All is not what it seems in showbiz. In movies and music videos the world may well be a rom-com, but behind the scenes is the casting couch. The issue of consent—already a sticky grey area in the sexual context —gets stickier and greyer in the glamour industry. It is a fluid workspace, after all, with no set rules in place unlike a corporate office. And where after-hours socialising and parties are all part of a day’s work.
When Mahmood Farooqui, co-director of Bollywood film Peepli Live, was acquitted in a rape case, the judgment said: “Instances of woman behaviour are not unknown that a feeble ‘no’ may mean a ‘yes’.” In the TV series 13 Reasons Why, the protagonist’s will to live finally snaps because whatever the hell happened had not been consensual. Pop singer Taylor Swift has spoken of how DJ David Mueller ‘lifted her skirt’ to paw her. Southern actor Shweta Menon has complained about an MP who got too familiar.
And now, we have Hollywood Harvey. By citing sex addiction, Harvey Weinstein, a former film studio executive, hopes to shrug away his many lecherous advances to a number of aspiring actresses. The list of women—and it is a list growing by the minute—he grossly offended include Angelina Jolie, Gwyneth Paltrow and Ashley Judd. Some claim their career went downhill after they said no to him.
Any woman who tries to stop a wandering male hand faces a dual dilemma. Does it show her in a bad light (for morality is black and white for women and men, respectively)? Did she read the situation all wrong (was he, like, just being friendly)? Contact with another human being has to be voluntary—but women are left wondering: “Did I just look like I was nodding?”
Sexual harassment is never easy to prove, it is equally hard to nip in the bud. The actual violation is sudden and brutal. The crime scene has wine bottles, an air of camaraderie, no evidence of force or aggression. It turns into ‘he said, she said’.
In the painted made-up world of cinema, where everything is make-believe, it is easy to misunderstand friendliness, a little social touching or a peck on the cheek. The villain is never the groper, the molester, the opportunist who got handsy in a “ha ha, I’m only joking” manner. The villain is the mute victim whose confused silence empowers the perpetuator to go on amassing more breasts and backsides to pat. The higher crime is to overlook it, to pretend it never happened or to appear cool with it.
If someone brushes against you, it is only the start. No molester declares himself, “Here I am, molesting you.” And don’t go to pieces if they try to pin it on you—“you are just so beautiful, I couldn’t help myself”—or, dizzied by their allusions to ‘love’. Back away. And, make a lot of noise as you back away. So that the spotlight falls on him, not you. The world of entertainment must get its act together. Curtains may go up or down, but if self-respect is at stake it is time to take the drama off-screen.
Shinie Antony @shinieantony