The Time Is Now

The #TimesUp movement represents a call to action by celebrities to encourage fair gender representation and equality as well as action against film makers and actors accused of committing sexual assault.

In the wake of the Harvey Weinstein scandal, in which more than 30 women accused him of sexual assault or harassment, other formerly acclaimed male directors, producers and actors lost credibility in the eyes of the film community and their viewers. Since the #TimesUp public profile asks for victims of sexual assault to speak out, one would expect the world would change how young creators approach the performance industry and other industries across the board.

Sexual harassment and assault cases are ingrained in the coursework of academia. Within the academic field, professors help students progress into people who will leave college more informed and as a thoughtful actor who can positively change the world. Students are encouraged to hone their craft and create understanding.

A College of Communications professor, who wished to remain unnamed, said academia has been struggling with these topics long before the #TimesUp movement.

“Controversial topics are encouraged in academia and when classes work with working screenwriters or directors, professors need to encourage students to affect change rather than run away from something they may find offensive,” the professor said.

They expressed that students need to understand how they come across to audiences; also, students need to know how to push the envelope without being offensive or unknowingly create an environment where sexism, racism, transphobia or homophobia is permitted.

Figures in Hollywood will use a rape scene to gain sympathy from the audience. With these risky scenes, film students are taught “to execute with purpose rather than to stun people,” said a film professor. It’s one thing to include a rape scene to invoke a sympathetic response from the audience, and another to include it for shock value.

Flexibility is important when handling an ever-changing canon of cinematographic masterpieces. Some professors report removing Tarantino films from their curriculum after it was revealed that Tarantino knew about Weinstein’s unwanted sexual advances while films were being shot.

Filmmakers, especially female and femme-identifying students, feel that when their voices are missing from the conversation assaults are more likely to slip under the radar. Increasing their voices and improving the representation of their experiences in the film industry would take away from the shock value and male gaze that perpetuates film.

Most femme filmmakers scoff at the idea that female skill and experience is less valuable than those of their male or masculine counterparts.

“Having female creators involved in creating films gives greater perspective,” Christina Lamagna (COM ’21) said. “The only part of the creative process that is limited by the fact that I’m a woman is external factors…or the fact that I want to have a role in film that is historically strongly dominated by men.”

To Lamagna, there is no condescension from film professors because of her gender. Her only fears and doubts about her own work comes from the greater industry.

“[The #TimesUp movement] allows for people to advocate and vie for each other and create this kind of validity in certain people,” according to Lamagna. This new sense of support within the industry creates a new female system of support in a male dominated medium.

“If I were to go into the industry and for some reason something like that would happen to me,” she said, “I’d feel more comfortable and more supported from the general public to speak out against anything like that.”

Hannah Hooven (CFA ’21), who is pursuing a music education degree in CFA, emphasizes academia’s essential role in encouraging respectful creators. Although pursuing music education, Hooven herself still hones her craft with her instrument of choice (viola) and performs with the BU orchestra, explaining that they played a piece by Lili Boulanger at their Symphony concert, the largest concert of the year.

The lack of femme figures in classical and orchestral music, however, limits the scope of emotions in music in Hooven’s experience.

“The role of being a performer and offering that part of yourself to a large crowd is really motivating and I think it’s a way to uplift people who don’t always get the chance to be uplifted often. Whatever minority group you are part of, if your voice isn’t recognized, this is a way for it to be recognized,” she said. “I think that my musical education had a role in that development and being a confident person.”

The #TimesUp movement’s impact extends beyond the art world and academic world, and into the realm of sports. Inspired by the seemingly brave efforts of Weinstein’s accusers, several gymnasts on the US Olympic Team accused therapist Larry Nassar of assault.

The experiences of these athletes tie back to the demand for femme voices in different arts, performances, and fields.

“[Gymnastics] is a similar kind of performing art. There is a pressure to still stick to your performance and stick to what you are supposed to be doing and never show a flaw or a sign that anything could be going wrong within your own life,” Hooven said. “I’m sure that could be a similar issue within any performing art.”

The very nature of performance itself, whether it be musical or visual, demands a focus that limits women by making them feel as if their concerns are distracting or unimportant. Creation in any medium demands a type of selflessness for the greater good of a project, but never should demand silence from females who have been sexually assaulted.

Highlighting femme voices and experiences is a vibrant outcome to the tragic events of the Weinstein scandal, and as the #MeToo and #TimesUp movements grow, only time will tell what the new benchmark of classic film will be and if the old standards and legends will be replaced.

article and photo by Hailey Hart-Thompson / design by Jami Rubin