Jodie Foster on #MeToo: "Justice by Twitter is not the right way to go"
Academy Award-winning actress and director Jodie Foster says that, in the wake of growing allegations about sexual harassment and assault, a time of "truth and reconciliation" -- similar to what followed the end of apartheid in South Africa -- may be needed.
Foster, appearing on "CBS This Morning" on Monday, was asked to comment on producer Jane Rosenthal's recent appraisal of the furor that developed over revelations of behavior by producer Harvey Weinstein as "Pandora's box is open and Pandora is pissed."
"I'm not a sound bite person," Foster said. "I'm an hours person. I like to talk about things for hours. I'm not very good at 140 characters. I feel like it's such a complicated issue, and it is a watershed moment.
"It is an amazing moment in time and, you know, in order to do it justice, I think we need a bigger dialogue and a much more complicated dialogue. But this time is necessary and I'm really looking forward to what happens next, like all social justice movements. I think we're all looking forward to how we can heal, and we want to hear voices. We want to hear the other side as well, in order to really change things.
"Justice by Twitter is not the right way to go."
She said that "truth and reconciliation" was necessary, as with other social movements. "We needed it after civil rights, we needed that after slavery," she said. "I'm really looking forward to that. I'm happy to go to Davos and start that."
Foster's career in Hollywood spans more than five decades as a two-time Academy Award-winning actress and director. She is back in the director's chair for her latest project, the science fiction anthology series, "Black Mirror."
In the episode "Arkangel," a mother turns to a new surveillance technology to keep her daughter safe.
"Like everything in 'Black Mirror,' technology is really just a reflection of our own messed-up psychology," she said. "The technology itself is benign; it doesn't have feelings. It just does what we ask it to do. Unfortunately, it highlights the crazy dynamics and psychology of our family life."
To watch a trailer for "Black Mirror: Arkangel," click on the video player below.
She compared the story to the film "Boyhood," which traces a boy's life from childhood to college.
"In some ways this film has that similar feeling," she said. "You start with the child from the beginning, from the time she's born, and you follow her until the end of her adolescence. You feel possessive of her, and you feel possessive of that life. There's a part of you that wants to take care of her and there's a part of you that wants to handicap her and stop her growth."
She admitted she did not know anything about the Emmy-winning Netflix series beforehand. "I was having a conversation with one of the executives over there, and bemoaning the state of the movie business and saying that I really wanted to do feature-length films on streaming. So this is the way to go.
"I worked for Netflix before and, you know, it is kind of like working for God when you work for Netflix!" Foster said.
"The fascinating thing about 'Black Mirror' is that, unlike episodic television where directors are brought on very soon before the project and they're sort of accomplishing the tone of the series. With 'Black Mirror,' they are small indie films, so brand-new cast members, brand-new crew members. You make a decision about everything."
Of directing, she said the demands are the polar opposite of when she is acting -- supplying answers versus asking questions.
"One part of me likes to play characters that aren't me, and so I ask questions: What would happen if this happened to me and how would I survive? As a director, it's just the opposite."
