Tabloid
2010 · 87 min · Director: Errol Morris
Show plot summary (may contain spoilers)
Tabloid stories centered on the activities of Joyce McKinney, a former beauty queen with a self-reported IQ of 168, over her life are presented. Beyond her beauty pageant days, McKinney first hit the tabloid pages in Britain in what was largely coined "The Case of the Manacled Mormon". As reported by McKinney in interviews, she, a southern Christian originally from North Carolina, got involved with a group of Mormons in her pursuit of true love, without knowing they were Mormons or anything about Mormonism. She fell in love with one of those Mormons, Kirk Anderson, the two who were to be married. After he disappeared without saying anything to her, she, with the help of a private investigator and some male friends and new acquaintances, tracked him down in England where he was being brainwashed by Mormon elders, that brainwashing which included the notion of sex with and marriage to her, a non-Mormon, as taboo. He left with her voluntarily, she who took him away to a secluded cottage to do whatever required to get him back to the non-brainwashed Kirk she knew, which included chaining him down to a bed and having sex with him several times over the course of a few days. She was eventually charged with kidnapping among other charges, the case against her led by the Mormon church. Tabloid reporters were also involved, not so much to uncover the truth, but dig into other aspects of her life, including activities which allowed her to fund this mission of finding and retrieving Kirk, this information which in turn affected the case and its reporting. Beyond this case, McKinney, several years later, again hit the tabloids with regard to a story about her dog, Booger, which in turn renewed interest in the manacled Mormon case. In the end, McKinney vows to tell the complete side of her story through a book, which has become more difficult for her to write out of circumstance as time has gone on.
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Emotional fingerprint
Tabloid (2010) — Movie. Top emotional signals: Humor 35%, Confusion 25%, Curiosity 20%. Source: AI estimate. Shares describe emotional signal, not percentages of people. Your experience may differ. How we measure
AI estimate · no viewer votes yet
How we measure
AI estimate
Share of emotional signal, not the percentage of people or a probability of enjoyment.
Each viewer contributes one response, split equally across their selected emotions. When available, an automated estimate supplies a prior that is blended with those responses. Counts include distinct viewers, not automated estimates or archived anonymous votes. Fewer than 3 viewers is an early estimate; more responses do not guarantee certainty.
Why it feels this way
The strongest emotional signals are Humor, Confusion, Curiosity. Genres: Documentary, Crime. AI estimate.
Is it worth watching?
Consider this title if you are looking for Humor, Confusion and Curiosity. Its IMDb rating of 7.0/10 suggests a generally positive audience reception. For these leading emotions, its Feel Score is 71/100.
How did it make you feel?
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Pick up to three · 0/3
Emotional journey
- Curiosity
- Sadness
- Disturbing
Not enough subtitle evidence
No dominant emotion
Dominant emotion: Curiosity
Dominant emotion: Disturbing
Dominant emotion: Tension
Dominant emotion: Humor
Dominant emotion: Sadness
Dominant emotion
| % | Approximate minute | Dominant emotion | Overall intensity | Curiosity | Sadness | Disturbing |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2.5 % | ≈ 2′ | Curiosity | 48 % | 48 % | 13 % | 5 % |
| 7.5 % | ≈ 7′ | Curiosity | 49 % | 50 % | 9 % | 8 % |
| 12.5 % | ≈ 11′ | Curiosity | 54 % | 56 % | 3 % | 15 % |
| 17.5 % | ≈ 15′ | Curiosity | 61 % | 60 % | 3 % | 33 % |
| 22.5 % | ≈ 20′ | Disturbing | 68 % | 60 % | 8 % | 55 % |
| 27.5 % | ≈ 24′ | Disturbing | 68 % | 57 % | 13 % | 56 % |
| 32.5 % | ≈ 28′ | Tension | 63 % | 56 % | 15 % | 41 % |
| 37.5 % | ≈ 33′ | Curiosity | 63 % | 61 % | 14 % | 39 % |
| 42.5 % | ≈ 37′ | Curiosity | 65 % | 63 % | 16 % | 40 % |
| 47.5 % | ≈ 41′ | Curiosity | 64 % | 57 % | 20 % | 30 % |
| 52.5 % | ≈ 46′ | Humor | 63 % | 58 % | 16 % | 24 % |
| 57.5 % | ≈ 50′ | Curiosity | 61 % | 63 % | 13 % | 33 % |
| 62.5 % | ≈ 54′ | Curiosity | 60 % | 66 % | 14 % | 41 % |
| 67.5 % | ≈ 59′ | Curiosity | 65 % | 61 % | 23 % | 49 % |
| 72.5 % | ≈ 63′ | Tension | 73 % | 46 % | 43 % | 55 % |
| 77.5 % | ≈ 67′ | Sadness | 74 % | 38 % | 56 % | 56 % |
| 82.5 % | ≈ 72′ | Disturbing | 74 % | 44 % | 59 % | 51 % |
| 87.5 % | ≈ 76′ | Sadness | 73 % | 53 % | 63 % | 31 % |
| 92.5 % | ≈ 80′ | Sadness | 70 % | 45 % | 66 % | 18 % |
| 97.5 % | ≈ 85′ | Sadness | 72 % | 30 % | 70 % | 17 % |
Riches to rags
Rags to riches: The emotional tone rises from negative to positive.
Riches to rags: The emotional tone falls from positive to negative.
Man in a hole: The tone falls, then recovers.
Icarus: The tone rises, then falls.
Cinderella: The tone rises, falls, then rises again.
Oedipus: The tone falls, rises, then falls again.
AI reading of the film’s English subtitles (dialogue and sound cues) — not viewer votes. How we measure ↗
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Premise onlyAfterward Reveal viewer responses · may contain spoilers
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Cast
Details
- Directed by
- Errol Morris
- Type
- Movies
- Released
- 2010
- Runtime
- 87 min
- Country
- United States
- Genres
- Documentary, Crime
- Ratings
- Feels mostly
- Humor
- Data updated
Where to watch
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