Time’s Up Initiative is Hypocritical and Overrated

Art about the Times Up Initiative, done by @drawingsfromahat on Instagram.

Art about the Time’s Up Initiative, done by @drawingsfromahat on Instagram.

Whitney Moran, Managing Editor

The Golden Globes are always a night of high fashion to celebrate the latest hit movies and television shows, but the 2018 awards came with loud noise about the Time’s Up Initiative and the issue of sexual harassment in Hollywood. And the talk about the Initiative continued on the Grammy’s red carpet with artist sporting white roses. I found myself torn between being proud of these women who stood up and told their stories, and those who supported others, or being angry and annoyed with the Hollywood facade of the issue.

Powerful women like Reese Witherspoon and Nicole Kidman took the stage and spoke about supporting the survivors of sexual assault and harassment, as their hit short series Big Little Lies tackles the subject at heart, only to be followed with the praise of Kirk Douglas who has beeen accused of sexual assault and rape since 1954. As the Time’s Up pins and all black attire were great conversation starters, and have pulled sexual assault into the light of everyday awareness, Kidman stated, “I do believe, and I hope, we can elicit change through the stories we tell and the way we tell them,” it has not and will not fix the problem in society overnight. In fact, it almost highlighted the reality behind this movement. James Franco wins for Best Actor – Motion Picture Musical or Comedy, and also holds many sexual assault allegations to his name. How can Hollywood boost a subject so heavily, when they themselves will not hold their peers accountable?

For actors who wore these pins and posted their support behind the movement still look to star in Woody Allen movies, the internet did not hesitate before exposing them. Justin Timberlake shared a photo to Instagram with the hashtags #TIMESUP and #WhyWeWearBlack, but was welcomed with backlash as he continued to work with Woody Allen even after the allegations went public.

Justin’s Post on Instagram. Photo used from instagram

In fact, most men did not even mention the movement when they won awards, in comparison to the vast amount of women who did. Host Seth Meyers’ opening monologue was almost solely about Time’s Up, but few men followed suit. Gary Oldman, Best Actor-Motion Picture Drama for  Darkest Hour, was among the few who said anything with a simple, “words and actions can change the world, and boy oh boy, does it need some changing.” But perhaps the one male with the most to say, came from a television series The Handmaid’s Tale; Executive Producer Bruce Miller left some words to resonate with the crowd, “To all the people in this room and this country and this world who do everything they can to stop ‘The Handmaid’s Tale’ from becoming real, keep doing that.”

So I suppose this leaves us in the same boat as before, only with more conversation about a subject that needs to be talked about. To the women who spoke up, and to those who can’t, or might not ever, the Time’s Up Initiative will have your back, and maybe one day, will actually hold men in Hollywood accountable for their actions.