EDITORIAL
2 Obiter Dicta
Choking, Slapping, and Sexual Assault
It’s not about Jian Ghomeshi; it’s more about us.
C
h r i s brow n, War Machine, Ray Rice,
and now, the most recent addition to such
a disgraceful list, Jian Ghomeshi. It seems
somewhat horrifying to acknowledge the
increasing number of celebrity scandals involving
physical abuse that have taken the spotlight within
the past several months. What is it about these stories that seem to draw our attention like moths to a
flame? Is it the outrage we feel about the offensive
acts in question, or is it more accurate to say that we
form a certain perverse curiosity about the highprofile individuals involved? The aftermath from
the recent revelations surrounding Ghomeshi seems
to paint an image of our celebrity-obsessed culture that speaks to our ability taking call to action
on such heinous behaviour, despite its long-standing proliferation amongst the less notable ranks of
our society. There is something to be said about the
fact that while thousands of faceless and unknown
women face abuse every day, it is only when the
face becomes one that is familiar to us that we feel
the fire beneath us to get up off the couch and take
notice. What truly shocked us more, the fact that
Nicole Brown Simpson was so brutally murdered,
or that it was O.J. Simpson who stood accused? So,
I ask: what is it about the celebrity status that motivates us to speak up and demand justice where we
might otherwise be indifferent?
In looking at the Ghomeshi fiasco that currently
has hold of our attention, it seems that by focusing
our appall and dismay on the fact that Ghomeshi
has found himself facing such deeply troubling allegations, we somewhat miss the bigger picture to be
seen. We find ourselves conflating our feelings of
outrage toward Ghomeshi’s alleged behaviour with
a concern toward
the issue of sexual
a s sau lt a ga i n st
women,
and
although a genuine concern for
this abuse exists, it arguably takes a backseat to the
larger spectacle that overshadows the conversation
on the subject. Our reaction to these stories is more
telling about ourselves and our culture than the
absurd narratives contained within. Lines get drawn
in the sand, and positions are taken that derive from
a misplaced sense of loyalty to these individuals who
are fundamentally strangers to our lives, and yet it
seems as natural a reaction as to pull one’s hand from
the flame when burned.
ê Celebrity culture has a potent impact that affects our perceptions of and reactions to abuse.
I would suggest that our reaction to these stories
does not entirely stem from a horror toward the acts
of abuse themselves, but rather our anger and disappointment by the way our trust in these celebrities
has been broken as a result. There is an unjustified
intimacy that is present in the nature of celebrity
culture in our society. Fans develop intermediated
relationships
with celebrities
t h rou g h m e d i a
sources such as
television, the
internet, and
newspapers which create a feeling of familiarity
with these individuals we might expect to have with
our closest friends. We feel that by opening ourselves to and inviting these personalities into our
lives, we have somehow created a stake in theirs that
justif ies either our adoration or condemnation of
their personal behaviour. When the actions of these
celebrities fail to meet our imagined expectations of
who they are, the façade we have built in our own
mind begins its inevitable collapse, and it becomes
“Our reaction to these stories is
more telling about ourselves . . .”
a. Osgoode Hall Law School, 0014g
York University
4700 Keele Street
Toronto, on m3j 1p3
e. [email protected]
w. obiter-dicta.ca
t. @obiterdictaoz
“A jury consists of twelve persons chosen to
decide who has the better lawyer.”
robert frost
editorial board
editor-in-chief | Karolina Wisniewski
managing editor | Sam Michaels
layout editor | Heather Pringle
editorial staff
business managers | Alvin Qian,
Adam Cepler
communications manager | Angie Sheep
copy editor | Subban Jama
news editor | Mike Capitano
opinions editor | Carla Marti
arts & culture editor | Marie Park
sports editor | Evan Ivkovic
website editor | Asad Akhtar
unsettling to suddenly be faced with the reality of
who they really are. Unlike celebrities, we don’t
feel intimately involved in the lives of others associated with abuse, and it becomes easy to detach ourselves in order to continue in our lives without being
affected.
Another explanation could lie in the fact that the
phenomena of celebrity culture forms a bond that
unites us all through this common connection. I may
not know your Uncle Bob who is in trouble, but we
are both familiar with the racist antics of our crazy
Uncle Mel. What separates our criticism between the
abuse that occurs around us daily and that which is
sporadically splashed across the screens of websites
and the pages of newspapers is that we don’t have a
personal connection to abuse in the abstract. We are
largely unfamiliar with the individuals who comprise the victims of abuse that surround us in our
daily lives. We use celebrities to put a face on something that otherwise seems distant and unconnected
staff writers
Kate Henley, Gleb Matushansky, Erin Garbett,
Hannah de Jong, Kenneth Cheak Kwan
Lam, Kendall Grant, Rob Hamilton, Esther
Mendelsohn
contributors
Douglas Judson, Audra Ranalli, Asian Law
Students of Osgoode, Camille Walker, Amy
Mintah
Submissions for the November 17 issue are
due at 5pm on November 8, and should be
submitted to: [email protected]
» see editorial, page 15
The Obiter Dicta is published biweekly
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