When a House of Cards collapses

author: annie trussler | op-ed editor

Credit: Wikimedia Commons

What I do want to talk about is the small, small, minuscule ray of light in this entire ordeal: men are finally being held fucking accountable.

I have only seen season five of House of Cards. From what I have gathered, Frank Underwood (portrayed by the deplorable Kevin Spacey) is a president fully capable of getting away with murder, extortion, blackmail, and various other un-presidential/very presidential things while in fictional office. His wife, Claire Underwood (portrayed by the angelic Robin Wright), gets away with all of the same things, except she isn’t played by an absolute and total piece of shit.

I missed a decent amount of the plot, as I was too entranced by the way Frank looked through the camera and into your very soul. The intention is to connect you to this garbage man’s psyche, sure, but I always left an episode feeling grimy and gross. I guess we all know why.

I won’t go into the nitty gritty details of all the disgusting things Kevin Spacey has recently owned up to, because frankly, I don’t really want to relive that bullshit again – not until I’ve had at least two shots of tequila and a nap. What I do want to talk about is the small, small, miniscule ray of light in this entire ordeal: men are finally being held fucking accountable.

Maybe it’s because Spacey assaulted men, or maybe people find it easier to hold gay men accountable, it’s difficult to say; as shitty as those options are, at the very least, Spacey’s bullshit now has a body count: his show, his career, his friends. This trend started, finally, with Weinstein, and we might actually be seeing some progress.

Nearly every white man in Hollywood has assaulted someone, if not multiple someones, and are now terrified. Woody Allen is begging that we “don’t make this into a witch hunt.” Bad news, Woodster: you’re next.

It’s times like this I really consider the depth to which rape culture exists in our media. The top one per cent of our world indulges in all things, including, and certainly not limited to, other people’s bodies. A certain amount of money teaches the wealthy that everything can be made into objects, including people with feelings, free will, and a sense of autonomy.

Someone reading this article is beginning to think “well, not all men…” and let me stop you right there! Yes, all men. No, not all men are active rapists, but all men benefit from rape culture; all men have leered at women, harassed them, not taken no for an answer, and been taught their societally constructed gender gives them permission to take and hurt whatever and whomever they please. Wealth only adds to this illusion of power. Yes, all men – especially rich men.

Kevin Spacey is not the first or the last. I guarantee if we sift through Hollywood’s male elite, you will find innumerable cases of this masculine wealth turned deadly. It is your responsibility to out these men, cancel their shows, and ruin them – expose them for what they are: rapists. Perhaps, just perhaps, if we pool our energies, these men will be scared into confession, or forever into inactive darkness. Either way, season five kind of sucked, so maybe it was a sign.