Yesterday I watched 2 films (I did other things as well - my life is very full). The films were: The Killer Inside Me and The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo. Both films contain strong sexual violence. Just watching one of these films would be pretty disturbing, so perhaps watching one after the other wasn't the smartest move.
In both films the sexual violence is perpetrated against women. It all felt a little misogynistic to me. I don't jump to accusations of misogyny or sexism based on the inclusion of violence (especially sexual violence) against women in a film or a novel. If the narrative allows a context for such violence then it should be included - eg showing how rape is used as a tool of war. But I had issues with the portrayals of violence in these two films.
In The Killer Inside Me, the main (male) character is a violently sadistic psychopath, so certainly his violence is not out of place. What bothered and annoyed me was the portrayal of the women he abuses. There was very little development of their characters - which is annoying in of itself (so often female characters are poorly drawn) - but more information about the women could have given some insight into their disturbing (in my opinion) reactions to the violence perpetrated against them. Without a context for their apparent acceptance of the violence, it's difficult not to see the (quite graphic) scenes in which they are beaten as an expression of hatred (against women).
In The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo, the main female character (Lisbeth Salander) is violently raped. I don't believe this needed to happen. The events which lead to her violation are very contrived. It almost seemed as though the writer (the film is based on a novel, as is The Killer Inside Me) wanted to include a graphic rape - it felt exploitative. In my opinion, Lisbeth, who is fiercely intelligent and wildly brave, would've found a way around her circumstances to prevent herself being raped. Interestingly, the English translation of the novel's Swedish title is: Men Who Hate Women.
Thankfully, tonight I'll be watching Dr Who.
3 comments:
Effulgent 13: What a twin bill! Such nicely produced
violence is also available nightly in every opening sequence of a Law and Order- whatever- or an SVU-whatchamacallit -(Special Victims Unit), during which there is one guaranteed rape + dismemberment of (at least) one female.
I saw Dragon Tattoo last summer. Though I knew what was in the offing, I had solace, knowing that the heroine would respond in kind to her tormentor. Do psychotherapists call that "Completion?" I also like the super researcher/ninja archetype.
One of my super brainy friends who is psychic and worked all his life at DOD (!) loves Dr. Who.
ps please consider that a hug
Thanks for hug.
I tend to watch/read 'high impact' stories - ones which may contain disturbing themes/violence/sexual violence - so I'm not easily offended. But I object to these things being put into a story for entertainment (& to make money)- SVU is a good example. But of course this is subjective - eg someone else may think Lisbeth's rape was crucial for her character's development (& her revenge was very powerful). The Dragon Tattoo (Millenium) books/movies are very popular and I suspect much of that is due to Lisbeth - an engaging female character. So it's a little frustrating, when there are so few engaging female characters (especially lead characters), that she also has to get raped.
Only the most super-brainyist of people watch Dr Who!
A psychic at DOD - sounds a little Men Who Stare at Goats (Jedi mind tricks etc)
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