Week 8 EOC: 9-5 Workplace Harasment

In the film 9-5 there are many moments in which work place harassment occurs. The first instance of this occurs shortly after Jane Fonda’s character, Judy Bernly, starts on the job, after Lily Tomlins character, Violet Newstead, “trains” Judy on how to operate the copy machine. Firstly the training session was only 3 minutes long with no actual training occurring. Secondly after the equipment malfunctions Franklin Hart, played by Dabney Coleman, yells at Judy calling her incompetent and stupid. The second instant of harassment occurs when Franklin Hart spreads a rumor about an affair he had with Dolly Parton’s character, Doralee Rhodes. This creates a hostile work place for Doralee in which many of her coworkers treat her with disdain and spread further rumors about her. The third instant of harassment occurs when a character named Maria is fired due to a made up infraction created by Roz, played by Elizabeth Wilson. Roz made up this infraction when eavesdropping in the ladies’ room, this creates a work place that makes people paranoid of speaking out or talking in general due to the fear of dismissal for a made up cause. During the following days an incident occurs causing a mix up that leads to the three leading ladies fearing they killed their boss Hart. When he turns up alive the postulate to the possibilities of what happened, however whence they dismiss it as lucky they are over heard by Roz who then informs Hart of this. Upon receiving this news Hart attempts to blackmail Doralee into sleeping with him otherwise he will prosecute all three ladies. This is twofold harassment, first he is blackmailing an employee with restroom gossip secondly he is attempting to use a quid-pro-quo sexual harassment against same said employee. In the end the Three leading ladies fix all the workplace harassments with the kidnaping of their boss.