Sympathy For The Director
Alright. So, when did I wake up into a world where the rape of anyone was okay, much less of a drugged thirteen year-old? As a feminist, I've come to terms with the fact that my stance on gender issues is not shared by most, but I still thought that raping a child was universally viewed as a bad thing. No matter how tragic the rapist's personal life might be, or how good his movies are.
Yes, I'm talking about the Roman Polanski mess. Everyone is, and most of them make me angry when they do. Surviving the Holocaust only to see your wife and unborn child slaughtered seems almost too cruel to be true. But that sympathy doesn't preclude from believing that rape is wrong and that he should serve a sentence. Or from thinking that a cushy life in France and an Oscar are not a substitute for jail time.
I know his judge was a nut, but that doesn't mean he wasn't guilty of a crime. The Holocaust and the Manson murders are mitigating factors. But unless he couldn't tell the difference between right and wrong at the time of the offence - and no evidence seems to indicate that - that doesn't mean he's innocent.
But here are some things that do mean something. The victim was below the age of consent, which means she could not give it. That makes it rape. She was drugged, which means she could not give consent. That's rape. And she said no. That's rape too. Any way you look at it, any definition or test you can come up with, you get the same result. And a host of other crimes or tragedies one has suffered doesn't mean it can all just go away.
Further reading: What Scorsese And All The Rest Know About Roman Polanski That Maybe You Don't - Allison Benedikt
Common Polanski Defenses, Refuted- Amanda Hess
Yes, I'm talking about the Roman Polanski mess. Everyone is, and most of them make me angry when they do. Surviving the Holocaust only to see your wife and unborn child slaughtered seems almost too cruel to be true. But that sympathy doesn't preclude from believing that rape is wrong and that he should serve a sentence. Or from thinking that a cushy life in France and an Oscar are not a substitute for jail time.
I know his judge was a nut, but that doesn't mean he wasn't guilty of a crime. The Holocaust and the Manson murders are mitigating factors. But unless he couldn't tell the difference between right and wrong at the time of the offence - and no evidence seems to indicate that - that doesn't mean he's innocent.
But here are some things that do mean something. The victim was below the age of consent, which means she could not give it. That makes it rape. She was drugged, which means she could not give consent. That's rape. And she said no. That's rape too. Any way you look at it, any definition or test you can come up with, you get the same result. And a host of other crimes or tragedies one has suffered doesn't mean it can all just go away.
Further reading: What Scorsese And All The Rest Know About Roman Polanski That Maybe You Don't - Allison Benedikt
Common Polanski Defenses, Refuted- Amanda Hess