In viewing this brief film documentary, one has the impression of watching a production of Aristophanes' play "Lysistrata." In that classic comedy, the women of ancient Greece conspire to go on a sex strike and take over the leadership of the city-states, due to the bad behavior of the men.
The film begins with the disgraced Harvey Weinstein shuttling off to rehab for sex addiction in Scottsdale, Arizona. The film ends with the stentorian voice of Oprah Winfrey, triumphantly proclaiming to the thunderous applause of the Hollywood elite that "a new day is dawning" for women. In other words, Oprah was taking charge as a modern incarnation of Lysistrata.
The thesis of the film is most apparent in the words of a female sexual harassment attorney named Jeanne M. Christensen, who appears on camera to proclaim that women are being abused in every sector of America's businesses, industries, government, and universities. In her own words, the harassment is "in every facet of life" today. Ms. Christensen is clearly vying with Oprah for the lead role in "Lysistrata." She also is talking about predatory men in the same manner as Senator Joseph McCarthy and his pit bull attorney Roy Cohn harangued the public about communists in the 1950s.
The filmmakers try their best to pile example after example of the nefarious conduct of the American male, but some of their choices do not stand up under careful scrutiny. A comedian named Aziz Ansari is held up as an abuser, yet he is given no time to tell his side of the story about an unremarkable experience on a date in which the woman cried foul. Woody Allen is fingered as a monster by his daughter Dylan without any corroboration or testimony from others, including family members who believe Dylan is a victim of the false memory syndrome, not parental abuse. Another segment seeks to portray President Trump as an abuser. But the allegations come from no victims or eyewitnesses, only an alt-left Hollywood talent agent named Belle Zwerdling.
To the credit of the filmmakers, a limited amount of air time is given to men who are pushing back against the extremism of the #MeToo movement. The best commentary comes from New York Times reporter Jim Rutenberg, who asserts that thus far in the #MeToo Movement, "fairness has not always been at play."
Another memorable commentator is a street artist named Sabo, who speculates that the only men who will be available to women in the current climate are "soy boys." Here is the definition of the urban slang term soy boys: "males who completely and utterly lack all necessary masculine qualities. This pathetic state is usually achieved by an over-indulgence of emasculating products and/or ideologies." Welcome to the world of Lysistrata, gentlemen!
The story of the Hollywood casting couch needs to be told, and predators like Harvey Weinstein need to be held accountable. But, as Jim Rutenberg points out in the film, the actions of a Bill Cosby drugging and sexually abusing women should not be equated with office flirtation. It is unfortunate that the Brett Kavanaugh hearing was never mentioned in this program because it serves as an instructive warning about the damage to civil liberties that has already eroded the fabric of our civic life, when the accused is not afforded due process. In one rambling speech about due process in this film, the plea for due process was exclusively in support of women's due process with no mention of commensurate rights for men.
Like the most of today's one-sided perspective from the media, this documentary film did not strike an appropriate balance between the ugly truth of sexual predators and the rights of accusers to defend themselves. There is a happy ending to Aristophanes' "Lysistrata," but it is not clear that the same endgame is unfolding today in America.
The film begins with the disgraced Harvey Weinstein shuttling off to rehab for sex addiction in Scottsdale, Arizona. The film ends with the stentorian voice of Oprah Winfrey, triumphantly proclaiming to the thunderous applause of the Hollywood elite that "a new day is dawning" for women. In other words, Oprah was taking charge as a modern incarnation of Lysistrata.
The thesis of the film is most apparent in the words of a female sexual harassment attorney named Jeanne M. Christensen, who appears on camera to proclaim that women are being abused in every sector of America's businesses, industries, government, and universities. In her own words, the harassment is "in every facet of life" today. Ms. Christensen is clearly vying with Oprah for the lead role in "Lysistrata." She also is talking about predatory men in the same manner as Senator Joseph McCarthy and his pit bull attorney Roy Cohn harangued the public about communists in the 1950s.
The filmmakers try their best to pile example after example of the nefarious conduct of the American male, but some of their choices do not stand up under careful scrutiny. A comedian named Aziz Ansari is held up as an abuser, yet he is given no time to tell his side of the story about an unremarkable experience on a date in which the woman cried foul. Woody Allen is fingered as a monster by his daughter Dylan without any corroboration or testimony from others, including family members who believe Dylan is a victim of the false memory syndrome, not parental abuse. Another segment seeks to portray President Trump as an abuser. But the allegations come from no victims or eyewitnesses, only an alt-left Hollywood talent agent named Belle Zwerdling.
To the credit of the filmmakers, a limited amount of air time is given to men who are pushing back against the extremism of the #MeToo movement. The best commentary comes from New York Times reporter Jim Rutenberg, who asserts that thus far in the #MeToo Movement, "fairness has not always been at play."
Another memorable commentator is a street artist named Sabo, who speculates that the only men who will be available to women in the current climate are "soy boys." Here is the definition of the urban slang term soy boys: "males who completely and utterly lack all necessary masculine qualities. This pathetic state is usually achieved by an over-indulgence of emasculating products and/or ideologies." Welcome to the world of Lysistrata, gentlemen!
The story of the Hollywood casting couch needs to be told, and predators like Harvey Weinstein need to be held accountable. But, as Jim Rutenberg points out in the film, the actions of a Bill Cosby drugging and sexually abusing women should not be equated with office flirtation. It is unfortunate that the Brett Kavanaugh hearing was never mentioned in this program because it serves as an instructive warning about the damage to civil liberties that has already eroded the fabric of our civic life, when the accused is not afforded due process. In one rambling speech about due process in this film, the plea for due process was exclusively in support of women's due process with no mention of commensurate rights for men.
Like the most of today's one-sided perspective from the media, this documentary film did not strike an appropriate balance between the ugly truth of sexual predators and the rights of accusers to defend themselves. There is a happy ending to Aristophanes' "Lysistrata," but it is not clear that the same endgame is unfolding today in America.