The Harvey Weinstein Case and What it Means

It has only been a short while since the Harvey Weinstein case blew up all over the media, but the amount of rumors and articles that were written about it is astounding.

Sexual harassment is not a new concept in the movie industry or any industry for that matter. So why are all those accusations surfacing now? What changes have occurred?

The casting-couch mentality has been around for decades, and I’s about time that somebody changed it. However, the timing is a bit suspicious, and I wonder who put the entire thing into motion and why. After all, this is not the first time sexual harassment was discussed in the media, but it reached gigantic proportions like never before.

But before we approach the subject, let’s go over some well-known harassment cases the media covered over the years, and what came of it.

Past Transgressions and Their Consequences

One of the first publicized cases of sexual harassment in the movie industry dates back to 1921, which means the problem runs deep, and it will take time to ostracize it.

Back then, Roscoe Arbuckle, who was an actor, director, and screenwriter, was accused of raping and causing the death of a fellow actor by the name of Virginia Rappe. Although Arbuckle was acquitted after three trials, his career was in shambles after the big scandal. Even today people speculate about what happened that day, but I guess we will have to stay in the dark about this one.

Even though this case took place almost a century ago, it certainly was not the last time such a scenario played out. Since that day, dozens of actresses reported being harassed by powerful men in the industry, with mixed results.

For example, you have Woody Allen, who was been suspected of sexual assault since the early 90’s, and yet it hasn’t affected his career whatsoever.

You also have the case of Roman Polanski who admitted to committing statutory rape, which caused him to flee the US. And yet, he continued making films without anyone stopping him.

The case of Bill Cosby also got a lot of exposure in the media, but little came out of it. Till this day, no one knows if the accusations were legit or not, but there were numerous rumors of hush-money payments being made by the comedian, so one could assume that there might be some truth in the allegations.

There are many other cases of sexual abuse reported in the media, however, it had little effect on our culture, as the Harvey Weinstein case might suggest.

The Why’s

When we hear about sexual assault, we condemn it. We turn our backs on the ones to commit the crime. But how did things get to such a low point?

One thing is clear: the fact that there are so many cases of assault happing on a regular basis in the shiny Hollywood scene means that something went wrong a long time ago, and no one bothered to fix it.

Truth is, harassing women, and even men, happened so much in the movie industry, people started to turn a blind eye to it. So what if an actor or actress had to trade sexual favors for a part in a movie? Everyone had to do it.

The only time Hollywood speaks about the casting-couch phenomenon is when it gets bad press. Ultimately, if the story doesn’t get a media coverage, it is simply not worth dealing with.

It’s about time someone stood up to the Hollywood monster and took its head off. With the new #MeToo hashtag going viral, things might be looking up for women in the industry. Who knows, maybe with the help of today’s media, Harvey Weinstein won’t be the only one to be scrutinized and kicked off the field for misusing his power.

To Take Your Mind off this Subject

Talking about Harvey Weinstein and sexual assault can be daunting, even if necessary. If you find it hard to talk about such a subject, you should find a way to clear your head and just let go of all your worries.

You can try extreme sports, hiking, or doing something fun and exciting while staying at home. You can roam the web in search of the best online casinos out there and participate in some gambling to relax at the end of a long day. You can even download some mobile casino apps to your phone and gamble whenever you need a short break from life.

At the end of the day, we should always talk about serious matters such as this one, but don’t forget to take care of yourself, and if you need to take a step back from it all – find a way to do it!