Is “Tár”Unfair To Women?

An article by Xan Brooks in The Guardian newspaper raises the question as to why some people are angered by Todd Fields film, Tár. https://tinyurl.com/5y8j78rs According to the article, U.S. conductor Marin Alsop, has said that the film is “anti-woman” and a personal affront. Alsop is “heartbroken” that Lydia Tár is portrayed as an abuser. Although Director Todd Fields has never said so, the film does appear to be based in part on Alsop’s life and career. Alsop like Tár has had to fight through all the barriers against women conductors and has been extremely successful in that drive. Similarly, Alsop’s partner of 30+ years has been Kristin Jurkscheit, a horn player; they have a son. While Alsop was conducting the Colorado Symphony, of which her partner was a member, their relationship provoked controversy; Alsop responded that the relationship predated her appointment to lead the orchestra and had no bearing on her job performance

In my opinion , Alsop’s comments about Tár are somewhat of an overreach. Likewise the banner in the New York Times‘ review “The film’s thesis is blunt: Put a woman in power, and she’ll be as sexually inappropriate and badly behaved as any man.” is an absolute over-generalization. The behavior portrayed and discussed has nothing to do with genre. It has to do with both how some people of either sex deal with success and power and how others in their sphere are affected. There is an implicit assumption by those reacting negatively about Lydia Tár’s behavior that women maestros will not act in the same manner as some of the top male conductors have. “The film posits a more unsettling, intractable possibility: that classical music remains so robustly addicted to the myth of the all-knowing, all-hearing leader that it will continue to grant those leaders a degree of power that will inevitably corrupt women and men alike.” [Zachary Woolfe, New York Times, Oct 13, 2022]

Tár is a realistic depiction of its subject matter. Moreover, in today’s world, female violators will be unfairly treated harsher than their male counterparts. This is true as much in the corporate arena as it is in the musical. Growth hurts. It is unrealistic to believe that as women break the “glass ceiling” there will not be some that act just as poorly as their male predecessors. The vast majority, however, will act appropriately and set an example. Both groups are fair choices for cinematic depictions.