Recently, the Swiss government decided not to extradite Roman Polanski to the United States. For those of you who live under a rock and therefore have managed to escape the continuing saga of Mr. Polanski, here it is in a nutshell.
In 1977, Polanski was accused of drugging and raping a 13-year-old girl in Los Angeles. He was charged with rape, pleaded guilty to unlawful sex with a minor, and fled the country when he learned that the judge on the case might not honor the original plea bargain. Quite frankly, running away is an understandable, if not honorable, action—most people facing jail time probably would do the same if they had money and opportunity. Fear and the loss of freedom are powerful motivators.
Fast forward to September 2009. Polanski was arrested by Swiss police while trying to enter Switzerland to pick up a lifetime achievement award from the Zurich Film Festival. He was placed under house arrest in his Swiss chateau until that government’s recent decision not to extradite him.
To understand more about the Polanski case, I watched the documentary “Roman Polanski: Wanted and Desired,” and admittedly felt some sympathy for the man regarding how his case was handled. But that is about all the concern I can conjure for him.
Even if we assume that Polanski was misguided or caught up in a Hollywood subculture of privilege, sex, and violence (and those are rather big assumptions that in no way suggest that what he did was acceptable), we still need to take a measure of the man after he was confronted—by the law, by society, by the victim—with the terrible reality of what he had done.
Did he regret and publicly apologize for his actions (and for his subsequent remarks about having sex with young girls)? Did he choose to contribute his time and talent to helping others avoid the terrible mistake he made? Did he support services for young women who have been similarly victimized? In other words, did he seek to make amends (and not just monetarily, although I hope his victim received a considerable sum)?
Nope. Instead, as the Huffington Post said earlier this year, Polanski has “cultivated the image of a sympathetic victim who has been unfairly exiled from the U.S.”
I have watched this story unfold from the perspective of how we talk about women—particularly those who have been abused by men in some form or another. While I do not profess to understand the Los Angeles District Attorney’s office’s focus on the Polanski case so many years after the alleged crime, I am even more perplexed by the Hollywood elite who recently rose to his defense. Are we to believe, as the petition signed by numerous famous directors might suggest, that talent negates the need to obey the laws, to treat women with respect, or to protect children?
While I have no interest in Polanski’s arrest or detention—I doubt that the costs of his trial or confinement would serve us well at this juncture—I do want to stop the sexual abuse of young girls. It seems to me that Polanski, if he is sorry for actions (which he certainly must be now that he has a daughter of his own), has the talent, resources, and connections to make a substantial contribution to that cause.
And therein lies the potential for a positive outcome from this sad story—to explore how we might better use the laws at our disposal to prevent future crimes of a similar nature. Couldn’t we have sentenced Roman Polanski—apparently one of the most acclaimed directors of his generation—to make restitution to the victim and to support efforts to end sexual violence against women?
Los Angeles—here is an idea that you might consider in wrapping up this case. Offer Polanski a plea agreement in which he stipulates to the crime and agrees to do the following under the supervision of key national woman’s organizations:
Talk openly about the circumstances that lead men to victimize young girls—and seek to promote a new culture in which that no longer occurs.
Produce a series of educational films:
For young girls, emphasizing their value, teaching them how to avoid adult males who do not have their best interests at heart, and telling them where to go for help should they need it
For young men, emphasizing that non-consensual sex is wrong in all situations (and for adult males, sex with underage girls is always non-consensual), promoting a culture of equality, and teaching them to be respectful of women
If Polanski is genuinely sorry for what he did in LA close to 30 years ago, let him use his talents to ensure that it no longer happens in 2010.
Cynthia
