Dear Wes Anderson: It's over. I'm not sorry. I just don't love you anymore.

[Heads up: I may do some longwinded, vitriolic rambling below. With ANGRY ALL CAPS portions, and swearing. Just so you know.]

You guys, are you keeping up with this whole Roman Polanski business? About how he recently traveled to Switzerland to attend the Zurich Film Festival, which had a program honoring him and his work, and the Swiss authorities arrested him on his outstanding US warrant? And then France was all, "WTF, please let him go, Hillary Clinton!" And then lots of people weighed in with varying opinions, including Whoopi Goldberg, who said, "I know it wasn't rape-rape." Um, what? Then the prosecutor who was supposed to have advised the judge on how to send Polanski back to prison (thus not honoring the plea bargain, see the documentary Roman Polanski: Wanted and Desired for more information there) said he lied about his communications with the judge.

And then Harvey Weinstein, who I've heard is crazypants crazy, said some nutso things and started talking up this petition for Roman Polanski's release. Due to the fact that Polanski was apprehended on his way to a film festival, and "[b]y their extraterritorial nature, film festivals the world over have always permitted works to be shown and for filmmakers to present them freely and safely, even when certain States opposed this. The arrest of Roman Polanski in a neutral country, where he assumed he could travel without hindrance, undermines this tradition: it opens the way for actions of which no-one can know the effects."

So, ok. This sets a precedent for states to use arts events to capture fugitives, and the signatories to this petition are protesting that as a slippery slope.

But.

All I see when I look at these lists of signatories is a bunch of rape apologists.

Because advocating for the release of Polanski means ignoring justice in the case of the thirteen-year-old girl he drugged, raped, and sodomized. This isn't about protecting international film festivals, this isn't about casting Polanski as the victim of a corrupt justice system, this isn't about allowing him latitude with the law because of his contributions to the film cannon.

I mean, HONESTLY?! Because he made good movies, he should be given a pass on this? Because ... wait, here's the quote I was looking for:

"... America is a very, very forgiving culture, and Hollywood itself. If you are a talent, the industry is willing in many ways to look the other way." (Matthew Belloni, who has has been following the Polanski case for The Hollywood Reporter's legal blog)

Oh, and:

"We hope today that this latest order will be dropped. It is based on a three decade old case that is all but dead, except for a minor technicality." (Debra Winger)

Lady who did the voice of E.T., WHAT DID YOU JUST SAY?! It's a "minor technicality" that Polanski fled the country before sentencing? For a crime TO WHICH HE PLEAD GUILTY?! NO IT IS NOT A MINOR TECHNICALITY! IF HE HAD BEEN A CRIMINAL WITHOUT THE MEANS TO FLEE, HE WOULD HAVE FACED SENTENCING. THE FACT THAT HE RAN AND HAS BEEN OUT OF THE COUNTRY FOR THIRTY YEARS DOES NOT SOMEHOW MAGICALLY NULLIFY HIS CRIME.

You guys, I'm so angry about this! And more than angry, I'm sad. I'm sad that filmmakers and actors and writers I respect and love are throwing their support behind Polanski. Like Debra Winger. Debra Winger, YOU ARE RUINING E.T. FOR ME. STOP IT! I love An Officer and a Gentleman, please stop talking so I can still watch that movie without thinking about how crazy you are.

Which brings me to my point, kindof. Or rather, it brings me to the thing I haven't been able to stop thinking about since this whole deal blew up the news.

I understand that artists are people. I understand that people are flawed. I don't expect the artists I admire to be perfect -- I have a grasp of Venn diagrams, and I understand that any expectation of personal perfection in artists is unreasonable. I understand that my appreciation for an artist's work is colored by my perception of the artist as a person, should I choose to pursue knowledge of that artist as a person.

Art doesn't exist in a vacuum, without its artist, but the viewer can choose to try to view it that way.

But I struggle with that choice. Because when I connect with a piece of art, I find myself craving knowledge of the artist. I want to know where she lives. What his dog's name is. What kind of books she was reading the week she painted that piece. You know what I mean? If I connect with the art, a part of me longs to connect with the artist.

And in this day and age, it's easy. I follow her on Twitter. I read his blog. I go to this signing or that conference, I write a fan letter and get a form email in response.

And this Polanski brouhaha is forcing me to face a list of names of people who I now know I fundamentally, deeply, fiercely disagree with. Artists whose work I have loved -- LOVED. And I now feel angry at them, like how could they have made something so beautiful which I connected with so naturally, and now how dare they reveal themselves as so diametrically opposed to what I believe?

WES ANDERSON, HOW COULD YOU?

Paul Auster, my heart, she is broken.

(Natalie Portman, I *knew* there was a reason I never liked you.)

I didn't ask for this -- I didn't want to know. But now that I do, I know that my relationship with their art is changed. Now when I see them, I'll think, "Sir, do you really want Roman Polanski freed? Really? Why? How could you possibly?", and these questions will intrude when I try to appreciate their work.

