19x11 Flight Risk

the value of this episode is wholly in the acting and barba's grand jury closing statement.

i think it's irresponsible to think the episode is grandstanding about sexism and how to police it; barba himself points out that the company will file to dismiss the indictment and with how powerful corporations are in america it's common for court cases involving companies to go nowhere beyond an indictment. but the indictment DOES get publicized, and it does bring awareness to issues. and like barba's said before, the judicial system we have is one of the best but it's still very flawed. it's constantly in need of revision and grand juries serve to give judiciary committees and legislators clear evidence of what their constituents consider criminal acts. because at the end of the day that's what civil servants are—they're representing our ever-changing society, they're not just following dusty old legislature to the letter.

From the perspective of political propaganda and moralizing, this episode was particularly revolting. Sexism is an extremely serious issue in our culture, and to think that even part of the solution is outlawing it is seriously irresponsible: It serves only to superficially mask its manifestations by making sexists more sneaky, and it has the effect of sweeping the problem under the rug instead of addressing the cultural and philosophical roots. (And then people will wonder why sexism is alive and well, despite laws against it, after they patted themselves on the back for "doing something".)

You don't teach people good judgment by outlawing certain judgments.

(I hasten to add that sexual assault/battery/rape are properly outlawed because they actually involve the initiation of force. Sexual harassment or sexist hiring/promotion policies, however reprehensible and disgusting, arise in the context of voluntary association, where either party is free to cut ties if the terms are not mutually agreeable, and thus, they are not properly the subject of legislation.)