Unholy trinity

One way to get rhythm in a saying, sentence or paragraph, is to use words or concepts in threes.  Threes are very satisfactory, like "burn, pillage and rape" or "blood, sweat and tears."  Churchill originally said "blood, toil, tears and sweat", but the toil has been dropped by popular memory and the result sounds more satisfying.

So this is how the Observer film reviewer, Philip French, gave his paragraph a pleasant ring:- 

At the age of six, Polanski began a life of persecution, flight and the threat of incarceration – first from the Nazi invaders of Poland, then an oppressive communist regime, and finally the American criminal justice system after his newfound sense of freedom led him into transgression. The world must seem a prison, society a succession of traps, civilised values a deceptive veneer, life itself a battle against fate.

That's threes for you.  You make each word or concept seem of about equal weight. Blood=sweat=tears. So here Nazi invaders=oppressive communist regime=American criminal justice system. There's loads wrong with the American criminal justice system but it's not quite down there with Nazi persecution and communist oppression.

We now have life of persecution=flight=threat of incarceration.  The life of persecution and flight were the plight of the innocent victim, the threat of incarceration was for a criminal act - rape, in fact, with the girl being the victim. and Polanski in this case, with the misuse of his power as a Hollywood prince, being the Nazi persecutor and communist oppressor in his little domestic way.   

However, it seems a "newfound sense of freedom" led him to "transgression."  "Transgression" these days usually refers to edgy art, e.g. a sculpture of the Virgin Mary made out of used tampons and sanitary pads*. It's a wet word for crime.   Next time someone assaults Philip French and nicks his wallet, let's see if he'll call that "transgression". 

Also, if  a "new found sense of freedom" leads to such acts, shouldn't we start tightening up border controls against refugees and asylum seekers, especially the male ones?

If Polanski is making films then people can review them.  What I can't go along with is false equivalences of events that were done to him and actions he carried out, he being seen as a victim in one instance because he was a victim in two others.  Nor can I bear this kind of cod psychologising and this blurring of what wasn't a "transgression" but lust for nymphet flesh along with the piece of power and entitlement that are given to Hollywood's big shots.

* Any installation artist who nicks this idea had better give me some credit

Update:- I posted this as a comment on Philip French's article.  It has been removed.  By the look of the thread, a dozen other comments which took exception to this paragraph were removed as well.

Further update:- There's a discussion over at Crooked Timber among other Guardian Deleterati.

For those who can't remember the Great and Good's inconsistencies and double standards over the Polanski affair, read here.

Comments

[Hazel]

Hello,

I've been reading your blog for quite a while now and you nearly always seem to echo my point of view and express it more eloquently than I ever could.

I thought I'd say that before pointing out that your link to Crooked Timber doesn't go the Polanski discussion.

All the best,

Hazel

[Rosie]

Thanks for the compliment. I've fixed the link.

[Echidna]

An excellent approach to giving presentations is:
- tell them what you are going to tell them. (agenda)
- tell them. (content)
- tell them what you told them. (revision)

By telling them three times, they might actually remember some of what you told them.