Vic Shoup

I’m usually one of the first people who defend the allegedly elitist, leftist, out-of-touch, communist Hollywood types when one of them decides to make some kind of statement about politics or whatever. 

Everyone is entitled to an opinion, right?  If you really feel strongly about something and you have an opportunity to advance your agenda or help a cause you feel deserves your help, then who can fault you for that. 

Also, a lot of times I agree with them: like when Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie went to New Orleans and adopted all those kids from all over or George Clooney speaks out on Darfur.  However, I always have a problem with folks who makes their decisions based on what a celebrity’s public stance might be.  Come on, I’m not going to cast my vote for whatever guy who used to play president says I should.  I digress …

Roman Polanski’s extradition from Switzerland to answer for 32 year-old child molestation charges has caused quite a stir in Hollywood.  CNN’s now reporting about 138 people there have signed the following petition for Polanski’s release:

Petition for Roman Polanski

We have learned the astonishing news of Roman Polanski's arrest by the Swiss police on September 26th, upon arrival in Zurich (Switzerland) while on his way to a film festival where he was due to receive
an award for his career in filmmaking.

His arrest follows an American arrest warrant dating from 1978 against the filmmaker, in a case of morals.

“… a case of morals,” is supposed to make the reader think there is nothing inherently wrong with what Polanski did except that it goes against morals in America.  Rape of a child is more than immoral, of course.  Even in France, the age of consent is 15 so Polanski would have been in just as much trouble had he sodomized a 13 year old French girl in France.  Rape is against the law because it a crime with a victim.  Prostitution and drug laws are sometimes referred to as morality laws, but never rape.  American no-raping-children laws are aimed at deterring violent crime against children … like rape.

Filmmakers in France, in Europe, in the United States and around the world are dismayed by this decision. It seems inadmissible to them that an international cultural event, paying homage to one of the greatest contemporary filmmakers, is used by the police to apprehend him.

Certainly they aren’t speaking on the behalf of all filmmakers.  I’m sure at least 80% couldn’t care less.   Of the 20% who do care, half have their egos in check enough to accept that you can get popped even on your way to a big party in your honor.

By their extraterritorial nature, film festivals the world over have always permitted works to be shown and for filmmakers to present them freely and safely, even when certain States opposed this.

This translates to say “Film festival honorees should be granted diplomatic immunity.”

The arrest of Roman Polanski in a neutral country, where he assumed he could travel without hindrance, undermines this tradition: it opens the way for actions of which no-one can know the effects.

Switzerland is politically neutral.  If Polanski had sold US secrets to the soviets and fled there with a ton of Nazi gold, he’d be fine and untouchable.  Unfortunately for everyone involved, that’s not what happened.  Drugging and raping a child is not a question of politics.  By the way, Switzerland’s age of consent is 16.

Roman Polanski is a French citizen, a renown and international artist now facing extradition. This extradition, if it takes place, will be heavy in consequences and will take away his freedom.

Heavy consequences and a loss of freedom are exactly the intended outcomes.

Filmmakers, actors, producers and technicians - everyone involved in international filmmaking - want him to know that he has their support and friendship.

On September 16th, 2009, Mr. Charles Rivkin, the US Ambassador to France, received French artists and intellectuals at the embassy. He presented to them the new Minister Counselor for Public Affairs at the embassy, Ms Judith Baroody. In perfect French she lauded the Franco-American friendship and recommended the development of cultural relations between our two countries.

“In perfect French,” it says.  Those snotty bastards – what’s that supposed to mean?  If she’d said it with a thick accent or needed a translator would they have left this part out?  Or, worse, said something like “in barely passable French …”

If only in the name of this friendship between our two countries, we demand the immediate release of Roman Polanski.

I’m fairly confident France will still be friends with America.  There might be some temporary tension or hurt feelings, but that will all be forgotten and forgiven the next time the friendship benefits France’s interests.

Here’s a list of signatories I found on indiewire.com.  There are some big names in there, but you can see for the most part the list is full of nobodies and has-beens. Whoopie Goldberg isn’t on the list, but said on The View that it “isn’t rape-rape.”

Anyway, the whole thing got me thinking about everyday folks like me, the law, morals and the entertainment industry – how they all fit together and play off each other.  This is what I came up with:

One of them from the entertainment industry broke the law, raping one of the common people, and shouldn’t have because it is immoral and against the law and gross.  This guy is finally on his way back to the US to answer for his crimes (maybe) and some from the entertainment industry are crying foul.  Who’s going to win?  Who knows?

Some of these foul-criers are big-time movie makers who are inconceivably rich.  Martin Scorsese, Woody Allen, and Wes Anderson are three directors whose movies I really like and always go see when they come out in theaters.  I was disappointed to see their names in that list because I know I would never follow through on a boycott of their movies and, even if I did, they’d never notice anyway.  The only real loser in that equation would be me and that’s not fair – I didn’t break the law nor do anything immoral and I only have two choices: support these people who support Polanski or ineffectually suffer.

Like many everyday folks, I have an entertainment setup at home that comes pretty close to the theater experience minus all the hassle and I have a high-speed Internet connection, a DVD burner and lots of storage.  I’ve got friends who know all about torrents and download sites where they watch movies and listen to music and never pay for any of it.  Better yet, they always are interested in teaching me how to do what they do to enjoy the best of what Hollywood has to offer absolutely free.

Consider how much entertainment goes to market advocating and glamorizing lawlessness?  Movies about revenge killings, heists, and kidnapping – how many scenes can you reenact?   Songs about breaking the speed limit, buying or selling drugs, assault and murder – we all know at least one by heart.

Logically, you can’t defend your own immorality as a reaction to your victim’s immorality.  If you steal a tax cheat’s wallet you are still in the wrong and can still go to jail and your karma will still take a hit.  So, for all my posturing, I can’t participate in or advocate illegal downloading and still claim any moral high ground.  Downloading copyrighted works without paying for them is stealing, but maybe it is not stealing-stealing.