#MeToo and Movies

[Jon]

I've just started watching The Society on Netflix and this girl at school has a crush on this boy. At a party, she enthusiastically runs up to him, puts her arms around him and plants a kiss on his lips. I think she has had one or two drinks.

Should she go straight to jail? Maybe 5 years for sexual assault?

I don't seem to see much outrage about it. Or is #MeToo a case of one rule for men, another rule for women? I can't find the Gillette police anywhere.

 

[The_Doc_Man]

I am not sure. The question is whether he had previous encounters with her such that she might have felt encouraged. If all the courage came from a bottle, that would be sexual battery. If some of the courage came from prior (even if ambiguous) conversations, it would be harder to tell.

 

[Jon]

Ok, so this time a boy tries to kiss a girl. She says no, "You can't do that without asking."

So, it appears we have a new protocol for the romantic scenes, where (say) James Bond asks for written consent before indulging. Married couples up and down the country end up with reams of paperwork, documenting prior actions and signed off to prove mutual consent.

 

[Jon]

Ok, another scene and a guy leans in and kisses a girl. She backed off about 1 inch, but didn't ask for consent. She also didn't say no, so it was very ambiguous. Where is the paperwork?

 

[Bee]

There's a very simple rule which has stood people in good stead for a long, long time. If you are not sure whether your advances will be reciprocated, then don't advance.

 

[The_Doc_Man]

Which is why the system is skewed. Men NEVER know how a woman is going to react. How else would you explain the success of the "Men Are From Mars, Women Are From Venus" book?

 

[Jon]

Maybe Bee can tell us what signals means its ok?

 

[Jon]

Ok, here we go. Just got to a scene in this box set where the woman says she hates men. The guy she was with said he hates men too. Then he says, he probably sucks himself. I think we have the complete range of current narratives now.

 

[Bee]

And women NEVER know how a guy is going to react either. It works both ways.

 

[Jon]

I agree it works both ways. No one can be certain.