In 1993, America, and ultimately the world, was captivated by the story of John and Lorena Bobbitt.

The married couple shot to stardom after Lorena cut off her abusive husband’s penis with a kitchen knife, with John then doing his utmost to cash in on his 15 minutes of fame.

Whilst John pursued a career in porn and appeared on shows like Howard Stern, recounting the story of how his wife threw his chopped off penis into a grassy field and how it was eventually reattached, Lorena took a rather different approach, becoming an advocate for domestic abuse victims.

Filmmaker Joshua Rofé directed the four-part series, simply titled Lorena, while Jordan Peele (the man behind Get Out and Us) served as executive producer.

Rolling Stone has this description:

The trailer recounts the extraordinary scandal, which captivated the country in 1993, though it quickly moves from its sensational surface to its far darker underbelly. Early media depictions of Bobbitt as a “jealous wife” and a “hot-blooded Latina” are swiftly countered by trial testimony in which Bobbitt and other witnesses detail the physical and sexual abuse she suffered at the hands of her husband, John Wayne Bobbitt.

Along with examining the ways the media firestorm undercut the true issues at play in Bobbit’s story, the Lorena trailer also teases how the series will place the incident in the context of other major Nineties sex scandals, including the sexual harassment allegations leveled at then-Supreme Court nominee Clarence Thomas and former president Bill Clinton. The clip closes with Bobbitt sitting down for a new interview, in which she says: “I didn’t choose to be in the spotlight, but there’s no going back.”

Roll the tape:

It might be 26 years after the fact, but you can bet interest in this series will be high. It will premiere at the Sundance Film Festival later this month, before arriving on Amazon on February 15.

[source:rollingstone]