The entertainment industry shows us where we’re wrong

By this point it’s probably impossible for anyone to ignore the slew of sexual assault cases devouring the entertainment industry. It’s about time, too, because this has been going on for too long and not just on screen or on stage. The list of Hollywood names accused of multiple counts of sexual assault, inappropriate behaviour, and rape is too long for this piece to contain. We have to face a grim reality. The only thing that makes the entertainment industry special is that it’s, for lack of a better term, in the spotlight. Of course, this treatment of women exists in politics, business, and everywhere else. Here in the real world, this is not uncommon, but it doesn’t make headlines. If the entertainment world is any indication, at what point will this very flimsy foundation begin to crumble? It seems it is starting to.

For me these scandals call the entire entertainment industry into question. We have always been led to believe that the people on screen or stage are just pretending. They aren’t really those murderers or geniuses, historical figures or police officers, inspiring teachers or drug addicts. What’s more is that we have evidence: awards ceremonies prove they were just pretending and that they are the best pretenders in the world. It is a justification for our own tastes and our ability to recognize what makes “good” art. Actors are lauded for their abilities, and only appear to be something they are not. But what if that’s not even true? The jokes, characters, and acting were all so convincing, but they couldn’t really be like that, could they? Well, it turns out some are. Shouldn’t this force us to question the legitimacy of a large part of the industry? When I look back at iconic performances by these famous men who committed such despicable acts in their personal lives, and those performances mirror reality so clearly, there is something more sinister going on. Our society does, will, and shall continue to fail to protect women if men don’t make an effort.

It gets worse. The society that protected those famous people for decades, and actually propelled them into stardom is the same one that you and I live in, except we aren’t famous. More than this, these men could both evade and continue their behaviour for decades. If that is the standard we’ve set for the powerful, then people without their power, authority, or money will likely never have to face their own actions. It is no wonder the majority of sexual assault or even rape goes unreported. We have built a society that has forgotten to believe women, victims, and survivors.

If this can teach us anything, perhaps it can teach men to ask who, how, when, and where we have wronged. And yet, it’s still not enough.When we ask why we will find that every answer leads back to the same problem. Our society does not do enough to address the way it has policed and exerted control over women’s ideas and bodies for eons. No matter which question you ask, there is no excuse.

If this is troublesome, worrying, jarring, or scary, then good. It should be. Men need to start thinking about how we interact with women, from the way we compose an email to expectations we have in our personal relationships. “Woke” or not, we men have all contributed to this problem. Women have been fighting this fight for years, to say nothing of the struggle faced by the LGBTQ+ community. We benefit from a system of institutional discrimination in all areas of our lives. If you’re wondering if changing this will be hard, the answer is yes, but imagine what women have had to put up with just so we could have these conversations.