Again, I'm not asking that the artists I admire be people without flaws. Some people have done notoriously horrible things in their lives, and still I love them. Hemingway and Picasso were not quite what I'd call admirable men, necessarily, and yet I still feel deeply about their work. I can contextualize the artist in the time in which he lived; I can accept (but not always forgive) a man's flaws.

But Wes, it's over. I can't support you if you support Polanski. I don't ... I don't love you anymore. Take your tweed, elbow-patched jacket and get on out of here. I'll send you your twee dollhouse made to look exactly like your own childhood home in the mail, COD.

There are many, many artists in Hollywood and elsewhere speaking out in opposition to the petition to release Polanski. This list is making me pretty happy. Thank you Kevin Smith, Luc Besson, Neil Gaiman, Eve Ensler, Andrew Vachss, and Jewel. And Chris Rock:

And I also want to say this: There are men and women in this country who have served time for crimes they didn't commit. People who faced sentencing, who did not flee, and who lost years of their lives. Laura Caldwell is doing some excellent work with the Life After Innocence Project. Maybe the next time you have a spare ten dollars, instead of spending it on the latest Darren Aronofsky (ohmygod Darren DID YOU SERIOUSLY SIGN THAT THING I AM SO UPSET) movie, you might think about donating it to the the Innocence Project, or the Life After Innocence Project.

And because I still feel upset about all this, I'm going to leave you with a cute picture of piggy back polar bears, in an effort to make myself smile:

Comments

[Eric Stone]

Well said. It nauseates me that if Polanski wasn't famous, if he was just some guy no one had ever heard of until now, there would be no one supporting him. Instead, they'd all be calling for his head. Being famous, being an artist, does not release you from the consequences of your actions.

[twitter.com/bcmystery]

Well said, A. And well said to you too, Eric.

[annmariegamble.wordpress.com]

Thanks for verbalizing this. Part of me gets silly in response (are we determining "good" by critical response or by sales? Instead of those "most powerful" lists, can we see "crimes we'd give them a pass on"?).

But then I look at my 12-year-old and his friends, and my jokes collapse. I don't want to participate in a world where it would be okay for any kind of person to assault them.

[Melissa Faliveno]

Thanks for writing this, A. I saw the list of signees this morning. In addition to Anderson, Aronofsky, and Auster, there's Kundera, Rushdie, Allen, Almodovar, Lynch, and the list goes on. I spat out my coffee in disbelief, and then I wept a little. How is this in any way okay?

[aprillhamilton.blogspot.com]

You know, Wes Anderson used to date Fiona Apple when she *looked* 13, so perhaps he feels a subconscious, pedophilic kinship with Polanski.

It's outrageous and disgusting to me that so many filmmakers, actors, writers and others I used to respect are coming to this admitted rapist's defense. No one would do the same for an ordinary 76-year-old creep. Also, plenty of people assumed the worst about Michael Jackson being a pedophile for years and he was somewhat shunned as a result, even though he's created decades worth of great music and is himself a pop culture icon---and Jackson maintained his innocence, he never pled guilty to anything! So why does Polanski get a pass?!

I think anyone with a young daughter sees this for what it is: a simple case of a pedophile rapist who jumped bail and has been a fugitive from justice ever since. Book 'im, Dano!

[aprillhamilton.blogspot.com]

Of course Woody Allen's on the list, he married his adopted daughter!

Creeps stick together.

[Jeff Cohen]

I'm even gladder now that I always thought ROSEMARY'S BABY was boring.

[GetSheila]

Amen, brother. I feel your outrage and match it with my own. All I can seem to say about it is "WTF?!" Thank you for verbalizing it so coherently for me. And for confirming my adoration of Chris Rock.

[Dana King]

You and Chris nailed it. You're right: art doesn't exist in a vacuum. It's sickening to see how many artists want to pick and choose when they're subject to public scrutiny, and when they're not.

[Kato Wulf]

It's so disheartening. Thank goodness for the list of artists opposing it; at least that's something.

[Kate Gallison]

Remember Mummia? The same band of glitterati (or others just like them) piled on screaming, "free Mummia," when the failed disk jockey was sent up for the brutal murder of Danny Faulkner, a young Philadelphia policeman. Shot him in the back of the head while he was face down on the ground. It's some kind of Hollywood craziness. They shape reality on the screen, then they shape it in their minds, and after that they imagine they can shape it in the extensional world.

[Barbara Poelle]

SING IT SISTER!!!!!!

[VicariousRising]

I cannot believe the support this awful man has behind him. It's even worse to see women backing him (like you said, Natalie Portman?! WTF?!?!). Have none of these people read the testimony of the girl Polanski admitted he raped?

Disgusting.

I'm glad you ranted. More people should be outraged.

[www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=1678857915]

I am moved to comment, a rare thing for me. I think it's all been said, Polanski is a disgusting pedophile. Thanks for your enlightening and entertaining voice on the matter.