A few years ago a female friend of mine casually mentioned that one day when she was twelve and biking around the neighborhood, a grown man made sexually explicit comments to her. This kind of came as a shock to me at first but she didn't even seem phased by it. This encounter came up randomly as part of an everyday conversation we were having and, looking back at it, the most shocking part of the story was my reaction to it. Because now I have fully opened my eyes to the horrors of unwanted sexual comments and actions that women face from a very, very, young age.
While watching She Said, I had this passing thought about what the world would be like if Harvey Weinstein was the only one of his kind. If what happened here was the only instance of anything of this sort happening. Not just the abuse of power aspect of it all, but the constant degradation and use of women as objects to fulfill some devious need. Perhaps in that world, there wouldn't be so many people immediately rating movies like this with the lowest score possible because they feel personally offended in some way. What is it about discussing the experience of women that offends men so much? What is it about the patriarchy that rubs off on some women and pushes them to call other women liars at once?
She Said is a wonderfully directed film that delves deep into some of the ins and outs of the 'Me Too' movement at its conception. The wonderful work of all journalists, namely Megan Twohey and Jodi Kantor is to be complimented to no end. They helped bring forth a much-needed shift in attitude, though unfortunately, some mindsets will never truly change. One of my favorite films of the year and I sure hope more people actually watch it and take it seriously rather than ignore it and hate it for speaking truth to power.
