Sexism Watch: Date Rape Gets Mainstream Film Release
I have pretty much ignored the new Seth Rogen film Observe and Report coming out tomorrow. I saw him on the Daily Show earlier this week and all Jon Stewart talked about was his weight loss, and on SNL last weekend they made fun of the fact that he is in the second mall security guard comedy this season. Yes, you read it right. This is the second mall security guard film.
Over the last day I've started to notice some disturbing posts about the film and date rape. So I forced myself to watch the trailer and there for all the world to see is Seth Rogen raping the passed out Anna Faris (a woman who is supposed to protect from a streaker.) She is clearly not able to make a conscious decision, her eyes are closed and there is a trail of vomit on the pillow. She is being raped but since it's a comedy they can mitigate it by giving Rogen a moment where his brain goes "huh, maybe she's unconscious" and stops pumping briefly only to hear Faris shout out something like "Why are you stopping motherfxxxer?" Like that makes it ok. Passed out screaming implies consent. Bad premise.
I'm just wondering what some guys will think about when they come out of this film. We all know there is so much sexual violence perpetrated against women that having a film like this treat this epidemic so lightly is shocking.
And how can a film like this get an R rating? Depicting sexual violence as a comedic vehicle is just not ok. Seth Rogen used to be a stoner schlub and now he's a stalking, date raping mall security guard. He's going to play a super hero next in one of the comic book movies so his career is on the fast track.
Both Rogen and Faris have been offering excuses for the film and with all due respect Farris needs to seriously consider her career because funny and stupid (The House Bunny) is one thing, but making fun of being raped is in a whole different category.
To her credit even Faris thought the script would be toned down:
...when I read the script, I thought, "Well, this is Warner Brothers. This is a studio movie, so this is all gonna be softened up. It's a comedy, right?" So when we were shooting it, even the date-rape scene--or as I refer to it, "The Tender Love-Making Scene"--I just thought, "We'll shoot it, but it's not gonna be in the movie. I don't have to worry about that one." And yet there it is.(H/T Tiger Beatdown)
But I guess the point is that because the scene wasn't a problem and didn't need to be toned down shows us another example of Hollywood's misogynistic treatment of women. Do these guys (and probably some women) who greenlight these movies think about their sisters and daughters?
The message is that date rape is appropriate comic fodder for a mainstream Hollywood comedy. This film makes Knocked Up's sexism mild.
Sady at Tiger Beatdown sums it up best:
maybe I've reached the precise point at which I cannot be a "good sport" any longer and that is the point at which I am asked to pay ten fucking dollars plus however much a soda is these days for a movie that may very well insult me and every woman who's ever had an unwanted dick shoved into her body. I could talk about how, even though I got warned in advance, even though I won't be seeing the movie, the incredible frequency of rape and sexual assault in our society means that many, many victims of rape will see it, and the PTSD that often accompanies rape will mean that, for a joke, for some dipshit filmmaker's attempt at being edgy, they are going to experience all of the pain and psychological trauma associated with that experience, they are going to feel that rape all over again, there, in their seats, in the theater, and they are going to pay for the experience, and if they try to talk about what that filmmaker did to them it's probably going to get sidetracked into some conversation about the Sanctity of Art which is invariably given more consideration than their actual lives.
Here's an idea. Don't see this movie this weekend. Stand up and say no. Why should we spend our good money watching a movie where we get raped for comedic purposes?
Rape is not funny. Ever.
Anna Faris (AV Club)
Does Seth Rogen Rape Anna Faris in Observe and Report? (The Vulture)
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Date rape is a major issue for women because a lot of date rapists don't get persecuted, walk, and strike again.
When I was a freshman in high school, two upper classman put date rape pills in my ice water and I almost drank it. Another upperclassman & his friends realized what was in my drink and beat those men. They saved me from being raped and I was a virgin, it would have been devastating to me. Those men who beat the would-be rapists up served about 5 years in jail. I was sad that they had to spend time in jail for me, yet thankful that they spared me a rape.
I went on to get a full scholarship to college but I am very doubtful that I would have the same future if I had been raped by those two young men.
Marital Rape is another serious issue too. If the date rape or marital rape not being taken seriously concerns you, look up the laws in your state because some states are very lenient on date rape and marital rape. Write your representatives and change the laws before someone you love is hurt. http://www.geocities.com/heather_inks
I see nothing funny in the premise of date rape. As an aside, who told this Rogen guy he was the least bit funny in the first place? His humor is lower than sophmoric, if humor at all!
"What will guys think?"
They'll think it's a comedy, a work of fiction, maybe good or maybe bad depending on their individual taste. That's all. There have been innumerable black comedies over the years, using such sensitive and serious topics as the Holocaust to cancer to rape in order to elicit laughter.
Most adults can deal with that without being so "offended" as this author seems to be. It's people like her who actually say things like, "There's nothing funny about [fill in the blank]." Absolutely not true! And every comedic writer and comedian worth his/her salt will say just that. NOTHING is off limits. Nothing at all. People ought to have the complete and total freedom to satirize, mock and mine for laughter, anything that exists in this world.
