I Know My Name Is Steven

The story of seven-year-old Steven Stayner captivated the nation when he was abducted from his home in Merced, California. Despite never receiving any promising leads, Kay and Del Stayner continued to keep hope alive that their son would reemerge.

Captive Audience combines archival footage of the making of the 1989 NBC miniseries with interviews of family members who lived through Steven's ordeal. The result is a hauntingly compelling exploration of the way a family's life — and its stories — can shape a national consciousness.

The Story

The story of Steven Stayner is so bizarre that it could make anyone's head spin. It all started in 1972, when he disappeared without a trace after he was convinced to get into a car while walking home from school. His abductor was a perverted "reverend" named Kenneth Parnell, who posed as a church volunteer and drove him to a cabin near Catheys Valley. He changed Steven's name, told his mother he had custody of him, and sexually abused him for years, often producing pornographic images.

Then, at age 14, Steven managed to escape Parnell, and he was back home with his family for the first time in seven years. But when his kidnapper goes on trial, painful truths about the ordeal become public, and the media coverage takes a dark turn, it can be difficult for Steven to readjust.

Director Jessica Dimmock's three-part series, which premiered on Hulu this week, foregrounds the voices of surviving Stayner family members while also exploring the complicated relationship between truth and make-believe in the context of Hollywood. It's an approach that, at its core, reflects the messy intersection of true crime and popular storytelling, and it amplifies the power of one of the most bizarre stories in American history to this day.

But what's most interesting about Captive Audience is that it doesn't adopt the revisionist lens often propelled by contemporary true crime productions, which usually reclaim survivors' perspectives or reveal criminal justice failures. Instead, it focuses on the trauma of the Stayner family, largely from their perspective, while also highlighting the distortions and consolations that came from telling their story to the public.

In addition to the interviews with the surviving Stayners, we see footage of the writing and shooting of the 1989 NBC miniseries, which became a national sensation. In addition, actors Corin Nemec and Todd Eric Andrews reenact some of the scenes, while audio recordings of conversations between writer J.P. Miller and his producer provide a fascinating glimpse into the process of crafting a televised narrative from the real events that inspired it.

The Actors

A young boy is abducted by a perverted pseudo-priest and his lackey, and held captive for seven years. The child eventually escapes and returns home.

The story of Steven Stayner and his rescue by a stranger is a classic true-crime tale, but in director John Dimmock’s Captive Audience: A Real American Horror Story, we’re treated to more than just the happy ending. It’s also a harrowing portrait of what it means to have your family and your life in the public eye.

In the early 1980s, news of Steven’s kidnapping and rescue riveted the nation; the Stayner family was thrust into the spotlight. But a decade later, their lives were shaken to the core with the news that Steven’s older brother Cary was on death row for murdering four women near and in Yosemite National Park.

With an attention to detail that’s exemplary, Captive Audience weaves together footage of the NBC TV miniseries with interviews from the Stayners’ relatives. We see reenactments of scenes from the movie, and we hear audio recordings of conversations between writer J.P. Miller and his producer about the best way to portray a story like Steven’s.

Adding another layer of poignancy, director Dimmock incorporates new interviews with actors Corin Nemec and Todd Eric Andrews who play Steven and Cary. They read excerpts from Miller’s taped interviews with the real Stayners, and they speak eloquently about the events that inspired their screenplay.

They talk about how the media drew Steven into the limelight, and how his return affected the rest of the family’s life, causing tension that only escalated as the Stayners dealt with the pain of their loss. They remark on how they were both grateful for their son’s return and jealous of the attention it gave him.

The movie is a bit of a hoot to watch, but it also manages to delve into the complexities of the media, and how it can skew reality. The film is a must-see for fans of true crime movies and anyone looking to learn more about the Stayners’ ordeal, which is far from an easy tale to tell.

The Music

The story is told in an unfussy manner that makes it all the more enjoyable, with a dash of humor thrown in for good measure. One of the most gratifying moments came during a family trip to Yosemite, where Steven's sister Cory had a revelation about their brother's recent incarceration. The family was in disbelief, and the reunion was a little tense for the entire stay of eight days, but they were not without their fair share of tears. In the ensuing months, they would learn that their son had been spirited away from their home in Mendocino by a shady hoodlum with the requisite skills and a well-executed plan. It was a long road to recovery, but the end was worth the effort. The film is a reminder that it's not always what you know, but how you think about it that counts in the end. I'd like to take a moment to thank the movers and shakers who helped make this film possible and I am sure they are proud of all the work they did.

The Audience

The audience for i know my name is steven was made up of a wide variety of people: Steven's family; the friends and loved ones who helped find him; reporters; and countless others. Despite a very low-budget production, the film managed to pull in a large crowd of supporters.

The movie centers around the kidnapping of a young boy from California in 1972, and his subsequent ordeal. He was abducted by a convicted child molester named Kenneth Eugene Parnell and held captive for seven years, where he was subjected to horrific physical and psychological abuse.

Throughout the ordeal, Parnell kept his captive boy moving from one cheap motel to the next, evading a statewide search. Finally, with the help of another kidnapped boy named Timmy White, Steven escaped his captor and returned home to his real family, where he was hailed as a hero after testifying at Parnell's trial.

Although this story was incredibly heartbreaking to watch, it also taught me some important lessons. Among them was how to be a good friend and not be afraid to tell someone when you feel like something is wrong.

I think the movie does a pretty good job of portraying the reality of this situation, and how the victim was able to break free from the shackles that were put on him for so long. It also shows how the victim's family handled their grief, even though they were never able to do much about it at the time.

But the most powerful part of this movie was how the victim changed over the course of his ordeal. He began to be a very different person and became quite a bit more courageous. He also pushed his parents to get help and help him in a way that they never would have been able to.

Ultimately, the movie does a great job of showing the dangers that are out there, and how it is up to us to make sure we protect our children from these types of situations. This film is a must watch for anyone who has children, or wants to have them.