The Art or the Crime?
Posted in Culture Shock, Movies |By Jesse Roth
The arrest of director Roman Polanksi in the fall of 2009 on a decades-old arrest warrant stirred up quite a bit of controversy on many fronts. For some, it was the unexpected but welcome capture of a convicted sexual predator, allowed to run free in Europe for far too long. Others, particularly those in the Hollywood community, were quick to defend one of their own on charges they felt were unwarranted. They wanted Polanski to be free to escape his troubled past, allowed to continue to perfect the craft that made him famous.
As the debate raged on, some brought up the idea that people should boycott the films of Polanski and the actors that supported his scandalous freedom fight. In the eyes of these protestors, the viewing and enjoyment this man’s films meant supporting the actions of a child molester.
Roman Polanski then
My first memories of Roman Polanski involved episodes of shows like E!’s True Hollywood Story, where the minor facts of the director’s early life and career took a backseat to the scandal. For years I simply knew him as the skeezy director that slept with a 13-year old girl.
As I grew older and became more interested in classic films and great directors, I found that I was able to forget about Polanski’s crime enough to sit down and take in masterpieces like Chinatown, and his contemporary award-winner The Pianist. Though his crimes were no less disgusting in my eyes than they were in those of the protestors, I found that I could still enjoy his creations; separating the man from his art.
When actors, directors, and artists of other mediums commit terrible crimes or other social offenses, we tend to have that moment where we feel unable to forgive them. How can we possibly support the work of someone so morally reprehensible? How can we possibly distinguish the two? More times than not, we are able to. Time is usually a major player.
Years before I even knew who Roman Polanksi was, I had similar feelings about Woody Allen. Always a favorite in the Roth family, as a young girl I was introduced to his sillier films such as Take the Money and Run. I fell in love immediately. The humor spoke to me and I even felt a little grown-up being able to like a director so revered by those much older than I was.
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2 Responses to “The Art or the Crime?”
January 31st, 2010 at 12:16 am
This is a pretty good article. I’m not sure if the Woody Allen comparison is entirely apt, since, creepy-as-hell though it was, it was consensual, where Polanski straight-up raped her. But the point isn’t about that, and it stands, so, yeah. I guess that’s a little bit of a derail!
For me — I think I’d rather boycott Polanski’s films by not buying ‘em or seeing them in theaters. I think Netflixin’ is OK. (Though, to be honest, for me, it’s moot, since, I, ahm, don’t really care for his films. Even back when I thought it was a consensual thing due to the term “Statutory Rape”, which still irks the hell out of me.)
Also: Mel Gibson makes me sad. I wasn’t really a fan, but to see him go down the tubes so hard is weird. A friend of mine would sometimes carpool to school with his kids and such. From what she said, he seemed nice then. (Didn’t call her “sugartits” or NOTHIN’!) So I wonder if it’s some sort of weird breakdown.
February 4th, 2010 at 10:11 am
As for Woody Allen, it may have been technically consensual, but who knows what kind of mental and emotional manipulations may have taken part? It definitely borders on abuse and certainly connotes abuse of POWER, in my opinion.
I am very troubled and angry about the Polanski issue. For my own personal reasons, I can relate to the need for justice to be served and the constant cries of “But he’s a really good guy!” just irk me even further.
I also think back to when the Manson murders first happened and a lot of blame was placed on Polanski himself, like the accusations that he brought on the situation by making weird movies, hanging out with the wrong crowd, dabbling in the occult, etc. Not to justify or excuse his behavior, but a lifetime of tragedy has to really warp a person, and it’s a shame that no one close to him called him out on his bad behavior all these years (as I’m sure there was more of it that we don’t know about).
LLM