36 replies to this topic

[iGuest]

Rape sceneRape Scenes

As we all know rape happens in everyday life and is a tramatic experience. If you want to watch a movie were a woman is tortured (raped) then that is your sick mind. I check the ratings before I watch a movie or let my kids watch it, but the problem with that is there is no key identifier to let me know there is rape in the movie. I don't want to see it, I hear enough about it on the news. I can get just as close to the victim knowing she was raped, I don't want/need to watch it. 

My question is why is rape entertainment?

-reply by karrie

[iGuest]

Now that the Hounddog film has been released and viewed, it seems that the big uproar about Dakota Fanning portraying a rape victim was a bit overblown. 

[iGuest]

Agree, ButRape Scenes

I'm with you on the negative influences and messages rape scenes can send, especially to kids.  At the same time, you could sack up as a parent and, idk, actually TALK to your kids about it.  That thought ever occur to you?  Maybe learning some facts about what rape is, why rape is bad, how to be careful, etc. From an actual PARENT could have a positive influence on kids.  Oh, that's right, now I remember.  This is America, where it is NEVER the parent's job to talk to kids about uncomfortable things. Otherwise they may actually learn something about the world.  No, you're right.  We'll leave our kids educations to TV, music, movies, and the Internet.  God knows those are the best teachers out there.  Grow a pair and actually BE A PARENT!

[iGuest]

Being Victim Rape Scenes

It is most probable that why you cannot bear watching a rape scene is a 'gender thing'. It happens and is natural, not only with a rape scene...But with any such depiction that victimise a particular group of individuals...Ethnic, religious, gender anything. Because when you watch it on the screen you can understand it rather feel it to a relatvely greater intesity than any other person. Being a female makes you closer to the victim in the movie in all respect relative to your male friend. Exactly same can happen with a person belonging to a particular ethnic group if he/she watches a depiction of violence against the group which he belongs to...

even if one has no close person a victim of any injustice, one can associate oneself with an onsreen drama...And it is all about being sensitive to a particular issue... 

-reply by cbrain

[salamangkero]

A lot have been said about this topic, including a few obscenities. There are, however, a few key points I'd like to explore:

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The world/America is addicted to sex.

Unless we are talking about porn films here, where rape scenes would hardly be an issue amidst other perversions, I think this statement would be an injustice to a lot of films that don't really focus solely on rape, or sex, for that matter. I would be first to admit that rape is actually a very powerful driving force in the plot of any story, it is almost certain to be a reason for revenge, an explanation for a character's aloofness, an explanation for a character's existence or a manifestation of an antagonist's perversity... or a combination of those.

Then again, there are those soft porn flicks masquerading as "indie" movies. I've watched a few of these... uh, art films and while I must admit that some of them offer superb acting performance, tackle profound issues (other than sex)and generally, present a viewer with a reality that is so far removed from the altruistic perfection of the silver screen, there are also a few abrupt side scenes featuring nudity (and sometimes, rape) that contribute nothing at all to the plot. In this issue, I would suppose, much thought should be given not to whether rape was the entire point of the film (I mean, we have films that hinge on very singular concepts too) but on whether rape was all there is to the film.

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Most people who are saying they are ok with rape screens have no family close to them have ever been raped... Rape scenes are not needed and wrong.

Ignoring the rather hasty, judgemental statement about having no relative or friend who had been victim to rape, would this statement mean that anything that could possibly offend a fraction of the population should NOT be shown on visual media? Say I have a friend who has been fired from her job. It had been a very traumatic experience for her to be fired by a company she was loyal to. Now we go to a movie and, guess what? We see a guy getting fired on screen. Should tears well up in her eyes and sobs escape her lips? Should I be outraged and mutter, "People who are okay with job termination scenes have NEVER EVER had anyone close to them get fired. That scene was so totally unnecessary!"

Sad as it may be and non-ideal as the world is, rape is very much a reality people should face and be wary of. It is, at the moment, very much a part of life as dinner and beggars and airlines and lunatics and elevators. You may not encounter them everyday but you know they're there. To deny the reality of rape, to blanket it with a plain text or narration or to sugar-coat it with uber-subtle "hints" (such as groans, moans and screams accompanying a blurry silhouette) would be to insult the intelligence of the audience. It would be as horrible as implying that you are showing a movie to a bunch of idiots with the mind of six-year old children incapable of separating make-believe from their own bubble of reality. Though, of course, if you were actually showing it to actual six year old kids, then, that's a different issue, one that involves parental guidance, which brings me to...

