www.vulture.com: It’s been a year since the #MeToo movement began, and conversations around abuse and power in the entertainment industry are fundamentally different. But has anything actually improved in Hollywood? We asked a number of women to tell us how their experiences in the workplace have changed (or not) in the past year, from actors to cinematographers to writers and producers.
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It is very disheartening to live in a world where although we are aware of the harassment that prevails around us, we still do not take any action against such acts either because we are aloof, we are scared to be involved in someone else's matter or because we are just not interested enough to want to help people who need help.
It gets worse when it prevails in an industry which essentially is responsible for communicating and presenting to the audiences the kind of world we live in. Hollywood is largely responsible for showcasing the goods and wrongs that prevail around them.
Sexual harassment is disgusting and something that should be met with the strictest punishment. Yet it is present in the world around us in large arenas and numbers that are too big to fathom.
Despite the severity of such acts, people and the industry biggies are not able to help the victims because they are concerned about how it will affect them; people forget to think about the victim. And that is the thing that needs to change. Victims should be helped and people should be ready to do that.
After reading all of these wonderful accounts, I think the one that stuck with me the most was Hiliary Swank. She says: "I’ve seen things get better. I also see moments where there’s steps back, too. But I do see change, and I certainly experience it firsthand by different questions being asked, even on the red carpet. I’m looking forward to seeing how it continues to proceed and to know that we’re paving a way for young girls and young boys in the future, that this isn’t gonna have to be a conversation anymore." The idea that the Me Too movement isn't perfect is an important one, because it means that the work is not yet done. We can't complacently sit back and point to that as the hard work and expect things will not get better simply because a light has been shone on some very ugly monsters. We have to use the movement to enact and demand change so that those who come after us can have a better life. Simply blowing the whistle isn't enough--nor is talking about it. Actual laws and regulations need to happen, and we can't rely on the media or famous accounts to carry us through.
I believe that articles like this are important because they extend beyond the initial hype of the movement itself and try and demonstrate any potential issues or lack of progress that is occurring. It was great to see an inside perspective into the industry, even though it was just a small scope of the careers that women hold. From there comments one can surmise that it appears that a definite awareness has been brought and that some slow movement has begun. Of course there were a few instances of women saying that they haven’t seen changes or that the changes they have seen have been not significant enough to suggest that permanent changes are coming. I can understand their pessimism toward the topic and understand that they feel like things are so ingrained into the system that there is no fixing it. I’m excited to see that some women feel like changes are beginning but the pessimistic side of me also wonders if it a permanent fixture or just a reactive moment from the movement itself.
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