Variety: With new allegations surfacing daily and once-respected artists falling from grace, Hollywood finds itself on edge amid a sexual misconduct scandal that has everyone wondering, “What’s next?”
Going by the calendar, awards season voting is next. Ballots go out to the Screen Actors Guild’s nominating committee Nov. 16, and before long, critics groups will be chiming in with year-end superlatives. A number of the disconcerting stories making headlines are bound to have an impact as the atmosphere continues to be one of paranoia and dread
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The box of Pandora has been opened and can never be shut. In all of these scandals, I have to think about the work that these accused have done. Not the sexual allegations, but the body of work that is in the lexicon of American movies. All these stars who are being accused of sexual harassment, having careers ruined. It’s also fascinating to watch how quickly people judge without getting all of the facts first. In some cases, we have photos and sworn statements, but is there more to the story that is not being reported or known about. I wonder what would happen if actresses came forward and claimed that Jack Lemon sexually harassed them? Would we say it was a different time and place back then or do we burn all of copies of his films in protest? Also, while some allegations have been proven true, the majority of them have not, even against Spacey but we are so quick to go on our social media platforms and condemn people for allegations. I have to say though, if you didn’t realize what you were doing at the time was wrong, how can you be punished for it? Weinstein excluded, most of these allegations are said to have taken place years ago when laws were different and there was a different understanding or attitude towards sexual harassment. I want to implore one final thought, I am waiting to see the same condemnation and backlash when a woman is accused of sexual harassment against a man. So much for innocent until proven guilty! In the court of public opinion, there is no such thing as innocent.
The box of Pandora has been opened and should never be shut. In all of these scandals, I have to think about all of the incredibly horrible things that these men have done. Not their work, but the crimes they have committed against other human beings that have permanently scarred, traumatized, and ruined lives. All these stars that are accused of sexual harassment deserve to have their careers ruined. It's also fascinating to watch how many people ignore these allegations, assuming that multiple women would come forward about harassment and abuse, putting themselves and their careers on the line, just to make a false accusation. In most cases, we have photos and sworn statements. While some allegations have been false, the majority of them have either been proven true or have been supported and confirmed by multiple other survivors. It is important that we turn to things like social media to spread awareness about these issues, and that we don't allow allegations like these to get swept under the carpet like they have been in the past. I have to say though, even if a specific law or legal standard isn't explicitly in place, shouldn't you still have basic human decency? At what point in recent history has it been acceptable for a 26 year old man to try to force a 14 year old boy into a sexual act? To my knowledge, none of these allegations took place in the dark ages, and the women's anti-rape movement of the 1970s shifted the public perception of rape to be a crime of power and control rather than of passion, so any of these allegations that took place after the 1970s (which I believe to be pretty much all of them) are inexcusable. I want to implore one final thought. Women are coming forward for a reason, and sharing these stories takes an immense amount of bravery. I am waiting to see a day when men listen to what women are saying, recognize issues within society and within themselves, and work to create a change. When people choose to ignore issues that they can help prevent, there is no such thing as innocent.
If you don't know that sexually assaulting someone is wrong, I don't know what to even say to you. The I didn't know any better responses really only works for children, and isn't a reason to get off scot free anyway.
I sincerely hope that this is true: "For an increasing number of Hollywood players, however, awards are the last thing on their minds."
We should be ruining the careers of people who have assaulted others. We should listen when multiple people accuse someone or the rumor is so strong it is used to warn people to stay clear of someone. I can't tell you how many times I've been warned to never be alone with someone or to be careful of a certain man. For every false accusation their are hundreds of true ones, and you can't just turn a blind eye because someone might have been falsely accused so of course all of these other people must be lying or just have hurt feelings. This is exactly how women have been discredited for years. We are emotional or just embarrassed or hysterical or just got our feelings hurt because we were broken up with and just caused a witch hunt.
The accusations that have caused career ending moves have been from multiple sources and substantiated by witnesses and proof. Perhaps the fact that our predator in chief got elected anyway despite copping to grabbing women by the pussy has confused some people, but behavior like that is unacceptable and should be condemned and reacted against.
We should blast pandoras box till their is no way anyone could even fashion a lid that could cover it up again. At this point, why would you want to?
Let’s talk about Pandora’s box for a second. So in that story a girl is given a box and told not to open it, but does anyway. All of mankind’s evils fly out and infect the world, but at the end one thing remains. Hope. So in your statement you have actually found a pretty decent analogy for the situation at hand. With all of these predators being called out for their actions many women, including myself, have been left with hope that there finally might be some change. Maybe one day I won’t have to prove myself to be considered on the same level as a man. Maybe one day one of my friends can go on a date without having to send us her location. Maybe one day a woman can meet with a male producer without the fear of being harassed. These are the things I hope for, and might actually become a reality if this trend continues.
And the “it was a different time” arguement? That is literally infuriating. How the hell can you justify sexual assault based on when it happened? Do you really think that rape was a-okay 20 years ago? Did I miss something in history class where we learned the date that we all collectively decided the assaulting women was bad? Who the hell cares about the work these abusers created? Don’t burn their dvds, but sure as hell don’t buy them. Maybe try watching something, oh I don’t know, made by a woman?
This article nails the core of the problem in the last sentence: "For an increasing number of Hollywood players, however, awards are the last thing on their minds." While awards season is a nice time in which to examine Hollywood both a key cultural influencer and as a kind of perpetuator of ethics, it is crucial not to forget the reality of what is occurring in Hollywood off-screen. Indeed, the most important thing should remain this unfolding scandal, and not who has won what award. I do the sacrifices Ridley Scott has made in terms of awards consideration in order to remove Kevin Spacey from his film set an excellent example; the key here is to do right by the victims of these harassment and assault cases, rather than rushing to cut monetary losses and standing for awards consideration. With so many films for consideration this year angling towards commenting on political events of this last year, it will be fascinating to see how the pool of films for next year reflects the events of recent weeks.
"I have to say though, if you didn’t realize what you were doing at the time was wrong, how can you be punished for it?" I almost don't feel like I need to write anything else. This sentence right here (from a fellow Carnegie Mellon University student, mind you) encapsulates the movement that women both in Hollywood and around the nation are fighting against. You're worried that a celebrity that you kind of like is having their career ruined because they sexually assaulted someone? Hmm that somehow rings a bell...where have I heard this sentiment before? Oh, oh now I remember, a little known case called the Brock Turner case. In which his defense argued that he should not be punished for violently raping a woman because IT MIGHT HURT HIS REPUTATION. Excuse me, let me quick check the priority list here. A man's reputation of not being a sexual offender is placed above the physical, mental, and emotional trauma of a sexual assault victim. Yeah, that seems right. Nothing wrong with that at all. All these women are making a big deal of nothing. Sigh...
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