Sociology at the Cinema: She Said

Last weekend I watched She Said - it literally made me say 'wow' at the end - it is an incredible watch that tells a horrifying story of systematic sexual abuse by men in power, and is a must-watch for sociology teachers.

She Said follows the story of the New York Times journalists who spent years gathering evidence to expose sexual harassment and assault by men in power in the media industry, and in particularly the crimes of Harvey Weinstein.

The articles that were written by journalists Jodi Kantor and Megan Twohey (portrayed by Zoe Kazan and Carey Mulligan) helped to ignite the #MeToo movement, which saw hundreds of thousands of women taking to social media and other platforms to reveal their own experiences of sexual harassment and assault. The movement in which some men have been held accountable, but many have received any consequences for their appalling behaviour.

The film tells the story of the investigation through interviews and flashbacks, and shows just how widespread sexual harassment of women is, and just how easy it is for powerful men to shut down their claims through a series of pay-offs and non-disclosure agreements, paying for their silence so their abusers can continue to behave in the same way, without consequence.

The fact that Harvey Weinstein doesn't really feature in the film is important - we hear his voice and we see the back of his head - it shows that it is the story of these women and the damage that these powerful men, that is important, and that their experiences go far beyond the individual cases linked to Weinstein himself.

The scene in the bar when Carey Mulligan shouts down the sexual advances of a man, who then reacts aggressively to being turned down, is a stark reminder of the everyday sexism that is such a huge part of the lives of many women.

Weinstein was found guilty of sexual assault and rape in 2020, and sentenced to 23 years in prison. He is currently on trial again facing 11 further charges - jurors in the trial have actually been barred from watching the trailer for She Said.