The Influence of #MeToo

A major movement which has helped in this fight for equality and played a significant role in the introduction of the IC to the film and television industry is the #MeToo movement. With the creation of IDI and the release of Ita O'Brien’s Intimacy on Set Guidelines (2016) both taking place in 2016, the correlation with the #MeToo movement the following year cannot be overlooked.

Lynn Deboeck (2020) describes the intimacy direction efforts in relation to the #MeToo movement as an ‘acknowledgement of the sexual harassment and interpersonal discomfort that many performers (largely women) experience in the entertainment industry’ (Deboeck, 2020, p.35). Acknowledging the pain and injustice experienced by actors who’s suffering had been stifled for so long, meant that action could be taken to prevent the cases of sexual assault from continuing.

Associate director of U.S Intimacy Directors International, Claire Warden (2020) recognises that, ‘Weinstein shone a light which could not be ignored on something that had been for years’. One could challenge the need for an incident such as this to take place before significant action was taken, yet as stated by Warden (2020) the industry had ignored the issues surrounding sexual assault and misconduct for so long there needed to be a powerful catalyst to initiate the movement.