http://online.wsj.com/article/SB1000142405274870447150457444...
Financial Integrity, scfr style ...
Started my own little personal boycott.
No more Miramax Films movies for me. I'm also boycotting the films of the directors mentioned in this article, and will boycott the films of any other directors who sign this petition as I learn about them. I just went through my Netflix Queue and hit the delete button as needed.
I know my boycott won't matter one little bit to these guys (I get DVDs from the library & my 2-a-month Netflix subscription and I go to the movie theater only once or twice a year), but if I am to spend my money in a way that is consistent with my values, I can't allow a single penny of mine to go to them.
Since when is raping a 13 year old child excusable? When I think of myself at 13 (the farthest I had "gone" with a boy was holding hands while skating around the roller rink) it makes me feel ill to think about what that poor child endured. That anyone would come to Polanski's defense by minimizing the seriousness of the crimes and suggesting that he be given a pass because he is an "artiste" is just disturbing.
Why am I not boycotting the actors and anyone else who signs the petition? Well, with all due respect to any actors who might read this, I accept that some people are more naive and swayed by what others around them are doing. But these directors are SMART GUYS ... They should know better!
I have not yet decided how long my boycott will last. Ideally it will be for as long as Polanski's jail term would have been had he not slithered away on his belly.
P.S. - Maybe I'll replace the movies I deleted with Chris Rock films:
http://www.wgem.com/Global/story.asp?S=11258100
Putting My Money Where My Mouth Is
October 7th, 2009 at 08:55 pm
October 7th, 2009 at 09:53 pm
Thanks for the link - that is appalling. I didn't know so many in the industry were defending him.
I have been fascinated by the TV show, "Intervention." Reality show about addiction. About 90% of the time it starts with, "I was raped as a child." I was just watching a meth addict who was raped at 12. Like these people don't "die" when they are raped.
I mean seriously, does anyone who supports him have a daughter or a sister? Ugh.
October 7th, 2009 at 10:12 pm
October 8th, 2009 at 06:04 am
We rarely go to the movies. There are so may stars we won't watch anymore.
October 8th, 2009 at 06:47 am
I haven't seen "Intervention" ... But it sounds like it would be good suggested viewing for Harvey Weinstein and the rest of them.
October 8th, 2009 at 11:04 am
Dogma is a fun movie - very mid 90s.
October 8th, 2009 at 01:19 pm
You know, I honestly didn't know the details of his crime until this recent development. It was always mentioned so casually in stories about his movies--"alleged rape of an underage girl"--that I always assumed it was like consensual sex with a 16-year-old that was technically statutory rape--you know, inappropriate but not necessarily evil. When I read the details I was genuinely shocked at how bad it was. The manipulation, the deception, the drugging, the force used, the really really young age of the girl--and he hasn't tried to deny it since he pled guilty, so I have to assume it's all true. Horrifying to think about.
I will generally still watch someone's oeuvre(sp?) even when I think they're bad people--I still laugh at Kramer in Seinfeld reruns even though he screamed "N***er!" repeatedly in that horrible meltdown. But it doesn't mean I think they should get off more lightly for their crimes. Especially something like this!
October 9th, 2009 at 07:10 am
However, I don't think I'd boycott all their films. If I boycotted all the films which had actors with beliefs and behaviors that clashed with mine, I'd be left with very few to watch. But I do think it's admirable that you are choosing to do so.
October 17th, 2009 at 02:40 pm
October 20th, 2009 at 09:40 pm
October 21st, 2009 at 07:27 am
November 6th, 2009 at 01:29 pm
Jerry