Some prompts for your blogging:
* How would you know if you'd been sexually or otherwise harassed?
* How do you determine if someone else has been sexually or otherwise harassed?
* How do you go about finding the truth? Is there such a thing as truth? A single, universal truth? Could there be more than a single truth about a situation? Are there certain processes which help us seek truth?
* Comment on rationality, emotion, coercion, and/or power and how they affect the characters in this play.
* What really happened in this story? Could anyone really know?
Sexual Harassment is defined as intimidation, bullying or coercion of a sexual nature. It can range from seemingly mild transgressions and annoyances to actual sexual abuse. So in terms of knowing if you have been sexually harassed it would be the victim's perception of harassment. So in the case of the film Oleanna; maybe the student believed that the minor transgressions that the professor was displaying was in fact harassment. But it can not be said that she was not also trying to set the professor up for harassment charges.
ReplyDeleteIDK the movie was really intense and it can not be said what really was happening through out the film.
Wow....this film was very unusual. It was also very annoying to watch. Sexual harassment to me is a professional or social situation that involves making "unwanted" sexual advances or obscene remarks. I think in these situations it's hard to determine the truth. Truth is merely what one believes to be the truth. In this film it was almost as if she was coercing the professor. When someone is coerced into certain actions or remarks, is it fair to consider that harassment- even if their actions are wrong? It's hard to determine what really happened, we probably all have different interpretations of what happened.
ReplyDeleteIn the film "Oleanna," the characters switched roles. In the beginning of the movie, she asked the annoying question "why" and kept saying "I don't understand" and at the end of the movie, he asked the same question "why" and kept saying "I don't understand." The movie makes her out to be the cunning little villain and him the victim, although it could be the complete opposite.
ReplyDeleteThe dialogue in Oleanna was very different and made it a little hard to stay interested. The student was construing whatever her professor said to make it seem like sexual harrassment. The ending kind of leaves it up to the audience to decide what they think happened. You can't really ever know what went on. She could of been playing him the whole time, or she may have truly believed she was being sexually harrassed.
ReplyDeleteI thought this video was really wierd. I'm still trying to figure out what happened. I think that the professor was either set up or that the girl just really had no clue.
ReplyDeleteSexual harrassment is definately going to be based on the perception of the victim. The context of the situation plays a primary role in determining this type of accusation. Oleana, in my opinion, was far too literal with a, what I found to be, a vague definition of rape and blew the whole situation completely out of the water. The professor was trying to help a student who was requesting help and displayed no actions that would lead me to think that he was in any way sexually harrassing her.
As for his behavior at the end of the film, when pushed to the absolute edge in having your life, dignity, and personal character jeopardized, a person is able to act in ways that they would never dream of.
Well, I've had to wait a few days before my post to simmer down. The movie was very frustrating to watch, mainly because of the AWFUL female lead and the constant exact same scenery and dialogue.
ReplyDeleteBut, in terms of sexual harassment... it would be nice to think that it should be based on the VICTIM's perceptions... but as humans, don't we tend to exaggerate when defense instincts set in? This is human nature... or for that matter, nature in general. I'm not saying it should be measured by the attacker... but maybe a combination of the two, plus outside perceptions should be used.
In the film, the girl kept mentioning her "group" with more and more frequency. I think this "group" began to convince her more and more that meaningless actions could be molded into harassment cases... and she began to actually believe it. This reminds me of the Groupthink Theory in communication, which occurs when members of a group conform (whether right or wrong) to prevent conflict. The end result is a very one sided, close minded view of the world.
After watching this movie, I also experienced the frustration that many of the other viewers have expressed. It is hard to believe that the actions that took place were actual sexual harassment. But to answer the questions above, I think it would be extremely difficult to try to figure out if an action is in fact harassment. It is one thing to feel uncomfortable around someone and get the feeling that they have other intentions, but I think that claiming sexual harassment should not be taken lightly. For example, in this movie, it is hard to tell whether the actions that were taken were actually harassment. Because this girl was so greatly persuaded by her "group" to take extreme actions against this man, his carreer was ruined.
ReplyDeleteI think that if someone feels like they are being sexually harassed, they should talk to an impartial party. Ask for advice on what they would do and then think it over before any extreme actions are taken. I don't want to take away from the victim, but you also have to remember that if your allocations are false, you could greatly ruin someone else's life.
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ReplyDeleteThe movie was a bit different, and it does stir things up a little. If sexual harrasment is always based on the perception of the victim then the victim will always win. Human nature will always feel sorry for someone who claims to be "taken advantage of", unless their is substantial and undeniable evidence against the claims. This should not be the case. There should also be substantial and undeniable evidence the other way as well.
ReplyDeleteO Leanna was not what I was expecting. While the female character was ignorant in her remarks to the Professor and oddly child-like, the timing for both characters was oddly coincidental. The professor was having a rough time at home and was emotionally unstable as well. Both were looking for answers to different problems. Despite the girls innocence and pushy nature, there is never an excuse to abuse anyone. Because she was confused about the course does not mean that that is an open opportunity to invite her into an office alone on multiple occasions. I agree with the above statement that maybe she was pressured or felt conflicted between the "groups" messages and the professor. But as a college-aged student, it is important to gather certain social norms and skills to be confident and approach these matters. Same goes for the professor. There is no reason to remain with the student and neglect homely duties on a regular basis. Similarly, there is a fine line between abuse and even any physical contact with a student. It is hard to know whether this physical violence had occurred before or not. Both parties had flaws, but moral of the story: know what you are accusing someone of, and know your limits and your boundaries in your position. No one should suffer any kind of emotional or physical harm, especially in this setting.