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Rape scenes... are teaching kids this junk... She would watch a movie her parents were watching... She would be paranoid.

The blame here, methinks, lies on the parents, not on the film. I mean, if the movie was properly labelled as R-18, NC-17 or even PG-13, they should have taken the cue and watched it, y'know, somewhere private. Or after the kids have gone to sleep. (Unless, of course, the DVD has a Spongebob Squarepants cover, I mean, wouldn't that be a, rather unpleasant, surprise for the entire family now? )

Also, am I also wrong in inferring that this statement presumes kids to be idiots? I mean, look, they're watching Taken, do they think, "Oh no, I'm gonna get kidnapped?" They're watching the Ring, do they think, "I'm not gonna watch cartoons anymore on the off-chance the image turns to static and then?" They're watching Resident Evil, do they think, "I'm gonna shut myself inside the house?"

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My question is why is rape entertainment?

Rape, in and of itself, is an entertainment to certain sectors of the society I would not admit to being part of.

Aside from that, however, (meaning for average people) rape in and of itself does not consist entertainment. It's in how the victim overcame her... trauma. It's in the hero guy who avenged his daughter. It's in the orphan who struggles to be accepted by a world that frowns on parentless children.

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Maybe learning some facts about what rape is, why rape is bad, how to be careful, etc. from an actual PARENT could have a positive influence on kids.

I'm not sure about the culture there but... I don't know, seriously, how many of you guys had "the talk"? I got my basic sex ed from school, a few more advanced stuff online and morals from the news. At first, it was like, "If someone rapes anyone, he or she will rot in jail," which was just fine, since kids don't have firm morality yet so, for the moment, fear of punishment would do. When I grew up and learned to put myself on other people's shoes, well, I knew why rape is wrong. I'm not presuming to actually understand rape victims, simply that I can think of the issue and decide for myself why it's right or wrong... but I digress, I suppose. In any case, I think this one depends on one's parenting style. (Don't ask me, I don't plan on having any kids) If you guys can actually make it work without being too awkward, then fine, go ahead, talk to your kids. If not, well, regulate what media they are exposed to, at least, until they can do some thinking for themselves. Still, I think kids nowadays are pretty smart, if you actually give them credit. Still, one thing I agree with is that you should NEVER park your kids in front of the TV for education. Not even if it's an educational show, much less a crime drama with rape scenes or, heaven forbid, a hardcore porn flick. Be a parent; kids learn more through human-to-human interaction. Human-to-media learning should only be supplementary, NEVER the main means of education. Even for topics like rape and sex. ESPECIALLY for topics like rape and sex.

[dangerdan]

I do not think that there should be a ban on this kind of stuff on television. Frequently television shows tackle strong and hard hitting topics not just to gain viewers but also to raise awareness and encourage people to speak out if they have. Many soaps in the UK are now followed by a "if you have been affected by the issues portrayed here called the X-helpline on :.....". I think that this goes beyond rape, it includes domestic violence, child abuse, abortion, drug abuse and mental health. I think that as long as these issues are afforded the appropriate respect given the context and time of day, that it is, unfortunately, simply representative of society.

[filmdesire]

Rape scenes are quite uncommon actually. However, I do agree with the point that writing in rape scenes where it is not used to reflect the seriousness and wrongness of the topic, it is obviously wrong.

For example, the move Clockwork Orange was criticised extensively for showing rape scenes excessively. However a foreign film Irreversible, was highly credit for an 8-minute long rape scene in which the cinematography featured was still and very unsettling for the audience. All you could really see was a distant struggle and the victims screams which were tightly concealed by her rapists paws. The scene was highly credited for its innovation of general cinematic techniques, however the rape scene is one of the key sequences that are shown today to in film theory classes where one studies 'shocking cinema'.

I can understand your concern. But the truth of the matter is, the reality of rape (and not corny-porn rape), is that it is a very serious situation, and if the film/tv drama you watch does not reflect that, then write a review about it. But I think it's correct to stereotype films and tv dramas in general.

I hope I was of some help. If you wish ask me something, then please do reply and I'll get back to you.