Courtesy of The Independent:
The Newsroom has been accused of having a “women problem” before, but now Aaron Sorkin has come under fire for a rape storyline that implies male perpetrators are to be believed over female victims.
The latest episode has been criticised for its portrayal of female rape victims after TV news producer Don Keefer said he felt morally obligated to believe the man’s side of the story because he had not yet been convicted of rape.
The episode’ storyline followed a Princeton student who starts a website allowing women on campus to out their rapists after the city justice system failed to prosecute two fraternity members who she claimed raped her.
The student is tracked down by the fictional news network ACN for a debate with her alleged attacker live on air. Don had also interviewed the man she claims raped her and when she asks him who he believes, the producer says he felt obliged to take the man’s side over hers.
This received quite a lot of backlash from all corners.
Including from a writer on the show who claims her misgivings about the segment were ignored, and that she was "kicked out" of the writer's room.
Sorkin himself responds here.
Actress Olivia Munn, who plays the character Sloan Sabbith on the show, also weighed in:
“…The reality is that Sorkin writes things so that they can be talked about, and so we show both sides of it,” she said. “I think it was important to show what it’s like for women to be a rape victim, want to speak out, and then have somebody come in and say, ‘Hey don’t do that. That’s going to be bad for you.’
“Sorkin wasn’t saying ‘Don’t do that,'” Munn said. “He was saying ‘This is what happens.'”
Personally I liked the episode. Partly because it left me conflicted, and not sure whose side I should take in the exchange between the Don Keefer character and the college student.
But that to me is the mark of great television.
I don't often watch shows that make me feel all warm and cuddly inside. I watch shows that make me think, piss me off, or make me grieve for the loss of a character that I have, against my better judgement, grown attached to. (Still miss you Beth.)
I think the show did everything that I would expect it would do with such a controversial subject.
And in the light of the Rolling Stone campus rape scandal, it could not have been more timely.
I thought the spot was absolutely brilliant. Sorkin is a master at bringing out all the uglies that everybody quietly steps around.
ReplyDeleteI can't believe we only have one more episode left. Forever.
And Charlie!! whaaaah!
I have been consoling myself, however, with netflixing House of Cards. Another wonderfully smart show, Kevin Spacey is amazing in the role.
I thought the episode was wonderful and Don Keefer handled the subject very effectively. Great acting on his part and on the part of the young woman. I was so sad however at the end of the episode. It grieves me that this show will end after the next episode. There is so much junk on television, both network and cable, and this intelligent and sensitive drama will be gone after three seasons.
ReplyDeleteBeaglemom
That's the mark of great literature of any genre. If you want everything black and white and tied up with a bow - go watch Disney.
ReplyDeleteSo very sad to see this show end. One of the best.
ReplyDeleteI agree, Gryph. I love this show and I'm sad to see it end. As a woman, I was conflicted as well but it did help me see the other side and we can't ignore that social media is an easy tool to use for revenge. The rest of the show was amazing as well. I <3 Charlie and if you do a search you can read Sam Waterson's thoughts on the episode, etc.
ReplyDeleteI thought the rape storyline was real and true. It is now being played out in the Rolling Stone rape story. The victim has been discredited because she did not quite remember every little detail of her ordeal and the Rolling Stone writer did not "vet" her story properly. Perhaps it is all a hoax, but I tend to agree that the treatment of rape victims has not improved one bit over the years and that is exactly why many rape victims do not come forward.
ReplyDeleteI too will miss this show, but I'm glad we had three glorious seasons of it to savor.
Unfortunately, it goes a bit deeper than her not remembering every little detail. The whole thing is a big mess that will provide fodder for people who think most rape victims aren't really victims. It's too bad RS didn't do a lot more background checking on the story.
Deletehttp://www.washingtonpost.com/local/education/u-va-students-challenge-rolling-stone-account-of-attack/2014/12/10/ef345e42-7fcb-11e4-81fd-8c4814dfa9d7_story.html
This seems like the perfect place to share this:
ReplyDeletehttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YshUDa10JYY
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oWk03x5-8Uk
http://getlit.org/getlit/
I hope you will consider doing a post on these amazing young people, Gryphen.
This sounds more like what Munn said.
ReplyDeleteThis is a portrayal not of how we would like things to be but how they are. And what needs to be changed.
Should a man be believed over a woman simply because he hasn't been convicted yet? Certainly not.
But should a woman always be believed simply because she is a woman or the victim? No.
Both should be heard and neither should be believed without thorough investigation.
It's supposed to be what we do and what we value in this country. It is the way our justice system is supposed to be set up.
We've seen it both ways.
It's pretty standard for a perpetrator to lie.
But we've also seen some cases in which the "victim" lied and wasn't the victim they claimed to be.
I don't expect to try every case in my house via the media.
That's what we have courts for.
And I think that is the discussion that Sorkin is trying to promote.
So people were uncomfortable with the show and it generated a lot of discussion.
Good.
That was exactly what it was supposed to do.