Cate Blanchett’s Tár is an abusive boss, but her story has much to tell us about feminism too | Susie Orbach

Beyond the superficial row, there is a debate to be had about progress, pitfalls, and a character who seems emblematic of her generation

Following claims of misogyny, the debate about Tar - the film starring Cate Blachett as Lydia Tar, a famous, fictional and sexually predatory classical conductor - has been reframed in terms of power, not gender. But is that right?

Yes and no. We can't ignore that she is a woman of a particular generation. Thirty years younger than second-wave feminists (my generation) who came of age in the early 1970s, she is not identified as the much smaller group of third-wavers, yet she fits that age group. If we take Tar as emblematic of her generation, we may better understand her character and the costs she faced.

Susie Orbach is a psychotherapist, psychoanalyst, writer and social critic

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