The Brooklyn 99 series, which features episodes at a police station, is a famous sitcom with an average Rotten Tomatoes score of 4.7. Among all episodes, there is one that received a Rotten Tomatoes score of only 3.5. The episode is titled 'He Said, She Said,' and it tells the story of Brooklyn 99 detectives in charge of sexual harassment in the workplace.

In the episode, both the victim and the perpetrator are consultants at a large financial company. The victim is a woman, and the perpetrator is a man. The company tries to cover up the case by offering "hush money" to the victim. The employees of the company defend the perpetrator and inflict secondary harm on the victim, which angers all the detectives in charge. At this point, Brookline 99 features characters other than the perpetrators and victims of sexual harassment, the three main characters related to this case. In this article, we will look at the positions and narratives of each character and examine the meaning of the episode.

 

1. The Victim, Investment Specialist, Brannon

Brannon, the victim, is an investment expert in the financial industry, and along with Seth, the perpetrator, she was recognized for producing an 18% increase in profits compared to the previous year. She is clearly the victim, but she does not fit the "common conception of victim." After being sexually harassed, she attacks the perpetrator with a golf club, and actively reports the situation. She worries about the little likelihood of winning the case of sexual crime, and there is a possibility she will be balcklisted in the financial community. She agonizes over whether she should accept the company's hush money.

Here we should examine the idea of victimization. In this case, the victim is a professional woman with excellent economic power. She rejects the hush money and is actively involved in the police investigation. Although the perpetrator is the victim's boss, she actively resisted at the time of the incident and reported it immediately. This is not considered the "behavior of a victim." Therefore, Brannon's decision to depart from the company after winning the case at the end of the episode may seem incomprehensible to some. This may be how Brooklyn 99 shows that there is no typical 'victim behavior.' Detectives Amy and Jake go to Brannon's company to celebrate the perpetrator's conviction, and they are confused when they see Brannon packing. Brennan says, "I'm no longer treated as a colleague here. I'm just being treated as a victim, and I can't share any more transaction information because no one puts me in a meeting." This is an effect of sexual harassment in the workplace.

Living as a victim in life even in a professional world and being deprived of the opportunity to demonstrate abilities is a realistic outcome for the victim.

Then, how about the life of the perpetrator? Is there the same level of loss as the victim's losses? We need to think about this point.

 

2. The Perpetrator, Investment Expert, Seth

The perpetrator is also an investment expert in the financial industry and is an active figure in the company's social club. He sues Brannon and contacts his colleagues to ask for support for the lawsuit, and they decide the perpetrator is "not a person who deserves it." Also, both the company and colleagues blame the victim for not making confidentiality pledges. In other words, their position is that the perpetrator is not a person capable of committing a crime, but the victim should receive consolation money and be silent, which is contradictory.

So, is it right that only Seth is the perpetrator of this case? Colleagues and companies that demand the victim's silence and defend the perpetrator by mentioning the perpetrator's usual behavior are also social perpetrators. People often say, "Don't think of me as a potential perpetrator." Of course, it is unpleasant to be suspected of doing something wrong, but we must recognize that we can always be indirect perpetrators like Seth's colleagues. Assuming that there are perpetrators and victims in our workplaces, we should ask ourselves whether we are confident that we will not agree with our colleagues who think that the perpetrator is not a "person to do such a thing." We must also consider whether or not it is fair that our victims sacrifice job ambitions due to sexaul harassment. We need to think about the pssossiblity that we can do secondary damage to a victim in the special situation of sexual harassment in the workplace.

 

3. Jake, a Detective

Jake is the man working on the investigation and the husband of Amy, a police inspector who works with him. His biological sex is male. Jake tells Amy, "If I were a woman, I wouldn't go into the financial industry." Amy responds by saying, "Oh, because women are comfortable in other jobs?" and Jake says, "I'm sorry I made a slip of the tongue." Compared to detectives Rosa and Amy who have been in charge of more sexual violence cases, Jake has limited experience. He wonders if he can participate in the investigation because he is not familiar with the field.

At the same time, even though Jake doesn't have much experience, he never empathizes with the perpetrator or the proprietors' colleagues in this case. Although he is not familiar with the discussion on sex crimes and has difficulty in the conversation, he would like to actively participate in the discourse by recognizing his bias, investigating, and studying about the subject. As a result, he does not refute that woman in occupations other than the financial sector are also not free from sexual harassment damage. He fully recognizes that he does not have experience with all occupations. Instead of arguing, he just listens to his colleagues, recognizes issues about the situation, and accepts the reality of the sexual harassment case.

Jake's behavior is the method that the Brooklyn 99 production team wants to recommend to viewers. When faced with a problem that we have not experienced directly or that we have not thought through deeply, we should speak to an experienced person and try to think objectively about the problem. In addition, an individual's position should be established from a macroscopic perspective in connection with similar kinds of events, not just one event or position. This will be especially true when the problem is a general malady of society. Sexual harassment in the workplace is a prime example, and Stephanie Beatriz, who directed the episode, once said, "We should at least have Jake's position on sexual crimes in the current society, including sexual harassment in the workplace."

 

4. Amy, a Detective

Amy persuades the victim not to take a confidentiality pledge and scrutinizes the case so that the perpetrator can receive reasonable punishment. When Jake, her colleague and husband, says, "If I were a woman, I wouldn't enter the financial world," she explains that sexism exists regardless of occupation/social class/situation. She refers to herself as a feminist, and in a discussion with Rosa, another female feminist officer, she says, "The process for the cause itself is to help each woman."

