a lot while watching Lance Oppenheim’s Primetime, because before one could peek into people’s lives through phones, there was reality TV. Even though To Catch A Predator (on NBC) started out as an exposé on creepy men soliciting sex from minors, the quest for ratings and well-known host Chris Hansen’s ambition, turned a news piece into a muggy, diseased version of the American dream.

Real-life Hansen is considering legal action against Oppenheim’s film, which dispels any suspicion whether this is a hagiography. Set in 2006, the film shows Chris Hansen (Robert Pattinson) around the time when the show has picked up momentum. We hear the host memorising his lines in a green room (in front of a mirror), most of which are dirty text messages sent by men to a decoy (an adult man/woman, pretending to be a teenager). He has the intensity of an actor about to go on stage, which is partially true. After the alleged pervert is invited into a home, and settles in for what has been established as a sexual encounter (through questions like: ‘Did you get the condoms?’),........

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