Sexual consent is critical, but can be tricky. Even when there are no differentials in power, when both parties are sober, willing, unaffected by gender roles, racial biases or societal pressures, there is always potential for human error and misinterpretation. This is especially problematic when getting explicit consent isn’t just about pleasing your partner, but also about protecting yourself. This documentary makes it all too clear that is particularly the case when it comes to the dynamics of Black men and white women where, historically, Black men and boys have been viewed as more sexually voracious and predatory. In the deeply disturbing case of Derrick Johnson and Anna Stubblefield, we see the shocking way a non-verbal, disabled Black man’s sexual abuse by his white carer could be contorted into an innocent act of misinterpretation.
The documentary Tell Them You Love Me, created by Louis Theroux’s production company and directed by Nick August-Perna, takes on his signature anti-socratic method – which allows its subjects to explain themselves without interruption and occasionally hang themselves with their own rope. We hear the tale of Derrick Johnson, who had a series of seizures as a baby. By his older brother Dr John Johnson’s account, as a toddler he was “diagnosed as mentally retarded, non-verbal with cerebral palsy”. His father left the family soon afterwards but as Derrick grew into adulthood his devoted mother and brother believed him to be striving to communicate with them. The programme’s twist in the tale comes when John begins his PhD at Rutgers University and watches Anna Stubblefield’s lecture on non-verbal disabilities and thinks her methods could unlock hidden potential in his brother, unaware that Stubblefield would soon be having “romantic” and sexual relations with his sibling.