Amy is not more enthusiastic about this case than other cases. Amy is always an active and sincere person, and even though she became a police officer around the same time as her husband Jake, she became a lieutenant before him. Her sense of duty to help citizens and work for justice is high, so she sincerely deals with all cases. However, for this case she can't help recalling experiences she has seen and heard about sexual harassment. This incident is not unusual for Amy. However, as a police officer, she knows better than anyone else that it is not easy to solve sexual harassment in the workplace and it is not easy to punish in proportion to the degree of the crime. Amy also knows that the precedent of punishment is directly related to the life of another victim (more likely to be a woman) as it serves as a reference to the punishment of future sexual harassment in the workplace. Therefore, Amy recognizes this incident as a process for a woman's well-being, not a personal event.

As such, the Brooklyn 99 production team shows that sexual violence in the workplace is not an area that can be divided into victims and perpetrators, but an area that requires indepth interest and discussion in society. Society should set a reasonable precedent for similar damage that may occur in the future, and analyzing prejudice in past rulings is also necessary. That's why Amy, who is agonizing over the resolution of the case in connection with the promotion of women's rights, is a kind of "pioneer" that the production team wants for society. At the conclusion of the episode, the perpetrator is eventually punished, and another workplace sexual harassment victim's call is received. In the end, Amy has advanced society so that the perpetrator can be punished appropriately, and another victim can speak out.

 

5. Rosa, a Detective Colleague of Jake and Amy

Although not involved in the case, Rosa is a female police officer of 99 who is acquainted with both Jake and Amy. She refers to herself as a feminist. However, at the beginning of this case, she has a disagreement with Amy. She argues that in reality, prosecuting sex crimes does not always result in positive outcomes. Even if there is evidence, victims have to be concerned about the secondary harm and other human rights violations that will occur in the course of the lawsuit. She recognizes that the greater cause of women's rights and the realistic improvement of each woman's life are difficult to achieve at the same time. Rosa's opinion takes into account the realistic grievances of women, who inevitably have a lot to lose, and the victim's position in the narrow financial world.

Rosa considers the reality of the victim. There is disagreement with Amy about the immediate solution, but Rosa's opinion also starts at the same point as Amy's. Also, she has experienced similar situations countless times, so she thinks one more step closer about the victim's life.

In Korea, we are not free from Rosa's concern. In 2018, Chungnam governor Heejung Ahn was accused of workplace sexual harassment. An accusation from the victim, Jieun Kim, became the first step of the Korean 'MeToo' movement. According to statistics*, 58 out of 103 respondents who were sexually harassed at work (57%), said they had been penalized by the company since the issue was raised. Respondents who suffered disadvantages in status such as dismissal, and those who received mental/physical damage such as bullying, assault or verbal abuse, was 53.4%.

In Jieun Kim's case, the victim is not yet free from sexual crime damage. She has not even finished the first trial of civil damages which deals with second offense related to Ahn's sexual harassment. Also, Ahn's supporters have been attacking the victim that her attitude is not like that of a victims. Ahn's supporters have considerable social power, and Ahn was even mentioned as a presidential candidate. As such, the victim not only lost her job as a secretary after the incident, but is also being suppressed by social hierarchy.

In this situation, we, who are living in the Republic of Korea in 2022, not Rosa in the sitcom, dare not tell the victim to bear all the secondary harm, long trials, and uncertain punishment. In the end, Rosa tells Amy, "The victim's resignation may be a step backward, but what we have achieved is two steps forward." Society needs people like Amy who lead in finding the solutions of the cases, but also people like Rosa, who discusses the victims' realistic concerns and lives are also needed. Only when these two figures coexist can society take two steps forward even if it retreats by one step.

 

Little Discomfort for Much Progress

Why are Brooklyn 99's ratings for this episode so low? The official translation title of "He Said, She Said" is "그와 그녀의 이야기", but it is also translated as "이러쿵저러쿵", which represents "various opinions." We couldn't laugh comfortably watching the various views of the characters in the sitcom surrounding sexual harassment in the workplace. In July 2022, an article in the Digital Times** found a total of 98 sexual harassment cases at nine major financial firms in Korea over the past six years. Sadly, this proves there is a serious situation of sexual harassment in the financial world. And at the same time, on August 4, 2022, two members of the biggest opposition party visited Yeoju Prison to welcome the release of Heejung Ahn, a sexual violence perpetrator in the workplace. When we face the truth that is actually happening around us, we feel so uncomfortable. We may want to give this episode a low score because other episodes are more entertaining. However, director Stephanie Beatriz says, "We have to be uncomfortable."

The NAVER dictionary definition of a job is 'work that continues to be engaged for a certain period according to one's aptitude and ability to maintain livelihood.' The fact that someone's rights are being violated in a place called "work" that is directly related to livelihood is an uncomfortable truth to face. However, we must recognize and face reality like Jake, fight like Amy, and stand in solidarity with the victim like Rosa did.

"The prerequisite for this fight is that I must survive. I must be safe. I must live. I really want to prove it among those who committed a crime, those who implicitly neglected it, and those who rush to bring it down to the surface. I want to make a case where I can be recognized alive, not dead."

- Kim Jieun, the 'survivor' of the sexual harassment in workplace

Cited by published by 'Spring Alarm' -

 

Footnote

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* 2018, Seoul Women's Workers' Association, multiple response

** July 8, 2022, citing data from National Assembly Changhyun Yoon's office



 

Reporter,

Yougyeong Yoon geannie0611@seoultech.ac.kr

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