Cantankerous Chicanery

While this may be a little late, I consider it still worth posting. So the authorities finally caught up with Roman Polanksi, eh? Where to start, where to start. It’s such a complex issue and there’s so many sides to look at it from.

On one hand, it’s about time. The guy knows he did something wrong (in the eyes of the law anyway). Why else would he be running around, evading the authorities? To seek asulym in other countries reeks of his knowledge of his guilt and just trying to escape his just desserts.

And all the Hollywood bigwigs rising to his defense makes me sick. They’r eonly defeding him because he’s a personal friend. It pisses me off that he may get off just based on name value alone. If this was you or I in this situation, we’d go to jail, no questions asked.

Those who say there isn’t a class divide in this country are incredibly blind. If you make it in the film or entertainment industry, you can skirt past the moral laws set up in this country. Just because Roman Polanki can toss oyt money to hire a high-rpcied lawyer, he may stand a (however small) chance of beating the rap.

Let’s not forget what he’s accused of; having sex with a 13-year old girl, and this after drugging her up. That’s pretty f’ed-up and reprehensible, no matter how you really look at it.

On the other hand, as a strong libertarian, I believe in the individual’s personal rights, and so Polanski is justified in this account. What he does is his personal business. It should not be up for anyone to infringe on his personal life.

As well, the girl who originally was hought to have been taken advantage of has forgiven Polanski. She admitted it was consenual, that she willingly took drugs, and no longer seeks to prosecute him. If she doesn’t desire vengeance, what business do the police have tracking him down and arresting him?

What I’m getting at here is if the so-called victim doesn’t care, what use is there in pursuing it? In the eyes of the the law, there is no crime. What this quite honestly sounds like to me is a wild party that got way out of hand.

Let’s cut the guy a break. He’s really been through enough. He went through the Holocaust, watched his wife get murdered in the notorious Manson Family ordeal, and now he’s got this on his hands. It seems like the moral contingency out there has ahd it out for him for whatever reason (probably for releasing thoughtful and provoking films), and were just waiing to seize him, regardless of whatever shenaningans or trickery they had to use.

It’s interesting to note the link between his art and his life. In Repulsion, we witnessed a possibly schizophrenic young lady have a psychological breakdown. The themes included were paranoia, a suffocating sense of being trapped, and the breakdown of a rational, objective view of reality.

In fact, many of Polanki’s films reflect a cynical, pessismistic view of human nature and an impending sense of doom or oblivion for the protagonists at large. It becomes tempting to link this with his up-and-down crazy personal life.

So, I’m somewhat torn. Part of me feels he is no more special than anyone else and he must obey the law and serve his time. At other times I feel he is his own individual and should be left alone, and hasn’t erred too seriously. Who knows? Time shal tell.

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