On Polanski

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I've only seen two Roman Polanski movies. The first was his 1971 version of Macbeth, which we watched in OAC English class, and the second was Chinatown, which was being shown as on TVO's Saturday Night at the Movies. I had a Penguin's Guide to Classic Films, and two of his films were featured - Chinatown and Rosemary's Baby - so I knew he was a director of no small skill.

Somewhere around this point, I discovered Wikipedia, and I looked Roman Polanski up, so that I could figure out what movies of his I should watch next. I learnt he escaped the Warsaw Ghetto and survived the Holocaust, though his mother died in Auschwitz; his pregnant wife Sharon Tate had been murdered by members of the Manson family; when he was in his mid-forties, he admitted to having sex with a child of thirteen.

I use the word 'child' deliberately, because I think to refer to the victim here as a girl of thirteen is simply window dressing that disguises the true nature of Polanski's crime. The survivor, Samantha Greimer, was an aspiring model whose mother consented to a private photo-shoot with Polanski. At the very least, Polanski had sex with a child thirty years his junior; at the worst, he drugged her with a combination of champagne and quaaludes before raping her.

Once the wheels of justice were set in motion, Polanski accepted a plea bargain that saw him pleading guilty to statutory rape, rather than go to trial for rape by use of drugs, perversion, sodomy, lewd and lascivious act upon a child under 14, and furnishing a controlled substance(methaqualone) to a minor. Rather than go to prison, however, Polanski fled the United States for France, where he held citizenship and from whence he was unlikely to be extradited. He has since not visited either the United States or the United Kingdom, remaining in mainland Europe to live and work.

Last week, however, Polanski visited Switzerland to attend the Zurich Film Festival, where he was to receive a Lifetime Achievement Award. He was arrested at the airport and is being held while the Swiss review his case and decide whether or not to extradite him to the US. This has led to a wave of support for him from members of the entertainment community as well as figures in the french and polish government - Polanski holds double citizenship of both these countries - and an opposing movement which calls for justice to be carried out.

I present a sample defence of Polanski from Joan Z Shore, who is (cue double-take) the co-founder of Women Overseas For Equality, with my comments in bold, a la the fabulous Malene Arpe:

Arresting Roman Polanski the other day in Zurich, where he was to receive an honorary award at a film festival, was disgraceful and unjustifiable. Polanski, now 76, has been living in France for over thirty years read - has evaded justice for over thirty years, and has been traveling and working in Europe unhindered, but the Swiss acted on an old extradition treaty with the U.S. and seized him! Yes, how dare the Swiss uphold an international treaty! The Swiss Justice Ministry will decide whether to extradite him to the United States. Which is toooootally unfair, since he's not even Swiss, you guys!

The judge in the 1977 statutory rape case is dead. Well, if the judge is dead, you obviously get to go off scott-free... Polanski had agreed at the time to a plea bargain, but then the judge reneged on it. Um, correct me if I'm wrong, but didn't Polanski flee before he was sentenced? After a grand total of 42 days in jail? Polanski has tried to appeal.

But there is more to this story. The 13-year old model "seduced" by Polanski had been thrust onto him by her mother, who wanted her in the movies. Mommie Dearest foisted the girl at him! So that makes it totally okay! Candy for everyone! The girl was just a few weeks short of her 14th birthday, which was the age of consent in California. (It's probably 13 by now!) Um, I don't even know what to do with this. And you claim to be the co-founder of what appears to be a feminist organization? Rape is okay if you're close to the age of consent?!? Which I'm fairly certain is not fourteen?!? Polanski was demonized by the press, convicted, and managed to flee, fearing a heavy sentence. Well, that makes it okay then, since he was afraid of a heavy sentence. *headdesk*

Read more at: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/joan-z-shore/polanskis-arrest-shame-on_b_301134.html

Read more at: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/andy-ostroy/why-robert-harriss-iny-ti_b_304100.html

Read more at: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/andy-ostroy/why-robert-harriss-iny-ti_b_304100.html

Whoopi Goldberg, on The View, said, "I know it wasn't 'rape' rape. I think it was something else, but I don't believe it was 'rape' rape." So having sex with a child of thirteen was only kinda rape? sorta rape? decaf rape?

Polanski's friend, photographer Otto Weisser, was quoted on CNN as saying, "He's a brilliant guy and he made a little mistake 32 years ago -- what a shame for Switzerland."

Read more at: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/anna-wainwright/welcome-home-mr-polanski_b_301994.html

Um, yes, I can see how sleeping with a thirteen year old was an easy mistake to make. No, actually, I can't. Please explain? And yes, definitely, it's Switzerland that should be covering itself in shame.

