Björk has released a statement on Lars von Trier.

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Suture Self
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Björk has released a statement on Lars von Trier.

Post by Suture Self »

You can find it here: https://www.facebook.com/bjork/posts/10155777444371460

björk wrote:i am inspired by the women everywhere who are speaking up online to tell about my experience with a danish director . because i come from a country that is one of the worlds place closest to equality between the sexes and at the time i came from position of strength in the music world with hard earned independence , it was extremely clear to me when i walked into the actresses profession that my humiliation and role as a lesser sexually harassed being was the norm and set in stone with the director and a staff of dozens who enabled it and encouraged it . i became aware of that it is a universal thing that a director can touch and harass his actresses at will and the institution of film allows it . when i turned the director down repeatedly he sulked and punished me and created for his team an impressive net of illusion where i was framed as the difficult one . because of my strength , my great team and because i had nothing to loose having no ambitions in the acting world , i walked away from it and recovered in a years time . i am worried though that other actresses working with the same man did not . the director was fully aware of this game and i am sure of that the film he made after was based on his experiences with me . because i was the first one that stood up to him and didn't let him get away with it

and in my opinion he had a more fair and meaningful relationship with his actresses after my confrontation so there is hope

let's hope this statement supports the actresses and actors all over

let's stop this

there is a wave of change in the world

kindness

björk


It's good to hear that Björk believes things have changed with Lars von Trier after her confrontation, but I now feel the need to reevaluate his work. Interesting to hear that Björk thinks Dogville is about her, in some ways.

Anyone have any thoughts?

JSchlansky
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Re: Björk has released a statement on Lars von Trier.

Post by JSchlansky »

Lars Von Trier has always come off as quite perverse and scummy in interviews to me

Suture Self
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Re: Björk has released a statement on Lars von Trier.

Post by Suture Self »

brickwall wrote:Lars Von Trier has always come off as quite perverse and scummy in interviews to me

I knew that Lars von Trier was tough to work with for everyone involved on set (John C. Reilly once stormed off set and refused to work with LvT again; Björk acted similarly), but the sexual harassment allegations against Björk during the filming of Dancer in the Dark (a garbage movie, btw) are, from what I understand, new, and of course extremely disappointing. While Björk claims that after her confrontation LvT changed for the better, I still feel compelled to reevaluate the movies of his I've enjoyed with a new set of eyes, particularly the movies made before he worked with Björk, like Breaking the Waves. Björk is one of my musical heroes and I don't take her accusations lightly.

There is no one way to make art, and often times people don't get along, people inevitably fight, and people are bad to one another, but certain lines should never be crossed, and the way men in the film industry have treated women workers is fucking awful and I hope a sea change occurs. Representation isn't enough: More women ought to be in positions of financial power and positions of artistic control. More women directors and writers, please.

When things like this happen I'm often conflicted, because I realize that people who have done horrible things, or people with views I despise, still have the capacity to make great art, and I still think that applies to LvT, no question. Melancholia is a wonderful movie and, in spite of Björk's story, it's also true that LvT has written many empowering and empathetic roles for women. Yet, I also realize that art doesn't exist in a vacuum, and separating the artist from their art is impossible. The author is not dead, as those nerdy post-modernists like to argue; the author is alive and frequently working with people. In LvT's movie Breaking the Waves, the protagonist is sexually harassed and assaulted continuously, and the link between LvT's behavior towards Björk and the behavior of characters in his movies is now hard for me to separate. I'm not one to boycott art, and I'm not one to advocate for censorship of art, but I can't help but feel elements of his filmography have been soured as a result.

JSchlansky
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Re: Björk has released a statement on Lars von Trier.

Post by JSchlansky »

Yes it can be very hard to separate the art from the artist sometimes. On one hand I'd like to think that a piece of work can stand on it's own merits without being judged by the failings of its creator, but on the other hand it can be hard to support something made by a bad person. For example I can still enjoy Roman Polanski's films, but I can no longer find any enjoyment from Bill Cosby's stand up.

paulofilmo
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Re: Björk has released a statement on Lars von Trier.

Post by paulofilmo »

OT

Björk is on Late Junction on Thursday (music radio show). I think it's available outside the UK. there's a russian season on, so i don't think all the picks will be her own.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b09d43w3

Luna6ix
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Re: Björk has released a statement on Lars von Trier.

Post by Luna6ix »

I hadn't heard of this, just read the statement and one article about it, then another article from von Trier denying any harassment. Bjork's statement doesn't ever really specify what she's claiming von Trier did except "it is a universal thing that a director can touch and harass his actresses at will" and "when I turned the director down repeatedly he sulked and punished me."
The closest detail supporting anything I found was on an article by Rolling Stone saying that "the singer disagreeing on wardrobe choices to the point where she reportedly tore up a dress and ate its shreds." I've only seen two of von Trier's movies, but that's enough for me. As a filmmaker, I find him to be just a step under Uwe Boll, so you'd think that I'd jump at the opportunity to hold something else against him, but I'm skeptical. If Bjork ripped up a dress and ate it because she wasn't getting what she wanted, maybe she was hard to work with, and I can't fault von Trier for disagreeing with Bjork's fashion sensibilities, she gets to wear whatever she wants all the time and puts that power to use, appearing in some of the most awkward and embarrassing outfits I've ever seen, so if a film directer wants to direct his film and his vision doesn't really fit with wearing bubble wrap for shoes or a mask made out of human hair, then more power to him. Does this mean that von Trier didn't harass her? No, but it doesn't really help Bjork's claims.

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