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I’ve just finished watching Douglas is Cancelled on ABC iView and it’s left me quite unsettled, but for the wrong reasons.
Firstly, the writing is all over the place. Make up your mind – is it a comedy or a drama? It can’t be both when it’s about misogyny, because sexual violence and misogyny aren’t funny. Or at least they shouldn’t be, to any decent human being.
Secondly, the character of Douglas is unconvincing. A true narcissist would not set their mind to rescue a damsel in distress and then leave them to be sexually exploited. A true narcissist wouldn’t get off their seat in the first place - rather, they would look forward to hearing about the successful person’s exploits at delicious, later date.
Thirdly, a career narcissist (which television presenters usually are, let's face it) would not let themselves be manipulated by a person whom they believed they held power over, especially via the technique of touch. As demonstrated in the relevant early scenes, touch is used by the strong and abusive as a power and control mechanism against the weak.
I have personal experience of this with one of my own abusers. As usual, they had flown into a rage about something insignificant. They adored being in a rage phase. In fact, they were addicted to it – the endorphins coursing through their body; the natural high elevating them to an even more over-privileged and dangerous state.
Without rehearsal, instinctively, I offered them my hands as a means to calm them down.
The response was spectacular. I had inadvertently attempted to reverse the power balance, and this narcissist was not going to have a bar of it.
“No!’, they raged. “[If I take your hands] that would mean you would win!”.
I was astounded.
This was the one and only time this person ever uttered these words to me.
I wasn’t in a relationship – I was in a competition. Love and empathy have no place in a competition.
Therefore, I am thoroughly unconvinced by Douglas is Cancelled. Sure, the female protagonist is very, very, clever and determined (gifted, I would say), and she certainly has been wronged and let down. But no powerful misogynist that I’ve ever met would fall for a subtle, long-term reversing of the power balance the way it is portrayed in this mini-series. It makes for exciting drama, but not for convincing truth - misogynistic narcissists are much, much more dangerous than the character this actor portrays, who previously played the Dad from Paddington. I mean to say, come on.
As for the sexual predation scenes - these were nauseating and extremely upsetting for me to watch. If you want to get a tiny glimpse of what it's like to be controlled by a sexual predator, then you should definitely watch Episode 2.
Gen Memory
December 2024
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