1.15.2005

The Woodsman. My thoughts.

Jsun and I went on a traditional date this evening. Sushi and a movie. We saw The Woodsman with Kevin Bacon, Kyra Sedgwick and Mos Def. Damon Dash is one of the producers, hence the excellent soundtrack.

This is my thought on the importance of such a film being in the national dialogue.

Everyone is guilty of some sort of sexual perversion. Humans are sexual creatures, and unfortunately, we have not learned how to express and explore sexuality in a healthy manner. Bacon's character in the film, Walter, had a sexual awakening early in life. Having no healthy means to try to understand his fetish, he got stuck in that moment of time forever. It turned into a sexual perversion and ending up being something that banished him from normal society.

I have to say, of course, that I am not condoning incest or molestation of minors. And certainly, I believe that there are people who are mentally unfit and who molest because of innate evilness within their souls. However, it is clear to me that most adults have pondered the gamut of sexual forays. We are just never encouraged to understand our secret desires.

Sure, if what turns you on fits within the realm of what is considered "normal" then you are safe. You know that story. Boy and girl meet. They have innocent explorations at a reasonable age. They get married and have missionary style sex once in a while. They procreate beings to do the same. Nature's balance restored, blah blah blah . . .

We all know the success rate of that scenario.

Take the character of Walter. From the reactions of my fellow moviegoers this evening, I would venture to say that everyone ends up rooting for him. We all want him to not fall into the trap of sexual predator. We are cheering for the molester. It may make some uncomfortable to realize.
But imagine if there was some way Walter could have talked to someone when he was six. Honestly. Expressed, "Hey, it makes me kinda tingly down there when I smell my younger sister's hair. What should I do?"
Imagine a world where parents would know inherently how to help their son with such a issue so that young Walter is able to grow up, meet someone and have an adult relationship that involves her sitting on his lap while he smells her hair. Imagine a world where young boys and girls are able to explore non-heterosexual tendencies without fear of mental or physical punishment. Violent homophobia and other ignorances towards sexuality often are the product of repressed, unexplored emotions.
Not everyone will necessarily be gay or transgendered or a pedophile or a leather daddy. Like following a career that you know is not right for you or choosing a lover that you realize you don't love, eventually who you are refuses to be hidden.