Variety: When “Portrait of a Lady on Fire” star Adèle Haenel revealed that as a child actor she had been a victim of sexual harassment, the French star kicked off an industry-wide reckoning that began in November 2019 and continues to this day. As the industry continues to grapple with these necessary questions, the Paris-based Production Forum will host a one-hour conference on Friday to present the results of recent inquiries while offering durable steps forward.
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The "Me Too" movement has been out of the American news cycle for a while now. Unfortunately, it is all too easy to forget the progress that has been made, and to forget the progress that has not been made, including bringing the same reforms that we have begun to benefit from in the US to other places. Without the stream of revelations that seemed so constant a few years ago, it is easy to let the cultural wounds, as it were, to fade into scars, and to forget the vigilance which had begun to creep into common awareness. I worry that the burden of harrassment and assault will once again fall to those who are harassed and assaulted. As France has taken influence in its reforms from the US, so should the US take infleunce from these new French efforts. Ultimately, it falls to each of us and all of us to maintain the progress that has been made, and to continue that progress. Me Too is a movement that should end not because nobody is left that is willing to say "Me Too," but because nobody is left that has to.
As a woman going into the entertainment industry, the stories of sexual harassment behind the scenes that I’ve been hearing for years are terrifying. There’s hope there, especially with the #metoo movement picking up speed in the last few years, and it gives me even more hope that the prevention of sexual assault is being picked up internationally as well. It’s admirable that the open discussion will include people from many different areas, with the absolutely correct reason stated as getting everyone on the same page. I feel like that’s where Americans keep falling short, is getting everyone on the same page. I don’t know why it’s so hard, but at least some progress is being made. This article made me mad at first, with the first “problem” being mentioned as the victim being isolated. As a reader, it seemed like the victim was being blamed for their problems of being isolated, when the goal should be pinpointing the harassment in the first place. The article eventually got there, targeting prevention, but I wish that had been the focus or first method mentioned. I do like the way they are approaching making change, seeing it as a multi-step process with a need for widespread education. I feel like that will be an effective method, an impetus for change. With the following steps put in place, I’m glad to see that the discussion isn’t going to stop with the round table discussion, but that further meetings will happen.
While it is wonderful to see that action is being taken to protect more victims from sexual harassment in the entertainment industry, it’s more depressing that this conversation needs to be had at all. The fact that only legal punishments and restrictions is one of the best solutions to preventing this issue and not just people having the common sense not to sexually harass is deeply disturbing. It’s even more heartbreaking that children have to suffer from this toxic environment this industry has protected for so long. I wish America could take more initiative like the French are with the prevention of this horrible action. While the #MeToo movement is still alive and very much important, it's going to take more in order to really make a deeper change in the actions of the people. I hope that change can be made soon, otherwise there are only going to be more victims.
I don't want to find something wrong with everything, I swear. But, I just hate how this is worded. "How to Prevent Sexual Harassment on Set," are you kidding? The film industry repeatedly hires KNOWN abusers and harassers and I feel like, perhaps, not doing that would prevent many, many assaults. Though I understand that there are people harassing women on set who are not known abusers, but it just seems so hypocritical to have a forum when the film industry has proven time and time again that it doesn't care about women's safety. Also, I feel like most of this is more about making victims feel comfortable coming forward, which is great, but that's not really prevention. Prevention would be blacklisting abusers and harassers as soon as you know about them and undoing a culture of ignorance around it. Prevention is about not making abusers feel safe on set. People harass women because they know that they can get away with it.
Again, this isn't a bad thing and I do feel bad for being so critical. I respect the French film industry for taking this initiative, I truly do. I hope that these methods work for them and I would love to see how these methods work. Hopefully, if they're successful, these initiatives can be expanded. But, I do think it's important for us to think critically about all of these issues, whether those putting initiatives into action have good intentions or not.
One of the goals of the #metoo movement was to show how widespread the issue of sexual assault is, that it is not just one person or company but an industry-wide, systematic problem. In the U.S. most solutions or progress are still based around individuals or companies. It involves removing the worst offenders and individual companies acting to prevent sexual assault. But this method is slow. In France it’s clear they are looking for a sweeping change, looking to involve all unions. Parts of their method is very familiar to efforts more close to home. In many different movements, the first step is to define the key terms and common language. On college campuses, the discussion often surrounds the word consent. But even on Carnegie Mellon’s campus are they unable to make these discussions schoolwide. Not only are transfer students not included, but sports teams were excused from the mandatory lecture for 1st years because they had practice. I understand the logistical nightmare, but if the school really believed these sessions helped people wouldn’t they want every student there. I wonder if this will be an issue with the french system. How will they share a common language without teaching every member of the industry?
It’s a bit frustrating that we are at a place where we are having to proactively fight off sexual harassment. Wouldn’t it be amazing to join a company or enter a work environment without having to have a discussion about what to do if someone harasses you sexually? Wouldn’t it be amazing to have your work environment be a respectable place where you don’t have strategize on what to do if someone crosses the line with you sexually? Unfortunately, the reality of the world that we live in today is that this happens every single day. Whether it is a small comment or someone becoming physical with another individual who they have no right to be physical with, it happens. And though it is frustrating that we are at this place, we cannot ignore what goes on or hope that it does not occur in our environments, nor be afraid to have these conversations. It is now so important to have these conversations with potential perpetrators and potential victims so that they can know in the backs of their minds that this is something that WILL be dealt with if it happens. The potential victims, and I hate to use that phrase, need to know that they have somewhere to turn and that it will be successful dealt with. They need to know that they won’t be seen as problematic. They need to know that they won’t be accused. They need to know that their privacy will be respected, and they will be respected as human beings. The potential perpetrators need to know that they will not get away with it, and that the job has serious consequences put in place. It is also important to have a conversation about boundaries so that there is a very clear understanding of what is not okay. I understand that you may even find someone attractive at work, who can end up being your soulmate and the intentions can be extremely pure. There is a way to go about it all which is why having these conversations and understanding how to interact with others needs to be discussed with everyone.
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