by Jonathan Stillerman, Men Can Stop Rape's Co-Director
When Adrien Brody's name was announced at last week's Academy Awards as the winner of the Oscar for Best Actor in a Leading Role, I nodded my head in admiration and approval. Brody's portrayal in The Pianist of a Polish Jew struggling to survive the Nazi occupation of Warsaw during World War II was deeply moving, painful, and beautiful all at once. Most striking about his performance was its lack of words. Whether standing silently in line while a Nazi commander scrutinized, selected out, and summarily shot other Jews, or playing air piano while hiding, a la Anne Frank, in an ally's apartment outside the Jewish ghetto, or wandering, dazed and in shock, through the rubble of bombed buildings searching for food to keep him alive, Brody did a brilliant job of showing us the traumatic, disorienting, and silencing effects of prejudice and oppression.
Because of this sensitive portrayal and Brody's clear ability to stand in the shoes of the oppressed, I, myself, was shocked and disturbed by his behavior upon accepting his Oscar. Rather than respectfully receive the coveted golden statue from Halle Berry, last year's recipient of the Oscar for Best Actress in a Leading Role, with some standard version of a handshake, hug, or kiss on the cheek, Brody, instead, grabbed and dipped Ms. Berry, gave her a deep, passionate, extended kiss on the lips, and then joked to her and the audience "Bet you didn't know that that was part of the gift bag." While some in the audience chuckled, Ms. Berry was left off-balance, surprised, and silent.
Oh, where do I start to unpack this behavior? Was it sexist? - another example of a man ignoring a woman's strengths and humanity and treating her as little more than a pretty face and a sexy body, reducing her in front of the very peers who had recognized her just the year before as uniquely talented. Was it racist backlash? - some display of resentment towards the first black woman to receive the Best Actress Oscar, an attempt to put her back in her place, to unconsciously reenact the rape of black female slaves by white slave owners. Was it male privilege? - a demonstration of men's entitlement to women's bodies to do with as we please. Was it proving manhood? - an effort by a man who was being recognized for playing the role of the subjugated and powerless to reassert and reaffirm that he was, in reality, a powerful, virile, masculine figure. Was it yet another justification for sexual assault and violation? - a warped wrapping of men's sexual aggression toward women as a "gift" that women secretly crave, not altogether different from President Bush and the Administration speaking of the U.S. invasion of Iraq as "Operation Iraqi Freedom", as a gift of "liberation" to the Iraqi people.
My answer: Brody's behavior was, in some way, all of the above, and more. Was it a conscious, intentional attack? Doubtful. Did he get caught up in the excitement of the moment? Probably. Does it mean that Adrien Brody is an "evil man"? Not likely. Should he be stripped of his Oscar and condemned? I would hope not.
However, does his behavior highlight Brody's failure to understand the links that exist between different forms of oppression? Absolutely. Does it suggest a lack of appreciation for the ways that his own actions toward Ms. Berry are deeply, though perhaps distantly, connected to the oppressive treatment by Nazi commanders that Brody's character and countless Jews, Gypsies, Gays, and others received during the Holocaust. It seems so. Could the choices he made be perceived as giving permission to those with power to act as they wish toward those with less. Likely. Do his actions run the risk of reinforcing harmful and demeaning cultural stereotypes and silencing those who challenge them. I would say resoundingly "yes."
Some with whom I've shared these thoughts disagree with my perspective. First and foremost, they assert that Halle Berry would have looked more upset if she truly had been offended. At the very least, she would not have embraced Adrien Brody as they walked off stage after his speech. If she was really bothered, she would have let it be known, either during or after the Awards. To that, I say perhaps. Perhaps, she wasn't bothered by Mr. Brody's behavior. Perhaps she appreciated his enthusiasm, or at least accepted that he got carried away with the thrill of his victory and let it roll off. Equally, if not more likely, however, is that Halle Berry was silenced. I know that in raising such a possibility, I run the risk of suggesting, in a traditionally male way, that women lack the strength to speak out and stand up for themselves if need be. My intention, however, is not to diminish Halle Berry's or any woman's strength to advocate for herself, but rather to appreciate the incredible, overwhelming power of inequality and oppression, the silencing power of power itself, if you will. We need look no further than Brody's heartfelt performance in the Pianist to understand helplessness and the loss of voice in the face of oppression. Unfortunately, Brody, despite his skillful acting job, missed the boat in real life, and showed us all how easy it can be to do unto others what was done unto you.
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