ARTS / TV
HBO documentary on Woody Allen sexual abuse case applauded by Chinese netizens
Allen v. Farrow, a four-part documentary series that scrutinizes the sexual abuse allegations against the famous US director Woody Allen was released on Sunday on HBO.
The documentary shows home videos and interview footage of Dylan Farrow’s family members, of which Dylan, the adoptive daughter of Woody Allen and his ex-partner Mia Farrow, is at the center due to her accusation in 1992 that Woody Allen sexually molested her when she was seven.
“This is riveting and informative,” said a netizen on Twitter on Monday.
“I haven’t seen it yet, but if he was out there to marry his daughter then the documentary can very likely be saying something true,” said a netizen on China’s Twitter-like Sina Weibo on Monday, referring to Allen’s decision to marry his adoptive daughter Soon-Yi Previn in 1997.
The documentary stirred up netizens’ discussions on China’s Twitter-like Sina Weibo, with some saying it shows how famous people in the US have more controlling power than others even when they do shameful things.
“It is as though the fig leaf has been removed from those celebrities who have more power to manipulate things,” said a netizen on Weibo.
“Woody Allen's persona disarmed all of us. We have this celebrity culture, and that gives them this shield of impunity. We imbue them with a certain trust and a love and then can't believe or hear the cognitive dissonance. We give their crimes cover,” said Amy Ziering, one of the documentary’s directors in an interview with the Hollywood Reporter on February 17.
But some netizens said the documentary was one-sided, as Allen doesn’t appear in it, and it is uncertain if the 7-year-old Dylan’s words are entirely true.
Despite the controversy surrounding his personal life, Woody Allen has been a unique and prolific filmmaker who is known for his neurotic intellectual style. He is famous for films such as Annie Hall (1977), Manhattan (1979) and Midnight in Paris (2011).
Woody Allen Photo: IC
The documentary shows home videos and interview footage of Dylan Farrow’s family members, of which Dylan, the adoptive daughter of Woody Allen and his ex-partner Mia Farrow, is at the center due to her accusation in 1992 that Woody Allen sexually molested her when she was seven.
“This is riveting and informative,” said a netizen on Twitter on Monday.
“I haven’t seen it yet, but if he was out there to marry his daughter then the documentary can very likely be saying something true,” said a netizen on China’s Twitter-like Sina Weibo on Monday, referring to Allen’s decision to marry his adoptive daughter Soon-Yi Previn in 1997.
The documentary stirred up netizens’ discussions on China’s Twitter-like Sina Weibo, with some saying it shows how famous people in the US have more controlling power than others even when they do shameful things.
“It is as though the fig leaf has been removed from those celebrities who have more power to manipulate things,” said a netizen on Weibo.
“Woody Allen's persona disarmed all of us. We have this celebrity culture, and that gives them this shield of impunity. We imbue them with a certain trust and a love and then can't believe or hear the cognitive dissonance. We give their crimes cover,” said Amy Ziering, one of the documentary’s directors in an interview with the Hollywood Reporter on February 17.
But some netizens said the documentary was one-sided, as Allen doesn’t appear in it, and it is uncertain if the 7-year-old Dylan’s words are entirely true.
Despite the controversy surrounding his personal life, Woody Allen has been a unique and prolific filmmaker who is known for his neurotic intellectual style. He is famous for films such as Annie Hall (1977), Manhattan (1979) and Midnight in Paris (2011).
