Reply to The Morning Show-Apple TV

Forum Index » Entertainment and Pop Culture

Reply to "The Morning Show-Apple TV"

Subject:

Emoticons





More smilies

Text Color: Font: Close Marks

[quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous]I'm rewatching season one of this show and the whole plot with Mitch and Hannah, the way it unfolds -- I think this show doesn't get credit for how nuanced they were with that. The show can be hammy and weird at times, and the focus is often on the more soapy plot lines and some of the performances are kind of silly, plus the stunt casting of big names for even small roles is a focus.

But the show actually told a really awful story in an interesting way, and I appreciate how well they were able to show that storyline from the perspective of Mitch and others (who didn't really get what had happened) without detracting from Hannah's story.[/quote]

I honestly still don't understand what was so "awful" about Mitch.  Yes, he had a consensual affair with Mia.  Yes, he slept with Hannah.  He did not sexually assault anyone.  Yet he was pilloried for... what, exactly?  And before anyone flames me and accuses me of being a man, I am a woman.  I simply do not understand this story line AT ALL.[/quote]

PP who just rewatched S1 here.

He r*ped Hannah. They did a good job of showing why he didn't think he did, and how he sort of conveniently "forgot" about the power dynamics involved in all of his relationships in order to convince himself that someone in Hannah's position could just turn him down or leave. But also, from Hannah's perspective, it wasn't even just that he was immensely powerful in her workplace and could get her fired. It was also the sheer power of celebrity, of having someone who feels incredibly familiar in a fatherly way (because that's the image Mitch and TMS sold every day) asking something of you and not wanting to say no or let him down. The power imbalance is immense. But Hannah did not flirt with him, told him that's not why she was there, and he chose not to listen. She didn't consent and she didn't feel she could leave. It was r*pe.

Even with Mia, they show how loose his idea of boundaries were, and how even Mia, who did consent and had a lot more agency in that relationship, was very much not in control. They show him in the birthday flashback episode, where it's revealed he and Mia have just broken up (her decision) being unbelievably handsy with her in the hallway at TMS, in full view of other people, and her kind of laughing and pushing him off. And that's what he's doing in front of colleagues. There's the story of him assaulting that assistant (she's the one who does an interview with Bradley about it) -- his initial actions toward her are 100% nonconsensual. It's sexual assault. Yes, she later has a "relationship" with him, but it's very clear that she feels conflicted about it and that it wasn't something she wanted to do, more something she felt she couldn't say no to.

I think the show did a really good job of depicting what it means for someone like Matt Lauer, or Bill Clinton, or HarveyWeinstein, to get away with what they got away with. When you have someone who is that powerful, plus charismatic, plus truly believes that women love them and want them all the time, and put them in a cutthroat business where young women are deeply invested in not being seen as the complainer, the prude, etc. It's just really dangerous. It really is a culture thing because the culture is what enables the behavior. All those people averting their eyes as Mitch feels up an assistant who looks uncomfortable but also isn't saying anything, who laugh at his jokes about how hot Alex would look in a short dress, who watch him pull a producer into his dressing room and know what's going on in there, and just look away, laugh, pretend it isn't happening. That behavior makes it so much harder for someone to say no even if it's screaming from inside them, because they know that if there is punishment for it, people will look away. If they tell anyone, people will look away. The entire system is set up to empower these men (and sometimes women) to get what they want when they want it.

But the system doesn't absolve them of responsibility, either. Mitch is really adamant that he never r*ped anyone, that he just had affairs. But in the episodes where you see his behavior at TMS, his old personality -- he was just pushing boundaries, left and right, seeing what he could get away with. And every time he got away with it, it just emboldened him to push harder. You can see the degree to which power has consumed him and he wants to see how far he can push it. That's what he did with Hannah, and likely with other women (I mean, fiction, but it's implied) -- he was looking to see how far he could push them and each time he didn't get resistance, it made him push that much harder the next time.[/quote]

Options

	Disable HTML in this message
	Disable BB Code in this message
	Disable smilies in this message

Review message

Search Recent Topics Hottest Topics