Fiction Can Help Us Sympathize With the Worst Men of #MeToo. Good.

  • 📰 Slate
  • ⏱ Reading Time:
  • 87 sec. here
  • 3 min. at publisher
  • 📊 Quality Score:
  • News: 38%
  • Publisher: 51%

United States Headlines News

United States Latest News,United States Headlines

We need to practice processing problems like these with a single narrative.

of sexual misconduct via a fictional treatment that nonfictional accounts couldn’t fairly, or ethically, capture. The show focuses on the mess a predator leaves in his wake, particularly when the predator in question, Steve Carell’s Matt Lauer–like character, Mitch Kessler, is the kind of person the people around him don’tto take down . On the show, Mitch is defensive and vengeful, but he’s also charismatic and compelling.

Abnormalities in criminal justice tend to reveal interesting places where public policy is in some not-quite-legible way at odds with privateboldest move: It presents an environment so poisoned by pandering to a powerful man that the predator might not even fully realize he’s predating. This is Weinstein’s argument: He says he understood all of his actions to be consensual.

If the radically different responses to Bryant show us anything, it’s that we’re not much better at taking the goodthe bad than we were before. We’re still stuck in a pretty binary mode: bad or good. It’s one thing to argue, as many have, that we should look at the whole person. It’s more challenging, it turns out, to actually do so. Because basketball means nothing at all to me, for instance, I really don’t care about Bryant’s successes on the court.

If there’s a tendency to sympathize with and protect men accused of rape while reviling the theoretical category of the rapist, there’s a countervailing tendency when it comes to victims. Peoplesympathize enormously with rape victims. In theory. In practice, they frequently regard them with suspicion . If the victim is anonymous, as Kobe Bryant’s accuser was, or not famous, as Bill Cosby’s victims were, they have none of the charismatic baggage their alleged assailant has working for them.

When experiences like these stack up into something like a movement, they lose specificity. To be “one of Harvey’s victims” is—has to be—the opposite of individuating. Even his trial makes that clear. When you have not one but six accusers testifying, the point becomes that there is a pattern; each individual who suffered an insult gets worn down to a data point.

 

Thank you for your comment. Your comment will be published after being reviewed.
Please try again later.
We have summarized this news so that you can read it quickly. If you are interested in the news, you can read the full text here. Read more:

 /  🏆 716. in US

United States Latest News, United States Headlines

Similar News:You can also read news stories similar to this one that we have collected from other news sources.

Coronavirus fears, U.S. business data drag down Wall StreetU.S. stocks sold off and the Nasdaq had its worst daily percentage decline in ab...
Source: Reuters - 🏆 2. / 97 Read more »

Frank's RedHot is now selling spicy Bloody Marys in cans - InsiderThe canned drinks are made with Frank's RedHot Original Cayenne Pepper Sauce and have been spotted at Walmart stores around the US.
Source: BusinessInsider - 🏆 729. / 51 Read more »

Movie magic: Spanish La Vista potato chip sales boom on Korean film cameoA potato-chip company in Spain is experiencing a surge in demand for its canned chips after they appeared in the Oscar-winning Korean film 'Parasite' So...Pringles? Trouble is they look like tins of paint so how would children know difference. Open doors.
Source: Reuters - 🏆 2. / 97 Read more »

Survival Of The Friendliest: How Our Close Friendships Help Us ThriveIn her new book, Lydia Denworth makes the case for the vital necessity of friendship, tracing its effects on your genes, on your brain and even on animals like sheep and fish. & this is new news? You can also get STDs...........Goofs SarahGirlTwits ObiWanPanda
Source: NPRHealth - 🏆 144. / 63 Read more »

Bernie Sanders is told by U.S. officials that Russia is trying to help his campaignBernie Sanders warned Russia on Friday to 'stay out of U.S. elections' as he confirmed that American intelligence officials had briefed him on Russian efforts to help his presidential campaign. in a classified briefing! Very cool to leave that out of the headline LA Times! He already knew.... a month ago BernieKnew BernieIsARussianAsset StillVotingSanders FeelTheBern
Source: latimes - 🏆 11. / 82 Read more »

Bernie Sanders briefed by US officials that Russia is attempting to help his campaignSen. Bernie Sanders was told by U.S. officials that Russia is attempting to help his presidential campaign, according to the Washington Post A MONTH AGO. Didn't say anything because he didn't want it to hurt his campaign which is really all about HIM. He puts himself above the country, just like Trump. This is unacceptable. Because he’s unelectable in the general. So they’re really supporting Trump. If it’s true...why should anyone care? Republicans put their seal of approval on such things when they allowed Trump to do it. Russia, if you’re listening, we’d love to see Trump’s wee tape.😭
Source: USATODAY - 🏆 100. / 63 Read more »