How are female rape victims represented in the media ie film/ documentary

Probably the best I can think of is Jodie Foster in The Accused. In her three-way Oscar tie for best actress role, she plays a rape victim in a time that was kind of dominated by the "she was asking for it" defense, which is a load of shit. That no matter how a woman dresses or how much she drinks or how much pot she smokes or how much she flirts she's never "asking for it" as her female attorney makes clear.

This is a challenging thread to answer. Every rape scene I've ever seen has made me uncomfortable - even when it's amateurish in production value.

I find the high budget productions more tasteless, because the casting often employs an actor/actress who is very famous and physically attractive. I always expect there's a minority of people who will get some bizarre kick out of it.

If I was a film director, I think I'd skip anything that uses rape as a theme - it's way too difficult to present in a palatable way.

There are 2 films I've seen that manage to capture the horror of rape and interestingly, they're both male rapes.

Scum and Deliverance are very hard to stomach, but they never attempt to cloud the horrid visuals with notions of 'art', clever film-making or pure sensationalism. They just show the brutality of the act and it serves as a catalyst for further scenes.

Rape scenes I found distasteful included -

Straw Dogs - she enjoyed it?
Alien3 - the subject matter was dumbed down
Man Bites Dog - gang rape is not funny
I spit on your grave - Horrid
Last House on the Left - Ditto

This is not to say that Straw Dogs, Alien3 or Man Bites Dog are bad films (Discounting Last House and I spit on your grave ). I just thought the subject matter of rape was handled very badly.

This message has been edited. Last edited by: Duncan Black,

I disagree with the assessment of rape in Straw Dogs. One can acknowledge the powerful eroticism of the act without entering the realm of apologists or ignoring the power dynamics at work (which, I think, the film does rather well). I think one must also consider the woman's situation in the film; her husband is often cruelly dismissive of her, and the one perpetrating the rape is a former fling. At no point does the movie defend the act, though.

Other notable rape scenes:
The Evil Dead
Rashomon (an especially interesting example)

Fair enough - maybe I was little harsh on Straw Dogs. It was uncomfortable viewing though.

Evil Dead - I never thought of that one. Maybe it's because the woman was raped by a tree. It was too surreal to be harrowing. It's a situation we can't possibly identify with, so maybe Sam Raimi found a way to make rape acceptable in film, simply by making it an impossible act.

I'm shocked with The Accused starring Jodie Foster. It's more scary than the horror films...
But the movie as a whole has a good drama /thriller elements

The studios are in production of a Kite Runner movie, which contains a very graphic rape scene between two boys. The young actor's family wants the scene cut but the rape is a very powerful part of the book, but you can't take it out without taking some of the emotion/empathy from the audience. I also highly recommend the book; beautifully written.

the only other rape scene I know of is from Once Upon a Time in America, which made me cringe and look away. However, I thought it was necessary to show what crime had done to De Niro's character.

oh dear god, that de niro scene went on foreeeever.

A Clockwork Orange has a particularly sadistic rape scene.

"I'm singing in the rain, just singing in the rain"

I heard Andy kind of adlibbed the song because the original take was so raw with nothing but beating and rape.

Also! There was some movie with a long, graphic Dakota Fanning rape scene(!) not too long ago. It debuted at some festival and nobody in their right mind would pick it up because it was so reviled by all. So it's probably doomed to be lost forever, but as bad as it sounds I kind of want to see it at some point because I hate Dakota Fanning so much.

Nobody's mentioned Pulp Fiction yet? That one was actually hilarious if you are into dark humor.

quote:

Originally posted by Mike:
Nobody's mentioned Pulp Fiction yet? That one was actually hilarious if you are into dark humor.

I actually had to think about that one for a minute, but yeah, there is a rape scene! For some reason when I think of rape, I only think of it happening to women. However, I don't think anybody has mentioned "Deliverance", there's another man-on-man (or is it men-on-men?) rape scene right there! A movie that made it a tad disturbing for me to endure was "Derailed" (2005). While a mugger raped a guy's girlfriend (well, not really his girlfriend, you just gotta see the flick) right in front of him!

There is a rape scene in the film "Irreversible" that is completely depraved and horrifying. The same film also features appalling violence unlike anything I've seen.

I thought "Last House.." was actually a well-made film. Hard to stomach and not everyone's cup of tea for sure, but not trash.

Just saw Eastern Promises (2007). What is rape, in this movie it appears to be non-consensual sex as a sex-slave and it's depicted without any glamour, nor any special, exciting, violent activity, it just is - a demeaning, cruel, non-exciting, non-interesting act that seems to provide a male individual some but not a lot of satisfaction. It's perhaps a tragic, non-glorified, brief look at a terrifying business that occurs around the world and perhaps even in our own country.

quote:

Originally posted by Nhazghaal:
Also! There was some movie with a long, graphic Dakota Fanning rape scene(!) not too long ago. It debuted at some festival and nobody in their right mind would pick it up because it was so reviled by all. So it's probably doomed to be lost forever, but as bad as it sounds I kind of want to see it at some point because I hate Dakota Fanning so much.

That's Hounddog. I haven't heard of much positive reception, but I think it's the kind of movie with so much hoopla around it that independent assessment is the only possible means of determining its quality.

What was the reason for this question?

quote:

Originally posted by calibelle82:
What was the reason for this question?

That's a very good question! This is some morbid subject-matter, indeed. Where did Lil go?

It's for a school research project.

quote:

Originally posted by marky f of the Moderating Bunch: It's for a school research project.

I kinda figured that. I was just curious as to WHY Lil chose this particular topic. I'm not saying he's/she's sick and twisted or nothin' like that. Just curious. He/She only gave us a single question and never came back.

This has been a pretty interesting thread, though.