How Does Koenig Use Music To Cause Doubt On Stevens Innocent?

Both in the ‘Serial’ podcast by Sarah Koenig and the ‘Making a murderer’ docudrama directed by Laura Ricchardi, use music to cause doubt in the audience’s mind whether to position the person on trial as innocent. Similarly, where Koenig uses music to support ideas and cause doubt in the audience, Ricchardi uses music in accompany with videos and re-enactments so the audience can infer whether Steven is innocent or guilty. Koenig structures the music in her podcast and uses it to appeal to the audience in a way so the audience can infer whether Adnan is innocent or guilty. Koenig uses music to transfer from the interview with Adnan to her narration. This is done because Koenig has found the important information of Adnan’s whereabouts at the time of the murder and positions the audience to view him as innocent.

But when the music stops new information revealed from Jay shows cell phone records between Adnan during this time, suggesting something doesn’t add up and causes doubt whether Adnan is innocent.

Similarly, Ricchadi uses music to influence the decision of audience and causes doubt on Stevens innocent. Throughout the docudrama whenever the Avery family is mentioned, the music would change to dull and suspicious music to infer that they bad people. The same suspicious music used to talk about the Avery’s is also added during the re-enactment of when the suspect was abused on the beach. Playing the same music is hardly a coincidence but rather a technique to suggest to the audience that Steven committed this crime. Through the implication of music, it causes doubt in the audience’s mind whether Adnan and Steven are

innocent.