Sexual violence on film and tv is so prolific it puts me off the tele.

[Crazykefir]

Family watching a film after dinner again I've had to excuse myself.
Is it just me but violence especially sexual violence is so common in modern drama that I often find myself with nothing to watch.
It's all centered around the violent act. And to be honest I find it generally pervy,voyeuristic and from a male gaze.
Once in a blue moon a drama deals with sexual violence from the perspective of the victim.
Is it just me that doesn't find depections of rape entertaining.
Knowing what we know now about the powerful people in Hollywood I find it even more sinister.is it just me?

I've listened to that radio documentary it's really sad that its eight years old however the themes are more relivent today.

Haha Millie Tant!

Shetland was one of the few dramas that dealt with rape sensitively . Female writers .

I can’t understand why the film makers even do this commercially (as well as morally). it’s like 50% of their audience just don’t matter.

I agree. I think after it happened to me, I started seeing it in everything. I feel it's more insidious than this as well - there doesn't need to be a rape scene for me to feel that the purpose of a scene, is to show a woman as humiliated and degraded.

Some years ago when my kids were younger we watched an animated film with guinea pigs. I don't remember the plot, but I do remember there were 6 or 8 guinea pigs, mostly male and with 2 females, who were the bloody love interests. In an animated kids film! And yes, it failed the Bechdel test. Who the hell makes this rubbish? What are they thinking?

Back to VAWG, try Deadloch (Amazon Prime). It turns the tables and is hilarious.

Law and Order SVU remains a standout show for that reason. The original L&O, now brought back, is also quite sensitive, as is the newer L&O Toronto. I also find some true crime shows to be sensitive, the ones that don't sensationalize everything.

Thanks for the Deadloch rec. I love Madeleine Sami 💖

Oh I used to like law and order and Shetland was mentioned on that radio programme.
I think the reason sexual violence is so prolific is that the makers simultaneously get a kick out of it and appeal to the lowest common demmonitator, ultithey can make money. I'll have to give deadloch a watch.

Thank you for bringing this up, I completely agree. I was at a heavy metal festival this weekend with a mixed group of middle aged friends.

A French band called Celeste, all male, saw fit to display a video on the main stage, of a woman being violently raped. It was in film noir ‘arty’ style, black and white, using a slender French model and the brutality of the movement, the facial expressions etc were really disturbing. They are very proud of this video, directed by a man called Gregoire Orio.

I’m not the sort of person to make a fuss but I properly panicked, became tearful and had to leave. My female friend must have felt the same as she followed me a few minutes later.
One of our male friends said ‘well, she killed him at the end of the video’ and ‘they were probably trying to raise awareness’ and I properly lost my shit at him.

It was totally incongruous and unnecessary. The lyrics bore no relationship to the video (confirmed by the friend with us who was brought up in France) and it was just glamorised rape culture writ large.

Someone brought it up on the forum afterwards and she was rounded upon by some of the men who thought it was tame. The fact that they are so desensitised to it - and indeed probably enjoyed watching it - is deeply disturbing. I said to my friend that as a bloke, he has absolutely no right to say how women should feel or respond to this and to his credit, he did shut up. Husband v supportive too.

Bloody hell @TinyRebel that sounds really disturbing, I'm not sure many women would be OK with it. So fucking depressing men even now are allowed to do this sort of shit and get away with it. They wouldn't show a lynching.

I'm not surprised the men on that forum were desensitised to what sounds like a horrific video, @TinyRebel. They are probably, like a significant number of men, pornsick to find it tame.

I don't think you can discuss the proliferation of sexual violence in the media without acknowledging the recent rampant, increased use of and access to hardcore pornography. It's embedded in our culture and makes every man doolally.

Yes it's linked to violent porn. It's a wartered down version for the mainstream.

An article on the subject from today's Guardian by Anita Chaudhuri
https://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/2024/dec/17/the-tv-killing-spree-why-are-so-many-smash-hit-shows-about-women-being-murdered

Missed this thread when originally posted but agree with all of you. I think the constant showing of such acts and consistent female only nudity on TV is awful. It drives me crazy. It's lazy writing, production and directing (by men) to appeal to a male only audience. Why on earth people want to sit and watch sexual violence I do not know.

The other thing I have noticed recently is when we do have a woman lead, or director/writer/producer they talk about their decisions to show rapes and female nudity as 'empowering' and that they have taken back control. I can't see it as anything other than repeating the same old tropes.

The french film showing sounds horrendous, how can anyone have defended it? I am really concerned that the consistent normalisation of rape and messaging will actually lead to young men thinking it's acceptable, especially when also taking into consideration the abundance of violent pornography that exists. Very scary.

I agree.

Why is there so much violence on TV? It isn't entertaining (to me).

An interesting article. I wonder if the reason for unbalanced portrayal of violence against women, is that if it were men killing men, women wouldn't watch it due to not being able to identify with either victim or perpetrator? And it is easier than having women play other significant parts in the plot?

On that note, it's good to see women playing major roles like police investigators e.g. Shetland (latest series).

I think you are in error to join film and free to view tv in the same category.

I watch only tv and have seen very little sex. The last image was a 1 second flash of a nude, top only, female and that was from a classic Mid Summer Murder episode. Hardly racy

Films. Yes you should do due diligence to avoid unpleasant scenes.

I feel the same way. I often feel sick after watching something like that. I especially hate the romanticization of rape - young woman in a film, artistically crying/looking sad, staring out the window post-assault. The effect of rape and SA should never be romanticized; it's not romantic, it's horrible and sickening and often leaves you feeling and acting crazy, not like a brave wounded romantic heroine.

Stick with older shows (pre-2000s) before the degenerates took over tv and film

Completely agree with this. It also annoys me that writers seem to use rape as a catalyst for character growth. It’s like you can’t have a strong female character in a drama without some kind of sexual assault in her background.

Sansa Stark in Game of Thrones was the first time I noticed this, but I’ve seen it so many times since. It’s so depressing.

it’s almost like men get off on it…