"A culture that markets Bratz to little girls, and that at nearly every turn tries to turn them into erotic objects, is not a culture whose fingers pointing at Polanski are entirely clean."

Discussion

While I’ll grant that the sexualization of young girls is reprehensible and yet runs rampant in our society, it is still a far cry from the criminal act of rape. Sounds very much like the “She was asking for it” defense. Regardless of a how a woman is dressed (or undressed), a grown man forcing himself on a 13 yo girl is not Hannah Montana’s fault- it’s the perverted man’s fault.

Is the little girl who wants to wear her mama’s lipstick and wear her high heeled shoes trying to be sexual? No- she isn’t, and little girls who don’t understand the undertones of their dress and behavior should not have to fear rape by grown men who should know better, even if they are Europeans.

I do see the problem of mothers living vicariously through their daughters, having not yet grown up themselves, and there are too many businesses with no moral compass that will take advantage of any marketing niche available, regardless of the moral implications.

A culture that encourages the sexualization of children as our’s does in the media, modern fashions, and pop culture is grossly hypocritical. That is the point I think the writer was making. Rather than excusing the criminal actions of the European “artist”, Hollywood should take a hard look as its promotion of a sexualized, pornotopian world. The lust of the flesh feeds on the lust of the eyes. Both are culpable.

Pastor Mike Harding

I’ve http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/10/01/AR20091 read many of the reactions of those in Hollywood , and they don’t see anything wrong with what Polanski did, nor do they have any qualms about the sexualized and/or pornographic portrayal of children.
More than 100 movie-business heavyweights — including directors Martin Scorsese, David Lynch, Mike Nichols and Pedro Almod?var — have signed a petition calling on Swiss authorities to set Polanski free. Piling chutzpah upon gall, Woody Allen is among the petitioners. You will recall that Allen shocked non-Hollywood sensibilities by acknowledging his romance with Soon-Yi Previn, the daughter of Allen’s longtime companion, Mia Farrow. At the time, Allen was 56 and Previn was 21.

Actress, comedian and “The View” co-host Whoopi Goldberg has come under well-justified fire for making a jaw-dropping statement about Polanski’s crime: “I know it wasn’t rape-rape. I think it was something else, but I don’t believe it was rape-rape.”
Of course, if a culture enjoys and supports the entertainment offerings of a morally bankrupt industry, then it does seem hypocritical on the surface to protest Polanski’s perversity, but it is still one thing to look at and lust after, and another thing to force sexual contact.