Netflix David Beckham Documentary Doctors The Truth According To Fact-Checkers
Whether you call it soccer or football, fans of the globally beloved sport flock enthusiastically to Netflix’s recent four-hour documentary series Beckham. Nonetheless, the film, focusing on the illustrious career of football legend David Beckham, has garnered controversy via claims of factual inaccuracies and narrative manipulation.
The UK’s Sunday Times published a thorough and unflinching investigative report on the documentary, laying bare a slew of discrepancies advancing a narrative crafted more to glorify its subject than to present an unvarnished truth.
Netflix Is Accused Of Doctoring Beckham
The Sunday Times’s critique of the David Beckham documentary is by no means new, aligning with the augmenting trend in sports docs, in which the thin line separating storytelling from reality blurs. All to maintain and enhance the athlete’s public image.
What, according to the esteemed British newspaper, does the film, particularly doctor and, misconstrue?
David Beckham’s World Cup Experiences Are Allegedly Falsified
First, the film (over) dramatizes Bekham’s 1998 World Cup experience, depicting the game as an operatic fall from grace, damning the player in the eyes of his once loyal Manchester United fans. While this narrative makes for a riveting story, one glueing viewers to the David Beckham documentary for all four of its installments–the claim is not quite accurate.
Sure, referees sent Beckham from the pitch for fouling an Argentine player. Still, his Manchester United fans remained supportive the following season despite his ejection from the World Cup game.
The documentary also fibs about the World Cup Qualifier in 2001, claiming an opposing player fouled Beckham prior to the latter scoring a critical goal, preserving England’s hopes for a World Cup win. But the truth, in this case, is blander than fiction: Beckham’s teammate, Teddy Sheringham, received the foul—not David Beckham, despite the documentary stating he did. This creative twist obviously serves to amplify Beckham’s heroics in a vital moment for the English national team.
The Treatment Of David Beckham’s Reported Affair Is Construed
Finally, the fact-checkers unveiled a particularly racy tidbit regarding the soccer star’s alleged affair with Rebecca Loos amidst his famed marriage to Victoria “Posh Spice” Beckham. The (allegedly biased) film depicts a Daily Mirror headline dismissing the allegations of Beckham’s affair as “ludicrous.” However, according to the Sunday Times, the actual tabloid headline was far more sensational and affirmative. It read, “My sister DID have an affair with Becks.”
Did Netflix Alter Information In Order To Maintain Beckham’s Public Appearance?
Why doctor the headline in the first place?
To improve and maintain David Beckham’s prestige in the documentary—and PR world as a whole.
Indeed, ultimately, the above examples underscore the increasingly common criticisms that such documentaries amount, at least in part, to slick PR campaigns instead of objective chronicles of an athlete’s life.
Look no further than the fact that the documentary credits Beckham himself as an executive producer on the series. It would be naive to think David Beckham didn’t enjoy outsized creative influence over his own documentary—shaping how his story was told, what was included, and, perhaps more importantly, what was excluded. Raised questions about such a film’s authenticity are understandable and warranted.
Regardless Of What Information Is Presented, Beckham Is A Smash Hit On Netflix
Still, despite these concerns, the project has been a resounding success for Netflix, drawing in an impressive 3.4 million UK subscribers. This sizable uptick should be a significant boon to the streaming service, which is concurrently implementing a price increase for its subscription packages in the UK.
