Comments on: Protecting One’s Own: Letterman and Polanski

By: Colleen Claes

Colleen Claes — Thu, 29 Oct 2009 19:54:09 +0000

That’s true…We already care a little LESS about late shows as a generation. Especially compared to older generations, who made it a nightly tradition to gather around and watch the late shows with Carson, etc.

By: Colleen Claes

Colleen Claes — Thu, 29 Oct 2009 19:51:45 +0000

However, I do agree that Letterman’s was more of a “none of our business” type deal, especially in comparison with Polanski, of course. But the more I hear about the Letterman affairs and the conflict it caused in the workplace, it makes me wonder WHY we didn’t really care…Yes, he’s just a late show host, not a politician or a priest. But I think it’s fair game to think twice about it since Letterman is the one who brought it out in the open on air.

By: Colleen Claes

Colleen Claes — Thu, 29 Oct 2009 19:45:23 +0000

“Did Letterman create an environment in which the women he wasn’t sleeping with felt uncomfortable? We don’t know because the show has had women succeed there and none of the women who worked there have said that.”

I don’t think you’ll feel that way once you read the article that I referenced to: http://www.vanityfair.com/hollywood/features/2009/10/david-letterman-200910?currentPage=1

Nell Scovell – former writer for Letterman – says she was DEFINITELY uncomfortable and that women having sex with Letterman and other high-up men at the show were given breaks or favored over women who were just doing their jobs.

I also like that article because she points out how astonishingly sexist – or, to be fair, “lacking female writers on staff” – the late shows are.

By: Bear

Bear — Thu, 29 Oct 2009 16:47:29 +0000

Not the gays. We turn on bitches who make us look bad.

All those ministers and politicians aren’t going to find any support from the gays when they get caught with other men, their pants down and meth cooking on the bathroom counter.

By: Bear

Bear — Thu, 29 Oct 2009 16:42:55 +0000

I think a big difference would be what happened with Letterman was really none of our business and Polanski broke the law.

Did Letterman create an environment in which the women he wasn’t sleeping with felt uncomfortable? We don’t know because the show has had women succeed there and none of the women who worked there have said that. Was it selfish to risk creating that kind of environment just to get his rocks off? Definitely. Was it an abuse of power? I don’t really know because I think office romances are a lot more complicated and wide-spread than most people want to admit.

I do think Letterman expressed some pretty genuine remorse for what he did. If he hadn’t, I’d second guess my respect for him. Polanski made good movies. Letterman’s a great interviewer and comedian. Their “products” are unrelated their moral flaws. Only in the case of Polanski, he was victimizing someone, so it makes me not want to support that other side of him. With Letterman, he owned up to a failing that’s not ours to forgive. He can’t apologize for sexual harassment or creating an environment of male-dominating power abuse if no one involved felt that was the case, but I feel like people keep expecting him to.

By: Conor O'Donnell

Conor O'Donnell — Wed, 28 Oct 2009 18:56:28 +0000

I wonder how future generations would feel about this. I say this because icons Leno and Letterman might be less known (in my opinion) because of the advancements of high speed internet and video game consoles that are basically computers.

By: Colleen Claes

Colleen Claes — Wed, 28 Oct 2009 17:36:50 +0000

I think that’s pretty much what happened…unless you’re from Kentucky where everyone seems to prefer Leno over Letterman, haha.

And you bring up a good point that brings it back to “protecting one’s own” – it happens all the time within communities as a cultural protection.

By: Brittany

Brittany — Wed, 28 Oct 2009 00:18:47 +0000

I agree with you. That makes a lot of sense. Comfort and acceptableness stems from repetition. Television provides that repetition of faces, characters, caricatures of people that are meant to appeal to a broad audience. Letterman is someone that we’ve (America) loved for a long time. He is part of our daily culture.

That same idea can be applied again and again. It’s the culture that makes groups of people more willing to accept faults. They are accepting of those they consider to be “their own.” The Black community does this frequently, as I imagine many other communities and cultures do too.