Re: Jonathan Rosenbaum on the arrest of Roman Polanski

Thanks. There are a lot of responses... out of the ones I've read so far, I like his the best. He hits the nail right on the head.

Here is what he had to say in full, for the ones who might not see it.

Jonathan Rosenbaum

Im not at all in favor of giving artists free passes when it comes to their personal morality. But in the case of Roman Polanski, anyone whos bothered to follow the history of his case in any detail is likely to conclude that (a) hes already paid a great deal for his crime, (b) the interests of journalism and the entertainment industry in this matter usually have a lot more to do with puritanical hysteria and exploitation than any impartial pursuit of justice.

Its his fame that fuels this event and discussion, not the specifics of a case more than 30 years old.

Considering the many crooks who continue to go unpunished (including Wall Street tycoons, prominent politicians, war profiteers, torturers of innocent people, and racist hatemongers) most of whom continue to be rewarded and validated by the same press and the same self-righteous moralists who are now calling for Polanskis head it seems hypocritical to express so much outrage and bloodlust against Polanski at this point.

This would be true even if he werent famous although its also true that if he werent famous, he wouldnt have been arrested in Switzerland in the first place, so this is a sword that cuts two ways. Its his fame that fuels this event and discussion, not the specifics or the morality of what he may or may not have done some 30-odd years ago.

This represents yet another way of evading the far more urgent issues that most of us are faced with on a daily basis. Its not the news but a form of shouting, and this is mainly what the American public gets instead of any real form of news. But is this really what we want or need? If thats what the press thinks, then it is arguably more nihilistic and cynical than anyone has ever accused Polanski of being.