Saturday, October 14, 2017

$30,000 and an Apple Computer

Writing in the New York Times Candace Bushnell goes where no one else has dared to go. The author of Sex and the City asks questions no one else has dared to ask about Harvey Weinstein. The rest of us are blinded by outrage, so we have missed points that a clearer, less emotional head now asks.

First question: when is enough enough?

As a highly successful man, Harvey Weinstein was able to marry twice, each time to a beautiful woman. As a highly successful man, Harvey Weinstein was no doubt capable of having a couple of gorgeous and grateful mistresses who didn’t mind putting up with his sexual peccadillos and the fact that he was married. As a highly successful man, Harvey Weinstein probably had a few Russian hookers on the side — we’re not all puritans here, we know it happens.

Nevertheless, as a woman, I have to ask: Wasn’t a beautiful wife, three mistresses and maybe six Russian hookers enough?

Second question: what is the relevance of Weinstein’s aesthetically repulsive appearance? Call it the up close and personal question:

Indeed, Harvey’s visage, unlike the symmetrical Hollywood beauties with whom he would later surround himself, wasn’t easy on the eyes. One smaller black shark eye sat noticeably lower than the other, larger one. His flesh was so pockmarked, it appeared as if chewed by a wild beast.

Third question: I know you will find it impossible to believe but one of Bushnell’s liberated friends had no problem pretending to find Weinstein irresistibly attractive… as a career move:

However, a lack of pulchritude never stops rich, powerful men from getting consensual sex, which is what happened when he met one of my girlfriends.

She was thrilled when Harvey arrived banging on her door at two in the morning. She thought it meant Harvey was crazy about her. All through dinner he’d only paid attention to her and told her how smart she was. She was very beautiful and it was very important to her that people thought she was smart as well. She fell under Harvey’s sway. She allowed that while he was “ugly” she found Harvey bizarrely “sexy.” I wrote all about her battles in Four Blondes and Trading Up, and the one thing that drew her toward him was that she honestly believed he wanted her to succeed. He was going to help her. He bought her her first Apple computer (she was broke, of course) and she was thrilled when he gave her $30,000 to write a screenplay.

And yes, I know that the word “pulchritude” normally refers only to female beauty, but, hey, don’t be so judgmental. It merely shows that you be extra cautious when using a Thesaurus. But now we know the price for a roll on the memory foam… which is always worth knowing. For a woman who did not want to be a movie star, the going price was $30,000 and an Apple computer.

Fourth and most salient question: why harass women who don’t want you when you can have all the women you want:

Which gets back to the point of why Harvey’s behavior towards masses of women is so astoundingly egregious: Why harass all those women who don’t want to have sex with you when there are women who do, for whatever bizarre and personal and perhaps desperate reason.

Who are consenting?

Whom, one assumes, are occasionally saying, yes?

What the fuck more do you want, Harvey?

As it happens, the last question answers itself. It appears that Harvey could not accept that any woman would not want him. If you subject this idea to interpretation, it can only mean that he could not understand why any woman would really want him. And you thought that he was delusional....

I hope that this clarifies the issue.

10 comments:

James said...

I disagree. Harvey of course knew women were not attracted to him, but were attracted to what he had. So that was the deal (unspoken, but there) "I'll give you what you want, but I get what I want and I'll get you to do (easily) whatever I want to get it".
I love the stories of "I went to a meeting, but to my surprise..............". If what Harvey was doing was so well known, I find it hard to believe that any of those women who went to meet him didn't know what the price was they were going to have to pay to get what they wanted.
They (him and the women) are very sleazy people and actually deserve each other.

Ares Olympus said...

I recall Trump confessing to BB he took a woman furniture shopping, and Trump seemed very proud of his failure to "get there", so maybe its not even about success, but the art of the chase. It does seem like Trump is a superior predator since he doesn't need his prey caged inside a zoo. He likes his prey in the wild, where anything can happen. Of course if he fails, and his narcissistic supply is failed to be expanded in the interaction, then she must be devalued and discarded as something he didn't want anyway.

----
I moved on her, actually. You know, she was down on Palm Beach. I moved on her, and I failed. I’ll admit it. I did try and fuck her. She was married. No, no, Nancy. No, this was [unintelligible] — and I moved on her very heavily. In fact, I took her out furniture shopping. She wanted to get some furniture. I said, ‘I’ll show you where they have some nice furniture.’ I took her out furniture — I moved on her like a bitch. But I couldn’t get there. And she was married. Then all of a sudden I see her, she’s now got the big phony tits and everything. She’s totally changed her look.
----

James said...

To the girls of Hollywood:
https://youtu.be/FEDd_QSwO9o

Sam L. said...

I know what Harvey wanted: the same as Rico in Little Caesar. Joe Massara told Rico, "I know what you want; you want MORE." (To the best of my recollection.)

Anonymous said...

AO: Gosh! Thans for posting that! Who knew? Trump woud have lost if those comments were public knowledge! Pity we dont have more amateur psychoanalysts like you who can diagose people from afar.

Ares Olympus said...
This comment has been removed by a blog administrator.
Anonymous said...

AO: What the hell are you’ve babbling about???

Anonymous said...

Schneiderman, if AO can’t take a hint, give him the hook!!!!!! It’s not radical censorship to remove utter insensibility from your blog!

Couples therapy said...
This comment has been removed by a blog administrator.
Anonymous said...

Just read the slender Jen Lawrence was told to lose 15 lbs in 2 weeks.

Stripped naked (tape over vagina) and compared w/5 other naked women.

They were skinnier than she. Procedures conducted by ... females.

The literal starvation of models, actresses, celebrities has been my bete noir for 2 decades.

Models eat Kleenex. They often collapse, put on an IV. Illicit Drugs. Possible long term damage.

They're anatomical oddities already. Girls try to emulate them - with dire consequences.

I despise sex abuse. The above is also wrong. - Rich Lara