As an avid movie buff, this whole #MeToo movement has ruined movies entirely for me. That’s why I say it’s time that the movement pivots their attention to supporting the film torrenting community. It’s time that they go from calling out the men who’ve abused their power to rallying the public in forcing a massive takeover of Hollywood. Because let’s face it, feeling guilty for watching “Baby Driver” just because some other guy—not me—was a pig doesn’t really fix the actual problem.
And it’s not just me who’s been affected by this whole thing either. Plenty of my friends now feel ashamed for having seen “Manchester by the Sea” because Casey Affleck has been written off as a monster. But what’s that to me? I’m not a gross, overbearing man who doesn’t know when boundaries have been crossed—just ask my girlfriend.
When all of these accusations started to come out, I could immediately tell where this was headed. Suddenly, I was culturally obligated to feel like trash for seeing “Lion” because the Weinstein Company produced it. Which is entirely unfair to the great work that Dev Patel did in the lead role! But if we all just accept piracy as the new norm, then we can all just watch the films we want to watch without a guilty conscience.
From what I understand, the main problem with guys like Harvey Weinstein and Kevin Spacey is that they’re making bank off of movies where they preyed on crew and cast members while filming. So if someone were to only watch movies that they pirated, then they should be in the clear! They—I—shouldn’t be publicly chastised for loving “The Hateful Eight.”
Yes, there is a risk of being prosecuted for what I’m doing but, in this day and age, I’d rather run the risk of serving five years in prison and paying $150,000 per file illegally downloaded than be ridiculed for throwing my money at the movie industry and being seen as an inconsiderate, privileged Reddit user. Do you know what it’s like to be publicly dragged? You know who does? Louis C.K., Kevin Spacey, and both Affleck brothers. Those men ruined their lives by disrespecting others and I’m not about to follow in any of their footsteps.
The way I see it, I’m doing my part to make a change in the film industry. The #MeToo movement should follow my lead and endorse pirating movies because if they want the movie industry to really hurt, they need to rip away its wallet. Of course, honest actors that co-star along with those to blame will suffer as well but systematic change is painful and grueling for everyone. Hollywood has gotten too big and bringing it to the ground is the only way to create the results the movement is looking for. The only way big name producers are going to fully regret what they’ve done and what they’ve allowed to happen is if the entire system falls. After the fall, the good actors and honest people can take control and make a new Hollywood and The Pirate Bay is the place to start this. That site is the mecca of downloading content and if it was openly supporting the women who’ve been wronged in the industry, many more people would be inclined to demand change from those in power via illegal downloading. So if you need me, I’ll be here at my laptop, doing my part to make a change.
This article originally appeared in our May / April 2018 print issue.
