On December 7, the television magazine was broadcast Further investigation, titled Gérard Depardieu. The Fall of the Ogre. Much has already been written about the story. For good reason, we see the actor making misogynistic, obscene and unusually crude remarks. As soon as he is in the presence of women or little girls, his filters of decorum and respect suddenly seem to become clogged so that words of appalling vulgarity come out of his mouth, as well as horrible rumbling sounds reminiscent of ogres. fairy tales.
These disturbing footage filmed during trip to North Korea are accompanied by a broader investigation into his behavior on film sets and his past. We also hear the story of an alleged victim. Remember that the sacred monster of French cinema was indicted for rape in December 2020 and that, since then, around fifteen women have accused him of misconduct or sexual violence.
Since the broadcast of the program, the Grévin Museum in Paris has removed its imposing statue. The government of Quebec has removed him from the Order of Quebec, Belgium has also resumed its honorary distinctions and France is initiating procedures to see if Gérard Depardieu will be able to keep his Legion of Honor. His films have been removed from the catalogs of several television channels in France and Quebec. Imagine that future generations will not be able to see The fugitives Or The goat saddens me a little; I so loved the duo he formed with the brilliant Pierre Richard.
But what upsets me most is the apparent impunity with which men are allowed to become ogres. How is it that we allow this odious mutation to take place without flinching? Could it be that we are somewhat responsible for this ignominy?
In the rest of this column I will use the masculine gender. Certainly, there are a few ogresses, but statistically, the masculine wins when it comes to sexual violence. First, let’s define what I call an ogre.
He is a man of power, who enjoys an imposing social status. The ogre is free to say or do whatever he wants, even if his behavior is abhorrent, because those around him do not dare to question him. Like simple vassals, his colleagues or partners never object to his inappropriate words or gestures, for fear of facing reprisals.
The ogre is not born that way, he becomes it. Often the ogre is talented, intelligent, a skilled speaker, or very charismatic. He succeeds in what he does. He commands admiration. We envy him for his success, we want to be seen in his company, we hope to be part of his inner circle. The higher he climbs the social ladder, the more unattainable he becomes. Most of the time, as his power increases, his moral sense fades.
The ogre can be an athlete, a CEO, an artist, a professor, a politician, etc. Let’s think of this former president of the United States who was elected despite the fact that he boasted of grabbing the fairer sex by their genitals. In our Western societies which pride themselves on being exemplary in terms of gender equality, showing hackneyed machismo is not enough to lose an election, not even the one to become the most powerful man in the world.
There are varying degrees of ogritude. The arrogant cads, with salacious jokes and obscene words, who create discomfort. There are the most voracious ones, who dare to grab their prey with both hands, to play with them before letting them go in fear. Finally, there are the worst, the monsters, those who devour others.
Fortunately, not all men of power are ogres. It is really a small minority, who have been allowed to act like this for decades, during which the number of victims increases at the same rate as the suffering. Since the #MeToo movement of 2017, we have managed to bring down a few ogres. For this, there must be many people, because the ogre is gigantic. A single victim is rarely enough.
It seems to me that it would be more productive to nip the ogre in the bud. Collectively, we must take stock of our silence and our elastic moral sense, which allow the men around us to transform into villains. Instead of waiting until the situation is out of control, the damage is too great, or a public lynching or people’s court are our only options, let’s act. It’s our duty. Some will say that victims only have to file a complaint for justice to decide. On the one hand, justice has limits, on the other hand, what would be truly desirable would be to act upstream to prevent there being victims.
So culturally and socially it was well-received to tell our colleague that he was crossing the line. If every time we witness inappropriate behavior, we name it. If we took our friend aside to tell him in the face that he is odious in certain circumstances, perhaps there would be fewer men who would turn into ogres.
Since 2017, we have been experiencing a paradigm shift and, as with any societal change, our collective force of inertia is delaying the process. But we must continue to believe that humans can do better and work hard to stop feeding the ogres.
There is absolutely no question of falling into puritanism. It’s not about stopping naming our desire, nor about stopping salivating while imagining putting our lips on someone else’s, or even about making a few slightly dirty jokes between consenting adults. It’s about never again humiliating, hurting or destroying other humans, which you will agree has nothing to do with desire, and everything to do with power.
Salomé Corbo is an actress, improviser, author and citizen as best she can.