Australian actor and producer Cate Blanchett laments the rapid demise of the ‘MeToo movement’.
Blanchett, 57, made the comment during a speech at the 79th Cannes Film Festival, where she also discussed politics, film and artificial intelligence.
“It was killed very quickly, which I find interesting,” Blanchett explained. “There are a lot of people with platforms that can speak relatively safely and say this happened to me, and the so-called average woman on the street, person on the street, says to me too. Why is that being shut down? Why, why is that being shut down?”
She added that #MeToo exposed a deeper pattern of abuse, not just in film, but across many industries.
“What it revealed is a systemic layer of abuse, not just in this sector, but across all sectors,” she continued. “And if you don’t identify a problem, you can’t solve the problem, you shut down that problem. If you shut down that conversation, you can’t move forward.”
She continued: “What happens is the jokes become the same and you have to brace yourself a little bit. Now I’m used to that, but it just gets a bit boring. It gets boring for everyone when you walk into a homogenous workplace, and I think that has an effect on the work.”
While in Cannes, she also spoke about the role of film festivals in global issues. She said it is disturbing that festivals are now among the few places where major world conflicts are openly discussed. She said governments should be more honest and focus on solutions when dealing with such problems.
When it comes to artificial intelligence, Blanchett emphasized the need for human control and consent. She said she co-founded RSL Media, which is working on systems that ensure people give consent before their work or likeness is used by AI.
