Nothing learned, nothing gained. Oops, some participants loose everything. Such is the cost of doing business with Louis Theroux.
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| Kids these days. |
In a recent post, Femdom Resource discusses the various responses to a new Louis Theroux documentary. At first I ignored The Guardian newspaper reviewing "Selling Sex." Told myself to avoid Louis Theroux a while back, but that doesn't work, so I've decided to add a few things of my own. Different focus and so on.
Dutch is the world's crappiest slave. Luckily he also possess actual qualities in the real, AKA harsh, vanilla world. Cracking numbers in the blink of an eye is one of them. It's why I volunteer one night a week, helping people sort out their finances.
One day this mother-daughter couple walks in. The little girl's smile cannot offset the sorrow on Mum's face. A little later I slowly begin to understand why. "Address withheld for security reasons." [3] Not her fault, it never is. Meanwhile her three-year-old tickles my knee and smiles. And not because I just whispered the magic words "chocolate cookies" in Mum's ear. Yes, I'm a fool, but only when there is margin for error. Doesn't matter, moments later the little one drops her cookie, grabs her crayons and forgets all about it.
If you wanna help, help. Even if you prefer to make exploitative television, at least pick victims that are less vulnerable. Don't put your own interests first, exploiting others for personal gain, not even if you are famous. Enter Louis Theroux, born May 20, 1970, documentary maker and son of travel writer Paul Theroux.
Last year Mr. Theroux did a follow-up to his 2000 documentary about a pseudo-religious family that preaches maximum hate. What do they hate? Everyone and everything. A young woman manages to escape their cult and is no longer part of the family. Louis interviews her for the sequel. Milking his subject for max tears, Terror Louis reveals how the young woman's [forever out of reach] siblings are getting married. And she won't be there! Emotional exploitation for ratings, after which I decide to ignore Louis' upcoming little adventures. Easier said than done.
Two weeks ago, I saw review by The Guardian newspaper about a Louis Theroux documentary called Selling Sex. Commissioned and aired by the BBC, Britain's public broadcaster. Don't like it, so I try to ignore it.
Not meant to be. Crossing over to the Dark Side, the latest post by Femdom Resource making that impossible. Paltego has read the same article and he agrees with several others that the [review of the] documentary is disappointing. Suddenly I wonder why anyone would want to watch Selling Sex after reading the review. No disrespect to the women who lend their support, my beef is with the creators. If a seasoned television maker discusses sex work, for the benefit of the audience and to stimulate proper, honest discussion, at least have the good grace to cast interviewees that properly represent what you "investigate."
No doubt "Selling Sex" is technically correct, whatever that means. Perhaps it's even up to the latest "official" reporting standards or something. At the same time - without having seen it - I believe the programme to be flawed, morally wrong and exploitation vulnerable people for no other reason than ratings.
Theroux Jr. and his editors have selected three cases to go on camera for "Selling Sex." Just three leaves [less than] zero room for error. Alas. One is a 33-year-old woman, who works as an escort. Next up an elderly lady, married for 44 year to her devoted husband [it's how The Guardian newspaper puts it], who has recently begun working as an escort. Husband drives wife to meetings with paying clients.
And finally there is a 23-year-old woman who suffers from Asperger's. Not exactly the quality print publication, The Guardian boasts it is, it never explains what Asperger's syndrome is. Major lapse in judgment because in this case it is especially relevant. From Wikipedia: "Asperger's is a developmental disorder, characterised by significant difficulties in social interaction and nonverbal communication, along with restricted and repetitive patterns of behavior and interests." My layman's definition? Somebody who is much more vulnerable than most of us. So why did Lovely Louis pick her to feature on "Selling Sex?" Did he ask himself whether someone with Asperger's can ever truly consent to participate in a documentary such as this?
It gets worse. And yes, I'm talking about the image The Guardian uses at the top of their review. The one where the clickbait caption says "I’m so desperate for people to acknowledge my existence ..." Breaks your heart. It also screams "this woman deserves love and happiness." We all do, but from now on, she's first in line. What she can do without, however, is middle-aged male Louis Theroux parading her in front of the camera as part of his Selling Sex freak show. It's what findommes say: "some looser's gotta pay my mortgage." We're talking real people being thrown under the bus here. Guess the days where middle-aged male nerds with glasses actually cared are long gone [6].
Back to my clients. As I learn more about the why and how of my client's secret identity, her little girl tickles my knee in anticipation. My bad, I'm a bit busy, helping Mom. Petite 'N' Perfect keeps looking at me with those big eyes of her, already smiling about what's to come. Once I realize my mistake [4], there's a considerable delay, I manage to act surprised. It makes her smile even harder. Life at the age of three is pure Disneyland - or at least it should be. Elsa's everywhere and the future is magic. Because your Mum [and hopefully Dad ] watches over you like the invincible lioness she is. You'll be safe. Always and forever [5].
So why doesn't Louis Theroux protect a 23-year-old young woman who has drawn the short end of the stick? He's old enough (1970) to be her dad. Or more likely her granddad if only he'd learned that you can actually talk to women before the age of 35. Who knows? Not that anyone cares.
In 2012 Theroux is being quoted as saying 'I'm not out to take advantage of anyone. I'm just being me.' For some reason we accept that gibberish from a talking head on TV, but not from the ex-partner of my client [never]. Or me [never ever]. "Saturday night was fun. I beat the crap out of some poor, defenseless guy, but hey don't blame me, that's just who I am. And drunk, an even better excuses." Kebab's on me! Burp.
In a perfect world, the choices in life that matter most are positive ones, meaning we can choose of our own free will. Not how it works in the real world and Louis Theroux knows. So why does he exploit vulnerable women on TV? Certainly not to educate his audience, that's for sure. Fame perhaps? Don't bother, he's good but not that good. He'll never be the next Samantha Bee, Trevor Noah or John Oliver.
Meanwhile, his one, official, on the record, regret? That he didn't see through Jimmy Savile, a lifelong pedophile who was never caught and died in 2011. Savile was also a British TV personality. How can you beat yourself over the head with that one day, and start filming Selling Sex the next? You know, the one where you select, with surgical precision, three women that portray anything but the average sex worker. [1] Not even if you pretend to confuse "average" and "representative". It baffles me how a mature man, experienced film maker and father of three sons is willing to parade a 23-year-old insecure girl with mental health issues on television. Not to try to get his point across, that's for sure. [2]
Louis Theroux has three sons from his second marriage. It probably wouldn't make much of a difference if Louis Theroux had three daughters instead. But what if they are his stepdaughters from his second marriage? Would he want what's best for them or for him? Don't hold your breath. As for my clients, I'll hope to see them again next week.
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Notes:
[1] Averages don't exist, but outliers do and Louis Theroux makes it look like they represent the truth.
[2] Whether or not she is representative, at least protect her identity. There is no added value in showing the face of a 'random' woman to get the point across. And because of Louis Theroux flawed moral compass, random strangers will now harass a woman who is less able to defend herself than you and me, for the rest of her life.
[3] It's one of those nights where most volunteers are male and white. I'm also old, bald and fat. Luckily sometimes I use my evil superpowers for good and steer the conversation toward her daughter, asking how long 'till primary school. "She starts next month and I'm already crying."
[4] Big mistake and I'm the one to blame.
[5] In general you got to have at least two generations under you wing before Mum, AKA generation one out of four, loosens the reins even a tiny bit. Don't get upset, you're no different. To love, protect and care is all about a shared destiny.
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