An Object in Motion

Chapter 4: Resistance

Harlow came to set ready to work, not to dig through the shadows people tried to hide. But when one question about Virginia unravels an entire lost storyline, she starts to see just how much the truth costs and how much she wants to honor it.

"She's really going to cry about that?"

"She says she's not complaining, she just feels like it might be a little dark and unusual for her character."

"Oh does she want to write the script now? Okay, she can be the writer. Since she understands the character better than any of us. 'Dark and unusual,' cry me a fucking river. You can tell the princess that she needs to keep her opinions away from the script because she's fifteen and doesn't understand how the world works."

"Hey, Mei, any chance I could have a moment with the writers? I have a question about Virginia."

"Er, sure." Mei agreed, looking over the schedule for the day. "You have costume fittings until noon, I can see if any of the writers are free then?"

"That would be great." Harlow agreed. "Amanda might be the right person, I heard she had a big hand in writing Virginia's character."

Mei made a note of it and stepped away to call Amanda, leaving Harlow with Mary, her two interns, and Finn.

"What's your question about Virginia?" Finn asked casually as he tried on hats.

"Oh, just something that felt implied but isn't addressed anywhere."

"Which is what?" Fin continued to press and Harlow shrugged.

"Just girl stuff. Nothing that will impact the script or shooting, just more background for me."

"Amanda can do twelve." Mei stepped back in and Harlow was grateful for it, not knowing how much she could push off Finn without appearing combative in front of the costume department.

"Awesome, thanks, Mei. Hey Mary, what are your thoughts on leather? I feel like Virginia would've gone wild for leather." Harlow kept herself busy in conversation to avoid Finn for the rest of the morning and when she finished with costume fittings, Mei brought her an early lunch and Harlow ate on the golf cart on the way to meet with Amanda, who looked frazzled, her dark hair tied up on top of her head, the pink highlight running through her bangs on full display, but she did look thrilled to see Harlow.

"I love when actors have thoughts on their characters." Amanda explained, walking Harlow back to a small meeting room that they could sit in together. "Mei said you had a question?"

"Yeah." Harlow wondered how to broach the topic delicately, if there even was a way to do so. "Um, I think I was reading between the lines a bit but I was wondering if you were implying that Virginia was a victim of sexual assault?"

Amanda raised her eyebrows slightly and her lips pressed tightly together.

"I could be totally wrong." Harlow continued, filling the silence. "There's just something about the whole 'she's used to people not taking her seriously because she's a woman' and the slight hypersexualization that made me wonder."

"No, you're right." Amanda spoke. "It's just funny you bring it up because it was the only detail that I was asked to cut. I had a whole scene written where we learned about Virginia's backstory, and it entailed going into the perpetual victimization she faced. At the hands of her stepfather, at the hands of her first boss, at the hands of John Cleary. Oh yeah, there was a whole sequence in there." Amanda continued in response to Harlow's mild surprise. "It's the premise for why Virginia has become a staple in the underbelly of New York. It's not that she was just undermined as a woman, it's that the system failed her so many times that she stopped trusting it and only then does she realize it's easier to be undermined and do what she wants rather than try to convince others of her worth."