Harvey Weinstein, formerly of Miramax, chimed in with an op-ed piece in The Independent:

Roman Polanski is a man who cares deeply about his art and its place in this world. What happened to him on his incredible path is filled with tragedy, and most men would have collapsed. Yes, his life has been filled with horrible tragedy. Instead, he became a great artist and continues to make great films. And along the way, he found the time to have sex with a child. I was with him the day he won the Legion of Honour in France, which was a spectacular day. I remember the incredible love and affection that people have for him. Come oooon, you guys! People like Roman! You can't send him to jail![...]

Whatever you think about the so-called crime, Polanski has served his time. Forty-two days in jail. Yeah, that should do it. Plus the past thirty years that he's spent having a family, making movies, yep, he's definitely done his time. [...]

I hope the US government acts swiftly because because film makers are looking for justice to be properly served. I will be organising the effort myself by emailing everybody I know to sign the petition. And I know that Thierry Fremaux has got hold of Nicolas Sarkozy. Sarko, mon pote! C'est moi, Thierry. Bah, ecoute, on va laisser les Americains extrader notre gars Polanski? C'est pas cool, ca, quoi?

We will have to speak to our leaders as well – particularly in California. I'm not too shy to go and talk to the Governor of California, Arnold Schwarzenegger, and to ask him once and for all to look at this. Thankfully the Governator has already ruled out a gubernatorial pardon for Polanski. I never thought I'd say this, but yay Republicans!

It is a shocking way to treat such a man. Polanski went through the Holocaust and the murder of his wife, Sharon Tate, by the Manson family. Free personal trauma pass, people! How do you go from the Holocaust to the Manson family with any sort of dignity? In those circumstances, most people could not contribute to art and make the kind of beautiful movies he continues to make. This is true. I am fairly certain though, that despite their artistic deficiencies, most people might manage to keep their hands and assorted appendages off thirteen-year-old children.

I would also further direct your attention to Andy Ostroy's demolition of Robert Harris' unctuous Polanski defence in the New York Times - though I suppose you can't blame Harris, Polanski is directing a movie based on his novel The Ghost:

Harris begins with: "...His past did not bother me, any more (presumably) than it did the three French presidents with whom he has had private dinners, or the hundreds of actors and technicians who have worked with him since 1977, or the fans who come up to him in the streets of Paris for his autograph."

French presidents? Is he kidding? Middle-aged Frenchmen accept and forgive Polanski's sexually deviant behavior and that's a defense? Perhaps Harris would welcome support from Italy's scandal-plagued, teenage-girl-chasing Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi too? Are we really to let Polanski off Scot-free because movie people like him? Or because fans seek his autograph? Perhaps Harris has never witnessed the throngs of idiots who still drool all over O.J. Simpson as if he's America's former football hero instead of the brutal monster who butchered two people. And this may come as a shock to Harris: America's judicial system couldn't give a rat's ass whether certain criminal behavior bothers you or not.

Harris then asks, "Why now?" To which I reply, why the fuck not? The argument that he's been allowed to roam free for 30 years, therefore he should be allowed to stay free is moronic. Just because some lame-ass law-enforcement authorities had their collective thumbs up their asses for three decades does not give Polanski a get out of jail free card. Should we not arrest Nazi war criminals because they've been living in Argentina for 65 years and might be "liked" by their neighbors? Who cares when justice ultimately gets served, as long as it gets served. Let's keep things in perspective here: the Los Angeles DA's office has not committed any crimes. Polanski has. [...]

Harris ends his convoluted diatribe by claiming Polanski is a "doting father" who's children "want him home." I'm sure O.J.'s kids want him home, too. Again I should remind Harris that in America we don't let children decide the judicial fates of their law-breaking "doting" dads.

In his closing line, Harris smugly quotes the Romans: "So cui bono," or, "who benefits?" The criminal justice system benefits, as does every single child who can feel some comfort and security that we still have laws that protect them from sexually-perverted adult predators who seek to horrifically abuse them.

*sigh*

I am angry and saddened that so many people have reacted as if Polanski had received a life sentence for jaywalking, and then fled the the USA for Europe and its less draconian traffic laws. What Polanski did is not a little boo-boo. Not being able to travel to Los Angeles to receive your Oscar in person is not justice; it's what happens when you're on the lam from justice.

In conclusion, I just want to underline why I'm so angry, with a little help from Melissa Silverstein:

Feminists everywhere are aghast about the fact that we have lost sight that this man raped a 13-year-old girl. Feminist everywhere stand up against rape because it is endemic in our society.

So to just remind people why we are all livid about this:

• 1 in 6 women will be sexually assaulted in her lifetime.
• In 2007, there were 248,300 victims of sexual assault.
• Every 2 minutes, someone in the U.S. is sexually assaulted.
• Approximately 73% of rape victims know their assailants.
• Only 6% of rapists will ever spend a day in jail.
• 44% of victims are under age 18.

I never did order those other Polanski films; I don't doubt his brilliance as a director, but his behaviour has been both criminal and repugnant, as is his refusal to accept the consequences for his actions. It's my own little boycott, and I'm happier for it.