#media-spectacle

#media-spectacle

In David Osit's new documentary, "Predators," the director includes a short clip from a mid-two-thousands episode of "Jimmy Kimmel Live!" in which the late-night host-his free-speech tussle with the Trump Administration, at this point, not even close to a glimmer in his eye-is introducing the news journalist Chris Hansen to viewers. "Our next guest is the host of the funniest comedy on television. It's called 'To Catch a Predator,' " Kimmel says with a grin, as the studio audience's laughter rings in the background.

We must ask ourselves: how would the heroic suffragettes or the remarkable Greenham Common women be regarded if active today? The answer is simple: they would be locked up. Just as they were locked up then. A century ago, women chained themselves to railings, set fires, endured prison and changed the world, and we celebrate their victories without thinking too hard about their methods. Yet today's laws would criminalise them on sight.