And now Woody Allen

Theater district, new york

Lucky for me I’ve always hated Woody Allen movies. Every time I’ve been convinced to see one because “you’ll love it, I promise,” I still hated it. I cannot stand Woody Allen movies and never could.

I say that’s lucky, because I’m not conflicted about boycotting his movies now that An Open Letter from Dylan Farrow has again painted him as a complete sleaze. The people out there who do like Woody Allen movies are suffering a crises of conscience. Do they continue to support his work or do they boycott his work?

I talked about separating an entertainer’s personal life and their art in Entertainment is a gift, hating on entertainers isn’t. I stand by that, but that post doesn’t deal with the topic of criminal offenses. That post was about sending death threats to an actor because you disagree with an opinion they have about some issue.

The Woody Allen story is about an entertainer who commits a criminal act. (Like the Roman Polanski case, where a celebrity fled the country after being accused of committing a similar crime.) If Woody Allen has committed a crime, he should be dealt with in the criminal court system.

People close to Woody Allen have been telling us for years that he is a reprehensible man. Woody Allen has consistently denied any wrongdoing. Does being a famous filmmaker give him a pass for investigation for reprehensible acts? Does it exempt him from prosecution? It should not.

I have an opinion about Woody Allen movies. You surely do, too. However, success as a director isn’t a shield. It should have nothing to do with what happens to him in a case about molesting a child, should he ever actually be prosecuted for it.

As Glenn Greenwald describes it in his book “With Liberty and Justice for Some: How the Law Is Used to Destroy Equality and Protect the Powerful,” being rich and famous in America often makes you exempt from the workings of the criminal justice system. That’s an American failure, a failure of democracy, and a failure to protect the innocent. That Dylan Farrow deserves justice under the law should have no relationship to any movie you ever watched or what movies you choose to watch in the future.

Theater district New York photo by James Willamor via Flickr.

2 thoughts on “And now Woody Allen”

  1. jane hutchinson

    I agree with you, Virginia. I am also concerned because he and his wife adopted 2 girls and I am concerned for those two girls. Will they have experiences similar to Dylan? Having said that, I do think Dylan should receive counseling to help her separate Allen’s receiving an award with his sexually abusing her. Diane Keaton accepted the award and spoke of her friendship with Allen. Allen has friends and supporters, as most criminals do. Dylan should have therapy to accept that fact, as Allen will surely receive other accolades which will only bring Dylan more pain. However, Dylan is entitled to try to seek justice and publicize her sexual abuse. And, sadly, Allen may be off the hook for any crimes he committed (for example, OJ Simpson). But, I think the public knows that Dylan’s allegations could be true because Allen is an eccentric and he had sex with (and later married) his young step-daughter. The non-believing public needs to be made aware that successful and prominent people (like actors, directors, judges, doctors and Woody Allen) are not exempt from committing acts of sexual abuse.

Leave a Comment

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Scroll to Top
WordPress Cookie Notice by Real Cookie Banner