ReplyDeleteI think the film shows how simple comments and remarks can easily be taken out of context and turned around to harm the individual who made the comment. The female in Oleanna displayed symptoms of borderline personality disorder which could help explain some of her action. Based only on the interactions we saw between them I would not consider this sexual harassment(for the majority of the film), more a case of the female trying to manipulate the situation to draw attention to herself.
ReplyDeleteAlthough this film was extremely unusual it definitely put me on the edge of my seat. The movie twisted around the topic of sexual harassment and what it truly is and what it is not. In my opinion the girl was actually the one sexually harassing the teacher. Now before you jump to conclusions, hear me out. In the beginning of the film the teacher was trying to leave continuously and the girl persisted on him staying to 'help her' she said "you have to help me!". This is very important because in the end of the movie she has all these things written down that she accuses the teacher of saying, but if those comments were valid and if the teacher was harassing her then why would she want the teacher to help her and why would she want to be alone with him? Realistically anyone who feels threatened would not want to be alone in the same room as that person. To add on to this point in the end of the movie after the teacher actually did hit the girl and physically abuse her, the girl yells at the teacher for calling his wife 'baby'. I found this to be extremely interesting because the girl was angered that the teacher would display feelings for his wife. Also the girl consistently wanted to run the class and have her books used instead of the professors books. She also stated that he tried to rape her, when clearly he never tried to that. Finally, if the professor has been teaching for over twenty years in this school, and she was the first main complaint that seems a little fishy. I agree that the teacher should have never of touched her at all! But she was extremely pushy and annoying.
ReplyDeleteThis movie was extremely difficult to sit through, both because of the repetitiveness and role-switching and the unwillingness of both parties to let the other get a word in edgewise. Beyond that, it did raise some important questions about what constitutes sexual harassment...
ReplyDeleteI was bothered by the way that the girl took so many of the things the professor said out of context when building her case for presenting to the tenure committee, and then later for use in a potential legal trial. It was a good example of how facts can be misconstrued in order to benefit one person's agenda, at the expense of another. When later in the movie, she started providing examples from class lectures that we did not witness, I had a hard time knowing if they were things the professor had spoken that were actually inappropriate, or if she was again using statements out of context to provide less-than-accurate evidence against him.
I have had one-on-one experiences with professors that were similar to many of the encounters that happened at the beginning of the movie, and I do not see a hand on a shoulder, talking about details from our personal lives, or hugging as necessarily being inappropriate. But I do think that professors should use discretion when deciding what information to volunteer, and should ensure a level of comfortableness between themselves and their students, before using any forms of communication that could be taken the wrong way. When the professor tried to restrain the girl, he overstepped professional boundaries, even though I think she was exaggerating when she claimed he tried to rape her. I am not certain he wouldn't have behaved the same way if he had a male student who was acting like she did.
While the girl was absolutely entitled to making her discomfort known, I think that she should have approached the situation differently. For one thing, she should NOT have gone back to speak to him by herself if she had any intention of pressing charges against him. Even if she wanted to try to resolve their differences, once she had made such a harsh accusation, she should have proceeded differently. If she wanted to argue attempted rape, why would she have knowingly and willingly gone back to his office, by herself? That seems like she was looking for evidence to set him up.
That being said, there is NO excuse for how the professor reacted at the end of the movie, no matter how angry she made him. Even though I see why he would feel like lashing out (she was driving me crazy by the end, too), violence is not okay. Regardless of whether he was "pushed to his breaking point," the professor was completely out of line in his actions. This assault will only provide more evidence for her case against him, so he just hurt himself in the long run.
"Don't call your wife baby" This simple sentence that out of context still not only confuses me but upsets me as well. To me this is not only another part of the girl’s ultimate plan in getting the teacher fired, but also shows that she is a very radical feminist. Would any other type of feminist be offended by a man using a term of endearment towards his own wife. To use these simple terms of endearments or nicknames for a loved one is a part of our culture. Men say them to women and women say them to men. This “sweet talk” is used to express affection and in my opinion is not demeaning in any way.
ReplyDeleteAlso, one thing that upset me very much about this film is that everyone interrupted each other. Not only were the girl and teacher completely disrespectful to each other by not letting the other finish sentences, but also whenever the teacher answered the phone he was interrupted. If I was the teacher I would have lost my cool a lot earlier in the film, but never to the point that would result in me harming a woman.
The dialogue in this film made it very confusing and hard to understand at some points. The think both the student and professor were out of line. Obviously the professor shouldn't be getting personal with a student, but I don't think anythng he said can be considered sexual harrassment. She was basically just repeating word for word what he said without explaining the situation. I do agree that any physical contact is sexual harassment, but sexual harassment is no where near rape. Rape is an extremely serious crime and it felt like she was trying to ruin him at that point. And since he wasn't strong enough to control his temper, I guess she got her way at the end.
ReplyDeleteI agree that the dialogue in the film was a little disconcerting and definitely made it difficult for me to stay involved and interested. I don't think that the girl's character is very believable. Either it was poor writing (which I do not think was the case) or the girl was purposely meant to be inconsistent to show that she was trying to get him for sexual harrassment from the beginning. Either way, the actions of the teacher were completely uncalled for and should never happen in any situation, let alone in a teacher and student relationship.
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