Are you offended by Springtime for Hitler in The Producers? I suppose not, because it was funny, therefore it worked. And that's the difference -- good jokes and bad jokes are born from the same place. So a date rape joke in this movie may not be funny. OK. So it didn't work. But they were trying to create comedy, not some sinister pro-rape propaganda inciting all guys to go out and abuse women.
Stop being so self-important and allow people the freedom to find laughs wherever they can.
"Are you offended by Springtime for Hitler in The Producers?"
Mel Brooks is Jewish, which changes the context. Had it been a German writer/director who did this I think the reaction would have been profoundly different. I don't think Observe and Report is written by a woman is it? Smart comedy knows where and when it can cross that line. It's like on the show The Office when Michael Scott does Chris Rock's standup routine. That character doesn't get that him repeating that routine isn't funny, it's just offensive. Context is everything in comedy.
The movie is produced by Warner Bros and I plan on boycotting them. Young boys & young men who watch this movie will be influenced. I was a public school teacher for years as well as a teacher for a special school with 93% rape victims - there will be NO convincing me that films like this don't warp impresionable minds because THEY DO. Science can even show the PERMANENT damage via mapping in the brain that a young man 10-18 will experience if he watches a date rape scene disguised as sick comedy.
It takes many years, counseling, and pharm drugs to UNDO things that young boys see that cause faulty pathways in their brain - I will be finishing a PhD in this so unless you have a PhD and research to boot - no convincing me otherwise as I have spent my LIFE researching the brain.
This is why it is so difficult for rape victims to heal from PTSD - noises, scenes, or trigger words have deep pathways burned in the brain by emotions of pain and fear from the rape.
The economy is down, our dollars are powerful, true boycotts now could bankrupt some businesses. I am making a list of boycotted businesses, producers, actors, and actresses. Super easy diretions on how to boycott businesses that mock rape and it's victims:
http://www.ehow.com/how_4917778_supporting-companies-publicly-support-rape.html
Interesting how heated a discussion about a movie can become when not one participant in this forum -- not even the author of the article! -- has seen the movie being argued about. You cannot make the kinds of judgements everyone seems to be making here, whether for or against, without seeing the scene in question in full and in context.
Can you think of one single context where a rape is acceptable?????????????????????????
In the real world, no, but within the context of a comedy, of course! Any number of criminal acts are unacceptable in life, but in fiction anything is possible and permissible. My God, get a hold of yourself. This kind of political correctness is grotesque.
No, but we're not talking about a rape, or an endorsement of rape. We're talking about a joke about rape. Black humor has been around for centuries and comedic invention can make just about anything funny.
Making a joke about something neither approval nor disapproval, but an acknowledgement of absurdity. We need that.
While I praise the Melissa Silverstien bravery for boycotting a movie she had no interest in seeing I do not agree with her. In fact I'm really insulted with this statement.....
"I'm just wondering what some guys will think about when they come out of this film. We all know there is so much sexual violence perpetrated against women that having a film like this treat this epidemic so lightly is shocking."
I'm perplex by this. Hopefully she is not stating that an adult male after seeing this film will be convinced that date rape would be a hoot in a "monkey see-monkey do" sort of way. I don't believe anyone is on the fence when it comes to date rape and somehow this movie will tip the balance to a pro-rape stance.
Perhaps she also believe that we should keep teenagers from playing videogames because they might shoot up a school.
Oh, and toYTREWQ321 who stated...
"Couldn't Rogen just wallop himself in the balls instead? I know I'd find that more humorous and satisfying."
So the tally is..
Violence against women: Should not be in movies because it's the worst thing ever.
Violence against men: Hysterical. AND SATISFYING!
Yeah....hypocrite.
The extent to which you don't get is mind-boggling! There is no balance to be tipped. Many people in our society, men and women both, don't see date-rape as rape. The excuses as to why it wasn't rape are endless, but include:
Oh, she said no, but if she really meant no she wouldn't have continued (kissing, hugging, sitting next to...) me.
She enjoyed it.
She gave consent when she came back to my place/invited me to her place.
Date rape is not funny. Violence against either women or men isn't funny. This is a serious issue that should not be taken lightly.
Comedy is based on pain, whether it's physical or psychological. You laugh when baby fall down and go boom, but baby not laugh because baby in pain. If you don't believe me, watch any given episode of AMERICA'S FUNNIEST HOME VIDEOS.
In regards to "The extent of which I don't get.." you do realize that we are in agreement that there is no balance to be tipped. That was my entire point. People either have a moral compass or they don't. A movie scene isn't going to change that.
Also I made no statement in defense of "many people's" view of date rape. The list of excuses was a rather needless and off subject.
"an adult male will come out....thinking date rape is a hoot..." Maybe not a mature 45 year old man. But, evidently you don't have any male teenagers or young twenties. I do, and while I hope I've raised mine right, I hear the way their friends talk. And how their girlfriends act. And these are just the type who will flock to this movie. I'm not amongst the politically correct but this is pretty disturbing .
It's a stupid comedy. Why minimize a common violent crime and trigger past victims just for a couple of laughs - laughs that will never come because the subject matter isn't even funny. Couldn't Rogen just wallop himself in the balls instead? I know I'd find that more humorous and satisfying.
