Written by Coulter Goodman
Famous celebrities, foreign ministers and film directors are all outraged at the mistreatment of Roman Polanski, a man they believe has been misrepresented in the media. While traveling to a film festival in Zurich, where he was due to receive an award, Polanski was arrested by the Swiss authorities for a crime he committed in the United States 30 years ago. More than 100 filmmakers and actors, including Woody Allen and Martin Scorsese, have signed a petition for his release, saying that it is “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.”
Born in 1933 to Polish-Jewish parents, Polanski was exposed to the horrors of the Holocaust, losing his mother to the concentration camp at Auschwitz. Rising above this troubled beginning, Polanski gained fame for his talent in film. He is now an award-winning director who is considered one of the most brilliant minds in film. Polanski directed notable movies like “Rosemary’s Baby” and “The Pianist” and has won several awards for his works. One would think that an inspired artist like Polanski could be free from the base workings of law, but it doesn’t seem to be the case here. Even though he tried to run away from them in 1978, the American authorities just won’t let bygones be bygones.
Many prominent members of the film and international communities are supportive of Polanski and hope for a quick release. “We are calling every filmmaker we can to help fix this terrible situation,” one film producer said. Hopefully “the affair [will] come to a favorable resolution” commented French Foreign Minister Bernard Kouchner. The Polish Filmmakers Association is protesting “the arbitrary treatment of one of the world’s most outstanding film directors.”
Close friend Otto Weisser remarked, “He’s a brilliant guy, and he made a little mistake 32 years ago.” Weisser makes an excellent point: The crime was committed 32 years ago. Will anyone benefit if he is convicted now? I mean, really, should a guy who drugged and raped a 13-year-old child be forced to face justice?
In March 1977, Samantha Geimer was a 13-year-old girl who caught the eye of Polanski, who was in his 40’s at the time. Telling her mother that he was working for French Vogue, Polanski took Samantha from her home and later that evening gave her a sedative and alcohol before raping her. The charges brought against Polanski included rape by use of drugs, sodomy, lewd acts with a child and perversion. Put simply: This relationship served only to satisfy the lusts of a perverted middle-aged man.
What Polanski did is horrible. He even pled guilty to rape. What is more disturbing is the rationalization that has come from those who are trying to protect him from the consequences of his actions. It is one thing to rape a young girl. It is another thing entirely for people to try and say that people should not be punished for rape and that if no one benefits from such a conviction, then its “justice” is worthless.
Truth and Lies. Right and Wrong. Good and Evil. There are things in this world that are uncompromising. What is unnerving to me is that we blind ourselves to these moral certainties with excuses and twisted justifications. That we can look at something that is good and pure and call it cheap trash. That we can see refuse and consider it good. That a young girl can become an object of lust. That society can justify the rape of a child.
