‘May December’ and the Ethics of Media
When life imitates art imitates life
Is May December a drama or a comedy? It’s a question that has divided online film spaces after Netflix submitted the film in the Comedy category at the Golden Globes. Loosely based on the real-life story of a sex offender and her child victim, the film was considered by some to be too grim a comedy, and the move ultimately a ploy to maximize awards potential in the less competitive Comedy category. Yet others defended its category placement, describing the film as a “catty-as-fuck dark comedy” and a “camp and curious pleasure.” Director Todd Haynes thinks the film “walk[s] a line” between both.
At the center of May December is the scandalous relationship between Gracie (Julianne Moore) and Joe (Charles Melton), one which began when the latter was just 13 years old. The couple’s horrific 23-year age gap might conjure familiarity amongst older Americans as they recall the unsettling real-life scandal of Mary Kay Letourneau and Vili Fualaau. The pair made national headlines in 1997 when Letourneau became pregnant with Fualaau’s baby when he was only 13 years old.
Fast forward to the present day, Joe is now a 36-year-old man and a father of three children with Gracie. On the surface, they seem to live peacefully in Georgia, until Elizabeth (Natalie Portman) forces her…