And I'm with you, Melissa, I will never see this movie nor anything else Seth Rogen is involved in ever again. This is last straw territory. I'm done.
Like comedies about War? Let's boycott Jack Black, Ben Stiller, and Robert Downey Jr. for getting cheap laughs out of war! Even worse, Downey Jr. was in blackface!
Or murder in general...so there goes the stupid comedies like Rush Hour, Pineapple Express, Beverley Hills Cop, etc...
I don't find any of that funny to begin with.
And there are movies out there that use rape in a much more offensive and throwaway fashion...such as "I Spit On Your Grave" or a few movies directed by Takeshi Miike (forgive my spelling if I got that wrong). Those films use it for shock value alone, to get cheap "Oh My Gods!!" out of the audience.
From what I've read about the movie (admittedly I haven't seen the entire thing), the whole date-rape scene may serve a larger purpose in the movie besides "a couple of laughs."
Hmmm...after reading your article, it sounds to me like you have neither seen nor heard the true premise of the movie. It's supposed to be "disturbingly" funny, as both Seth Rogen and a fellow HuffPost contributor have already pointed out. I believe Rogen even referred to it as a satirical/comedic take on a Taxi Driver-esques character. Sounds like a scene that's supposed to make the lead character (Rogen) even more despicable.
But you know, I haven't seen the movie (and I will this weekend), so I won't leap to a conclusion just yet. In the future, I suggest you do the same.
...and in the interest of full disclosure (and via the advice of my girlfriend)) before or in case things get ugly and personal, I am in fact one of those guys who was a victim of date rape. Yeah, it happens. So please don't pull that "it happened to me and you'll never understand" card.
Sorry, and I know this will open me up to claims of misogyny, but I don't see the problem here. This is a free speech issue and as I've said numerous times on this forum you do not have the right not to be offended. Your, or rather Sady's, argument about PTSD is interesting, but is it any different than a war veteran with PTSD who may see a film with an unexpectedly violent scene?
Comedians are constantly pushing the boundaries and whether they wrote it, greenlit it, or acted in it that does not make them misogynistic. I will say that there should be a warning on the movie poster and in the previews warning of the scene (i.e. Rated R for RAPE, SEXUAL CONTENT, ADULT LANGUAGE,etc.) but anything more than that is overkill.
Again, this is not because I am misogynistic only because I value free speech. Incidentally, I applaud your call for a boycott of the film, using your free speech to speak out against this is a good move. Please remember though, you do not decide what is funny for anyone other than yourself.
Censorship is not cool. Ever.
Peace
I think the author clearly demonstrates a reason to be offended by the film, and by the industry that dismisses the crime of rape so casually.
Many a comedian produces work that is founded on racist or misogynistic assumptions. If they choose to make money and benefit from racist jokes, that is their prerogative. But public scorn and bad press is the price they pay for that choice. That is not censorship.
There's a hot dog place in my city that's known for the way the counter staff and 20-something white male patrons exchange insults and racial epithets. It's supposed to be hilarious, so post-pc. It wasn't until (in a comedy show) it was pointed out to me that that place was just a minstrel show that I appreciated how cheap, and hackneyed that joke was.
They're still open, and they should be. But I'm glad someone opened my eyes to just how stupid their shtick was before I got food poisoning.
Comedians have the right to be hacks. And they deserve to be called hacks when they make that choice. Censure is not the same thing as censorship.
Free speech allows me to say I find this kind of joke repulsive. And to repeat it, I find it repulsive. And to repeat again, I find it repulsive. Melissa Silverstein has, like you pointed out yourself, the same right. As for the "do not decide for anyone other than yourself" part - well, both the article writer and every single other person have the right to point out whatever one wants. MS points out that finding date rape funny is sexist. I happen to agree.
No joke is without context. I don't believe anyone will leave the movie thinking "hey, date rape is fun, let me go drug someone". But I do believe that if you laugh of this scene, you have a lesser attitude to women than healthy is. And free speech allows me to say just that.
I have a lesser attitude to people than healthy is, Lillian.
I worked in a facility with 93% rape victims, I worked in public schools, I studied some psych at the university, and we have millions with bipolar, mood disorders, pyschopathological problems, and more in the US - so in fact, there WILL be SICK people who will watch this scene in the movie and CHOOSE to REPEAT this scene on someone else. They are called psychopaths or narcissists, this is not a mental illness but a personality disorder. That means simply, that is it THEIR CHOICE on a deep level to purposely inflict pain on someone. People with these disorders are not devoid of empathy or sympathy, but instead, they see and understand what causes pain in someone else and then they try to exploit it for their own sick pleasure. We have millions of these people walking the streets in the US because most states don't have enough mental institutions to house them anymore or they outpatient them. I was a teacher at a special school for victims of these people - so "yes, some people will watch this movie and purposely chose to act out the scene to hurt and destroy someone else." That is a fact. Several females with this disorder are in the news who have sexually assaulted/ murdered either their own child or someone elses. These sick people will FLOCK to see this movie - they will hurt people. People like myself will help the victims of their selfish sickness heal from abuse and trauma.
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