Kirby Dick and Amy Ziering are a filmmaking duo who have been nominated for an Academy Award for Best Documentary Feature for
The Invisible War (2012). That film was about rape and sexual assault in the military. Dick and Ziering were nominated for an Emmy Award for Exceptional Merit in Documentary Filmmaking for
The Hunting Ground (2015). That film was about rape and sexual assault on college campuses. Dick was also nominated for an Oscar years prior for
Twist of Faith (2004). That film was about rape and sexual assault in the Catholic Church. Now, the filmmakers are tackling rape and sexual assault in the music industry, specifically music among and by African-Americans. Since Dick and Ziering's last film, we've seen the rise of the Me Too movement. The Me Too movement is the social activism regarding rape, sexual assault and sexual harassment, particularly in the entertainment industry, the political industry and other industries. However, Dick and Ziering were tackling Me Too issues before the Me Too movement officially started in 2017. As a result, they're in a better position to make the point that is made here, which is the Me Too movement has excluded black women.
Yes, most of the cases that have been in the mainstream media have been cases from white women against white men like Harvey Weinstein and President Donald Trump. When it comes to the racial dynamics about black men who are accused of these kinds of allegations, there is perhaps a point to be made about the lack of black women being heard by the mainstream press. It doesn't hit as hard as the other racial dynamic, which is black women being hesitant to report black men of these charges due to the larger Black Lives Matter movement. The idea of the Me Too movement being at odds with the Black Lives Matter movement is a better or more compelling point. Yet, this film suggests that prior to the Me Too movement, no black man had been accused or no black woman had been heard, which isn't exactly the case.
Bill Cosby is obviously the obvious example. Technically, the accusations and subsequent legal proceedings began against Cosby before 2017, the official start of the Me Too movement. Nate Parker is another case, but his trial too happened before 2017. Both of those guys weren't working in the music industry anyway. HBO's
Leaving Neverland (2019) came out and was about rape and sexual assault charges against the late Michael Jackson. However, the accusers against Jackson weren't black women but instead white boys. That same year, Lifetime's
Surviving R. Kelly (2019) also came out and was about rape and sexual assault charges against Robert Kelly, the former R&B star. That docu-series did have black women accusing Kelly. This film doesn't have that context and pretends like Kelly or Cosby don't exist or at least it doesn't acknowledge them.
Like Surviving R. Kelly, this film basically sits down with the black women who were allegedly sexually assaulted. They sit down and accuse another music icon. This time, it's Russell Simmons. He's the co-founder of Def Jam Recordings, which he started in 1983. He's not a performer himself, but his brother is a rapper who was part of the popular and influential group known as Run-DMC. Simmons was also responsible for a lot of other huge acts in the 1980's, such as LL Cool J and the Beastie Boys. The various black women reveal that Simmons throughout the 80's and 90's was allegedly a serial predator who committed various indecent acts and various sexual assaults against numerous women.
Drew Dixon is a former music producer and A&R executive that worked at Def Jam and for Simmons. She recounts her experiences working there and for him. She reveals the sexual harassment and assault that he perpetrated. She told people about what he did, but she never charged him or made it public for decades. She tried to move on and continue to pursue a career in the record business. Unfortunately, she moved onto working for record executive, L.A. Reid who allegedly sexually harassed her as well. She didn't go public with those accusations then. She instead left the record biz. In the wake of the Me Too movement, she gets a call from
The New York Times and is asked to go "on the record" journalist-wise and her journey in this film is about whether or not she'll indeed go on the record and how she'll handle the aftermath.
If it were just her, what you would do is try to judge her credibility on her face or body language. In that, she is absolutely credible. Even still, she could be easily dismissed. She can't be as easily dismissed because she's not alone. More and more accusers follow Dixon. The film includes their journeys as well. By the end, Dixon meets some of the other women and the film becomes about camaraderie and sisterhood between black women. In that though, Dixon acknowledges what she calls "# Light Privilege." She knows that she's a black women with light-colored skin. Her recognizing that her light skin gives her advantages is also an incredible point in all of this.
Rated TV-MA.
Running Time: 1 hr. and 37 mins.
Available on HBO Max.
Comments
Post a Comment