The Innocent Victims of the #MeToo Moment

Harvey Weinstein

I have to give Harvey Weinstein credit—though it pains me to say. His decision to surrender to the NYPD last week and face sex crimes charges, even knowing he has no public support anymore, shows a certain depth of character. Don’t get me wrong, I think he's guilty, and hope he faces jail for the severity of the crimes against him. But I respect that he didn't hide behind his money, like he could have.

Yet I can't help remembering Paige McKenzie. An aspiring teen actress and writer, McKenzie produced and starred in a string of Blair Witch-like YouTube videos entitled The Haunting of Sunshine Girl. When her videos went viral, she snagged a development deal to turn her story into a trilogy of novels and a TV series. I reviewed her first two books on this blog; they were very good.

Her development deal was with the Weinstein Company.

I’ve checked McKenzie’s Facebook and Twitter feeds, and found no indication Weinstein behaved inappropriately toward her. Thankfully. Considering one charge Weinstein surrendered for involved forcing himself on a college student, the mere fact McKenzie is very young probably wouldn't have discouraged him. If she survived a Weinstein encounter with her dignity and artistic integrity intact, I hope she keeps plugging. Those were some damned good books.

But this puts me in an awkward position. I’m happy to see recent movement toward shaking sexual violence and exploitation from the entertainment industry; nobody should have to submit to sexual subordination in order to do the job they love and believe in. But simultaneously, the shakeout has, at least in the near term, a narrowing effect on the industry. Chances are, McKenzie isn’t the only content creator getting squeezed by this temporary market contraction.

One fears sounding like an apologist. Rapists definitely need held to account. Yet right before its collapse surrounding its founder’s public implosion, the Weinstein Company was among the biggest movers in Hollywood, commanding the same clout as generations-old industry masters like Disney. People came groveling to Weinstein to make deeply held ambitions come true, because making and distributing a movie costs more than most individuals will ever see.

Since at least the 1990s, when I began paying attention to such things, culture commentators have inveighed against the conglomerate structure in entertainment and media. The process of “vertical integration” means that just five or six companies control the largest number of book publishers, movie studios, record labels, and more. With Disney’s impending absorption of most of Fox Studios, that number is likely to contract further; remember, Disney already owns ABC, ESPN, Marvel Comics, and Lucasfilm.

Paige McKenzie

Harvey Weinstein, to his credit, powered through that. Working first through Miramax, then the Weinstein Company, he plowed into the business, became a kingmaker, and challenged the traditional Hollywood dream factories. He branched into books, magazines, and television, all often disparaged as “dead” media, and produced successful content. While heritage companies like United Artists, Orion, and Carolco collapsed around him, Weinstein managed to build something.

But, like successful men throughout history, Weinstein’s wealth and influence made him feel entitled. We’ve seen it before. From French royalty to American real estate developers, those who enjoy society’s rewards begin demanding more and more. Some people believe they ought to overthrow governments, as the leaders of the United Fruit corporation did in Latin America. Others think they ought to become world leaders, like Donald Trump.

Yet in every situation, sex becomes a perquisite. Watching the Donald Trump/Stormy Daniels catastrophe unfold before us, informed news consumers should remember how often sex has warped world affairs. The Hittite Empire probably ended over a marriage to an Egyptian pharaoh's widow. Henry VIII, Alexander Hamilton, and Bill Clinton all felt entitled to sex, and abused their power to continue receiving it. Harvey Weinstein is just one among many.

And Weinstein would’ve probably continued trading sex for access to the industry, as he had for years, if cultural currents hadn’t converged on him. Casting couch horror stories have been Hollywood fodder for generations; and people, mostly women, eager to get into the business, have accepted it as a degrading but commonplace entry into the business. Many women probably traded their dignity for access. Some eventually outgrew Weinstein, mercifully.

Sadly, not everyone did. Paige McKenzie’s Facebook page includes appeals for Patreon donors to keep her tentpole franchise going. After four years of development hell, McKenzie finds herself back at the beginning. She doesn’t deserve to get squeezed for Harvey Weinstein’s sins. Yet she’s living proof that bringing justice to a malefactor, like Weinstein, can bring accidental injustices on the innocent, like her.