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In the third episode of HBO docuseriesChimp Crazy, director Eric Goode has a crisis of conscience.
Now Goode has learned that Haddix is so stressed about the situation, she plans to euthanize Tonka.
He wonders if he needs to intervene.
Do we turn her in?
Or do we continue following the story?
As journalists, we dont want to do something thats morally, ethically wrong, Laufer responds.
You have to hope that the end result is more positive than negative.
Is there a greater good?
Goode ultimately reports Haddix to PETA, sharing a voicemail in which she describes her plan to euthanize Tonka.
(She later says she never intended to kill the animal.)
to gain access to Haddix in the first place, Goode and his team completely misrepresent themselves to her.
Goode immediately cuts to a scene of her eating donuts and drinking cans of Coke.
Haddix responds that she never would have agreed to be filmed if she knew who was behind the camera.
He seems to feel remorse, but only to a point.
It feels like Haddix has been blindsided with information that should have been shared with her earlier.
But we like to look at ourselves differently, dont we?
Why do you think we do that?
asks a voice from behind the camera.
We like to believe our own truth, he says.
But that comment We like to believe our own truth hangs in the air, begging for elaboration.
He does ask his source why shes talking to him now.
She says she hopes the documentary will convince PETA to let her visit Tonka.
Haddix is still under the impression that Goode is on her side.
The documentary never suitably addresses any of this, nor Goodes trickery.
In the final episode, before he talks to Haddix, Goode interviews Roundtree about her article.
She talks about how much she, like Goode, empathizes with Haddixs love for Tonka.
To me, I question: does she not see what other people see?
He does not seem to see what other people see, either.
Its hard to do that when you start out by telling your audience youre a liar.
Correction: A previous version of this article misidentified the operators of sanctuary where Tonka currently lives.
