The Snarky Liberal

EPIC LOLZ at this quote from NY Daily News’ coverage of the Swiss government’s refusal to release Roman Polanski:

“We continue to be of the opinion that there is a high risk of flight,” said ministry spokesman Folco Galli, explaining the decision.

SURELY YOU JEST.

But seriously, folks. I realize that the Polanski case has been exhaustively covered over the past week, but I still feel the need to add my two cents to the already huge mountain of editorial loose change.

It should come as no surprise that I fall firmly in the “fugitive child rapists deserve jail time” camp. For a thorough primer on precisely why Polanski needs the book thrown with force in his general direction, please see everything Kate Harding has written on the subject (just go ahead and read her entire site while you’re at it). Please also see Jay Smooth’s fantastic video rant that pretty much proves he’s actually inside my head right now.

What I’d really like to address is Hollywood’s reaction to Polanski’s arrest, and the blogosphere’s reaction to Hollywood’s reaction to Polanski’s arrest. A dramatic reenactment:

THE POLICE: Mr. Polanski, you’re under arrest, and also a douchebag.

POLANSKI: Buh?

HOLLYWOOD: WE ARE OUTRAGED! HE’S ALL OLD AND TALENTED AND STUFF!

FEMINIST BLOGS: What the…?

CONSERVATIVE BLOGS: We TOLD you Hollywood was a vile bastion of corruption and villainy!

ME: *weeps silently in the corner*

As much as I’d like to believe the celebrities defending Polanski just don’t know all the facts, I have a sneaking suspicion they DO know the facts and are letting their personal and/or artistic connections to Polanski trump common sense. Seriously, Martin Scorsese? I didn’t realize that one of the main tenets of our social contract (rape=bad) was up for debate.

But the one who seriously, perhaps irreparably, broke my heart by defending a child rapist was… I can hardly type it… Harrison Ford. This man has been one of my favorite actors since I was old enough to have favorite actors. Star Wars and Indiana Jones are pretty much the first movies I can remember seeing. As soon as I was old enough to swoon, I swooned over Harrison Ford. And now he’s gone and tainted those memories for me. I don’t know if I’ll ever be able to watch Star Wars again without some level of ewwww attached to it.

I suppose I should’ve known. After all, he did accept Polanski’s in absentia Oscar for “The Pianist” back in 2003. I just didn’t put two and two together. I think I was vaguely aware of Polanski’s past before the case blew up last week, but I certainly didn’t know the specifics. Now that I do, it’s fairly jarring to know that an actor whose work I adore holds viewpoints that are, to me, indefensible. Cognitive dissonance is a bitch.

However, the frothing-at-the-mouth conservatives who insist this is an example of Hollywood’s inherent liberal evilness are way off base. Since when is rape a liberal value? If anything, feminists (who are, you know, usually against rape) are more liberal than Hollywood. If one is both pro-rape and liberal, it’s not because one stance has anything to do with the other. It’s like saying someone who likes cheese and also likes tap dancing likes cheese because they like tap dancing. They just happen to like both. Correlation, not causation.

This is not a “liberal elitists versus middle America” issue. The strange Polanski disconnect Hollywood exhibits has more to do with clannishness than liberalism; certain power players like Harvey Weinstein throw their support behind Polanski because he’s “one of us,” and others follow suit because they either truly believe his body of work should exonerate him or because they’re afraid of being blacklisted by the industry. The latter explanation may also be why so few A-listers have actually denounced Polanski. They value their livelihoods. That, I can sort of understand.

A message to Hollywood, courtesy of the Snarky Liberal: OPEN YOUR EYES. Please, for once, look beyond your own insular industry and see that the people who support you–the ones who see your movies and fill your coffers–are pissed off. Like, really pissed off. Please also see that you’re giving right-wingers exactly the ammunition they need to brand you, and by extension, all liberals, as “out of touch.” Because in this case, you absolutely are.