Paglia on Polanski and the Marquis de Sade
Camille Paglia covers a lot of ground in her Salon column, but the format that really lets her show off all that erudition is the regular Q&A with her fans/correspondents. She's in tip-top form this month in Obama's critical moment approaches, and at her best when the topics stray beyond the Beltway, as when Tim Sandel points out that "Polanski is no danger to anyone, and the victim simply wants to move on..." Paglia's reply is withering:
"When I first heard that Roman Polanski had been arrested in Switzerland, I thought it was absurd because of his advanced age as well as the gravity of other issues facing this war-torn world. It seemed like a publicity stunt by Los Angeles authorities with too much time on their hands. However, on reflection, I soon concluded that Polanski, whatever his artistic achievements, has no right to claim exemption from the law's demands. He is not a political refugee but a proud sybarite who has flaunted his tastes and conquests. If you live like the Marquis de Sade (one of the principal influences on my first book, "Sexual Personae"), then you should be willing to be imprisoned like Sade."
