Renowned film director Roman Polanski was arrested Saturday in Switzerland in relation to a 31-year-old statutory rape charge in the United States. Although many celebrities and European governments say Polanski should be forgiven and the case forgotten, the 2002 Academy Award-winning director who fled from the U.S. during the 1977 case now faces possible extradition back to the U.S.
Frankly, I’m still trying to wrap my head around the reason so many people have rushed to the defense of a man who forced oral, vaginal and anal intercourse on a 13-year-old girl after coaxing her to pose nude for a photo shoot and seducing her with champagne and sedatives.
And he never really paid for it. He served an initial 42 days in prison, but when he found out he might actually get serious jail time, he fled to Britain and then to France.
So why defend him? Because it all happened a long time ago? Because Polanski is famous? Because he’s made some great films? (I personally loved “The Pianist.”) Because his good artistic deeds outweigh his personal bad deeds?
In our pop culture society, it seems that we prize controversy and sexual scandal. We’re used to celebrities doing this crap, so it’s almost as if we accept it, even expect it.
And it’s no wonder celebrities, like Woody Allen who married his wife’s daughter, and the entertainment industry have risen to his defense. They also hold the celebrity virtue of sexual promiscuity, and a reflection of it can be seen nightly during primetime television programs.
Just take a look at “Dancing with the Stars.” That show is barely about dancing and mostly about bouncing tits and buns (and the occasional goofy old guy for comic relief), despite the fact it’s become a family favorite. Oh, and bringing 17-year-old Olympic medalist Shawn Johnson on the show was sick and disgraceful.
Back to Polanski, what if he was anyone other than a celebrity director? If he were a politician or a religious leader, he’d be put to shame in the media just as Bill Clinton, John Edwards, Eliot Spitzer and Ted Haggard, none of whom had sex with a minor.
If he had been a normal, every-day African-American man, he’d surely go without sympathy. But when it’s a celebrity, we either do everything we can to tell ourselves it’s not true or we acquire an indifferent attitude.
And sure, it’s been a long time since it happened, and for all we know Polanski may be truly sorry and regretful for something he did over 30 years ago.
But instead of facing up to his punishment, he fled from it. Perhaps it’s time for him to undergo his punishment now and get on with his life.
I’m not hating on the fact he has deservedly won some awards recently. But justice is justice, and the facts are the facts. He practically raped a 13-year-old. As the late Jackson Mayor Frank Melton was fond of saying, “It is what it is.”
Matt Watson is a graduate student majoring in Spanish. He can be contacted at [email protected].