Oscars 2017 shows sexual harassment still means less

This year’s Oscars would probably go down in history as the one where there were more than a handful of "oh-my-god-no-not-really" moments. The Best Picture Award confusion notwithstanding, this edition of the world’s most famous film awards would probably be recalled for the mainstream return of Mel Gibson and the reluctant acceptance of Casey Affleck.

Allegations

This year’s Best Actor winner, Affleck, has been plagued by the allegations of sexual harassment filed by two women who worked with him on the 2010 film, I’m Still Here. Although the matter has been long settled out of court, the manner in which it was dealt with — one of the terms of settlement was that neither party could publicly speak about it — has cast a long shadow on Affleck.

Despicable as it may be, this year’s Oscars proved that for mainstream Hollywood allegations of sexual harassment — like in the case of Affleck or Woody Allen, or even self-confessed crimes in the case of Roman Polanski where the filmmaker confessed raping a 13-year-old — mean precious little when compared to anti-Semitism and racism or, as Hollywood would say, the crimes of Mel Gibson.

Pointing out an unkindly dealt evil as opposed to some other evil does not undermine the wrong committed. But the manner in which Hollywood ostracised Gibson for almost a decade following his drunken anti-Semitic rant directed towards the police officer who booked him for driving under the influence, while having no trouble in honouring a Roman Polanski, who technically is still on the run from law enforcement in the US, reeks of hypocrisy.

There are rules and then there is show business where the only major rule is that there could be a different set of rules for specific people and/or situations all depending on the nature of the crime. The time Gibson fell from grace he was not only one of the biggest box-office stars in the world but also a celebrated filmmaker. He had won the Academy Award for Best Film and Best Director for Braveheart and had made a killing with the self-produced Passion of the Christ.

Gibson had concealed his drinking problem for years but during the arduous filming conditions in Mexico and Guatemala while making Apocalypto, his follow-up to The Passion of the Christ, Gibson began drinking in the open. His 26-year long marriage with Robyn Moore was on the rocks but the façade was being maintained for the sake of the marriage of their daughter and it was during this time that he tipped over.

In the course of his arrest, a drunk Gibson told the Jewish LAPD officer that Jews were responsible for all wars. Gibson also accused the arresting officer, James Mee, for leaking the four-page arrest report to the media.

Boycott

Things didn’t end there for Gibson. His Apocalypto, which deserved much more acclaim than what came its way, suffered as a result of the social boycott. Had Gibson not been relegated to wilderness the film would have notched up a few Oscar nominations but things got worse. Post his anti-Semitic rant Gibson further indulged in misogyny, racism, and homophobia. Gibson started dating Oksana Grigorieva and later in an enraged state threatened to kill.

In a terrifying taped recording the world heard, Gibson intimidate Grigorieva with things that one wouldn’t wish upon their worst enemy. What followed was a near blacklisting of Gibson from anything that was A-list or mainstream. The only reason he was somewhat tolerated in The Expendables 3 was perhaps because he played an unapologetic rogue, the screen version of the villain that he had become in real life.

Oblivion

After spending 10-years in oblivion, Gibson finally got back into the spotlight with Hacksaw Ridge. With the war film garnering critical acclaim as well as a handful of Oscar nominations including the Best Director, Gibson’s first in 21 years, it’s almost like the last decade didn’t exist. The host at this year’s Oscars, Jimmy Kimmel, did not shy away from taking a dig at Gibson and even though the jokes were milder than some previous ones at him, Kimmel was not as harsh on Casey Affleck.

The manner in which Gibson’s life has panned out in the last decade suggests something gravely wrong with Hollywood. Would it be incorrect to say that in Hollywood one can get away with just about anything ranging from raping a minor (Roman Polanski) or accused of being a paedophile (Woody Allen) or pay your way out of a sexual misconduct charge (Casey Affleck) as long as you not openly anti-Semitic? Is that one can simply be in the books of the so-called highbrow and get away with just about anything in the name considering someone’s art independent of ugly allegations both alleged or proven?

Was the nature of Gibson’s outburst the only reason why his career came to a crashing halt as nothing stopped the rise of Affleck or Polanski or Allen? In fact, Cate Blanchett even went to the extent of saying on the Jimmy Kimmel show some years ago that she named one of her sons "Roman" after the convicted child sex offender Polanski.

Gibson went home empty-handed but with offers such as directing the sequel of something as far removed from his universe as Suicide Squad, he wouldn’t think of himself as the loser.

(Courtesy of Mail Today.)

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