David Schwimmer Appalled by Over-Sexualized Culture
“Friends” actor David Schwimmer recently expressed his disapproval over the negative influence pop stars have on youths because “everything they do is about sex.”
In a recent interview with British newspaper The Telegraph, he said, “Sex sells and unfortunately there’s this inbuilt hypocrisy in our society: we’re always talking about how inappropriate it is to see an older man with a very young girl but at the same time all our advertising is based on that.”
He added, “Plus, both here and in the UK, we have this real emphasis on how important it is to look young and sexual, so that’s the message we’re sending our girls. Look at the biggest pop stars around at the moment: everything they do is about sex.”
The 44-year-old actor, who rose to fame thanks to his role as Ross Geller in the 90s TV series “Friends,” just finished working on this second directorial project “Trust,” about a 14-year-old girl who falls prey to an internet pedophile posing as a teenager. The girl ends up being raped when they meet.
The primary focus of the movie is about the dangers of internet pedophiles and how easy it is for them to get into children’s rooms even behind locked doors. Schwimmer also interweaves the over -sexualization of young girls in today’s society into the film’s narrative.
During the time of the rape, the girl’s father, played by Clive Owen, is working on a clothing campaign where young teenagers are provocatively modeling the items.
Schwimmer commented to The Telegraph about the “big hoopla" 30 years ago over Brooke Shields' Calvin Klein ad and how it now “almost seems humorous” that there was an uproar over it especially in comparison to what’s around today.
“I take a shot at that in the film: I want to show that Clive’s character feels culpable about the climate he’s contributing to,” he told the UK publication.
He emphasized that it is important to explain to girls at a young age that “they don’t need to use their bodies to be popular – that they can use their minds and their personalities too” even though modern society may tell the opposite.
Schwimmer has been on the board of directors of Santa Monica Rape Treatment Center in Los Angeles for about 10 years, but has been a member for 14 years. His interest in the issue arose out of personal relationships with victims of sexual abuse.
While volunteering with the organization, a father’s story struck him and made him realize that he had never seen a special relationship between a father and a daughter traumatized by a rape event on film.
Through the film, which will be in theaters July 8, Schwimmer hopes to raise awareness that “these guys (pedophiles) are often our neighbors, our religious leaders, our family and our friends [and] not always the greasy-haired guy living alone with mum.”
