DramaLit Blog 1.0: BU School of Theatre

So. I was reading an article about pedophiles on The Daily Beast, (which, by the way, is an excellent blog if you’re unfamiliar with it…) and I was reminded of our conversation in class about morality regarding “Medea.” Let me just say, I think we’re really fortunate as artists to be able to explore extremely difficult subjects like infanticide, pedophilia, etc. in a safe yet critical environment. I think in a weird way that’s why I want to be an artist, though I may not have been able to put it to words when I first made that decision.

Anyway, what really struck me was how frank and earnest the effort is to try to understand what makes someone a pedophile, and to cure it rather than having to punishing it once it’s been acted upon (which isn’t to say I don’t think pedophiles should be punished. Once again, difficult question–safe environment). The article is really thorough about how there are widespread theories about what makes someone a pedophile. The first opinion, from Fred Berlin, a psychiatrist at Johns Hopkins really echoed what we talked about in terms of judging the morality of Medea’s actions:

“We don’t know why we experience the sexual desires that we do. For so long, we’ve looked at it as if it’s simply a moral issue—people are supposed to have certain attractions—and often society said if you experience a different kind of sexual temptation or feelings, you’re not as morally worthy a person. It’s not someone’s fault they have the condition, but it is their responsibility to do something about it. Telling me that someone has pedophilia is like someone saying about me that I’m heterosexual. It doesn’t tell you whether I’m kind or cruel, introverted or extroverted, caring or not caring, intelligent or not intelligent. There are people with pedophilia that are often in denial, the way some alcoholics deny having a drinking problem. There are some who believe that society should change, and that we shouldn’t insist that they not act on their attractions. In my experience, that’s been a minority. There are others who are desperately looking for help to try and make sure they stay in control…”

I think it’s really fascinating that we live in a society now in which, as the author of the article, Casey Schwartz puts it, “knee-jerk moral condemnation” is becoming less and less helpful. Of course, there are horrifying things that happen in the world, and to diminish the trauma experienced by the victims of those events would be foolish, but isn’t it our job/privilege as artists to try to get to the heart of the problem? I think understanding is the key to everything. Which isn’t to say that actions should go unpunished, but rather to say that as a society, humans need to become more open to discussing the tough issues rather than sweeping them under the rug then being outraged/surprised (probably rightfully) when they pop up in terrible ways.