Sexual predators and Film: Inside ‘ The Assistant’ screening

The rhythmic pulse of a coffee machine. The gentle whir of the copier. The shrill ring of a phone. Kitty Green’s “The Assistant” melds together a collage of seemingly meaningless routine tasks as Jane (Julia Garner) takes viewers through a day in the life of her post-graduate assistant job at an entertainment office. But instead of keeping the focus on her mundane office chores, viewers watch as Jane becomes increasingly conscious of the innate misogyny rooted within the film industry, as she comes to terms with the fact that her boss might be a sexual predator.

Students lined up outside of Marion Knott Studios Feb. 6 as early as 6:30 p.m. to reserve seats for the packed showing of the film at 7 p.m. Dodge College of Film and Media Arts hosted the free screening courtesy of Bleecker Street, before the film reaches a  wider theatrical audience later this month.

“It’s interesting because I worked in (the same) building two summers ago.It was for a different company and it wasn’t a similar situation, but the everyday of what she had to do, her tasks were similar,” said Alastair Mecke, a senior double major in creative producing and French. “I resonated with that, in terms of me being a film student and wanting to go in the industry, that’s going to be my life for two years after graduation.”

Soft gasps filled the theater as the film continued to shock with the brutal reality of the climate of young females in the film industry, leaving Dodge students to contemplate quietly as the credits began to roll. While the themes of sexual harassment and assault in the film, specifically in relation to Jane’s boss, were not targeted at any one real life figure, the film is inspired by real-life stories. Green, renowned documentary filmmaker, transitioned to narrative filmmaking to explore abuse in her own workplace after the Harvey Weinstein sexual assault scandal broke. 

“When I began drafting this film, I saw it as a work of scripted nonfiction based on the specifics of the stories that women had told me,” Green said in a press release from Bleecker Street. “Eventually the script began to evolve into a composite of the thousands of stories I’d heard, seen through the eyes of one woman.”

Green had previously been working on a documentary about sexual misconduct on college campuses. She transitioned to “The Assistant” with the goal of using the film as an opportunity to propel the #MeToo movement forward. 

“As an individual, it’s a little demotivating because I feel like it would be very easy for me to end up in that kind of same situation where I’m this bystander who can’t do anything,” said Lori Sibun-Handler, a freshman television writing and production major. “It does motivate me to be a little more active within a group.It’s only large groups of women who would be able to make change in this industry.”

Sibun-Handler said that the responsibility enlies, “not just on the parts of men, but on the parts of other women too … listening to each other’s experiences.” Evidencing her claim with scenes from the film – where other women show ambivalence towards apparent abuse – Sibun-Handler equated the need for awareness throughout the industry.

“The first step is sharing stories that are geared towards other people.Not even necessarily female filmmakers, but LGBTQIA+ and black people and races that aren’t represented,” said Jamie Weiss, a junior film production major. “And not even just representing those stories, but having the filmmakers represent (minorities).”

“I think obviously we have a lot of baggage in today’s time but at the same time we do have a lot of progress. I think I know what I wanna do and hopefully that can overpower, especially with the Me Too movement, like I feel like a lot more comfortable going into it.”