Rape culture in U.S. cinema

Temps de lecture : 8 minutes

Rape culture in American cinema

12.10.2020

Written by Laura Delcamps 

Translated by Chloé Lusven

Rape culture is defined by a number of behaviors that promote, minimize and normalize rape, is present in all strata of society and reinforces the idea that women are men’s property^[1]Ryan Broderick, Jessica Testa, Heben Nigatu et Anais Bordages, « La culture du viol, c’est quoi ? », 29 April 2014, Buzz Feed, … Continue reading.

In cinema, rape culture is often represented through a few (chosen) popular beliefs like the woman is seen as weak but seductive, and the man seduces her into submission with his charm or money, or like saying “no” to sexual intercourse turns into “yes” when the man insists. These clichés are ingrained into the collective psyche and it contributes to violence against women being tolerated. This series of articles’ goal is to show how present rape culture is in movies in different parts of world. In this particular article, we’ll talk about US made movies, and how Hollywood movies, Disney classics and blockbusters keep on feeding the idea that women are responsible for being harassed and being victims of violence.

The Harvey Weinstein case and the #MeToo movement

2017 was a turning point for the women’s rights movement and the impunity that men in cinema benefitted from^[2]Laura Delcamp, « La culture du viol dans le monde du cinéma en Europe », septembre 2020, Institut du genre en Géopolitique, https://igg-geo.org/?p=2016. On October 5th 2017, The New York Times published an investigation about Harvey Weinstein, a Hollywood award-winning American producer, that had been accused by several celebrities including actresses such as Rose McGowan and ex-employees (80 women in total) of sexual harassment and assault^[3]Marie-Laura Delorme, « Affaire Harvey Weinstein, la grande enquête », 22 August 2020, Le Point, https://www.lepoint.fr/livres/affaire-harvey-weinstein-la-grande-enquete-22-08-2020-2388576_37.php. This case has had unprecedented consequences in the USA but also in the world at large because, through the #MeToo hashtag, thousands of women and men, famous or not, tweeted about the sexual violence and/or rape they had endured, at the hands of famous or everyday people. The #MeToo movement also had a significant impact on rape culture, as it showed how common sexual violence is. The impunity from which men in media and in general benefitted from was revealed at a grand scale, when feminist movements had been fighting for this injustice to be acknowledged for years^[4]Tanguy Grannis, « Le patriarcat sans (le) pouvoir ? Les hommes et le féminisme après #MeToo », Nouvelles Questions Féministes, vol. 39, no. 1, 2020, pp. 116-131.. In early 2020, Harvey Weinstein was found guilty of rape and sexual assaults, and sentenced to 23 years in prison^[5]Pauline Fricot, « Harvey Weinstein condamné à 23 ans de prison », 11 March 2020, Libération, … Continue reading. But then, how to explain this impunity from which perpetrators have been benefitting for years in the cinema industry and other industries? How does rape culture expresses itself in the USA, a country that is well-known for its successful Hollywood movies? Harvey Weinstein was the perfect example of the “untouchable“ Hollywood mogul who decided women’s fate as he pleased^[6]Mymy Haegel, « Retour sur l’affaire Weinstein, le scandale qui a tout ébranlé », 25 August 2019, Madmoizelle, https://www.madmoizelle.com/affaire-weinstein-consequences-1015240. As Gerald Warton wrote in 2017: “Culture does not determine our beliefs and behaviours; it only influences them. Men have choices beyond culturally prescribed norms of masculinity“^[7]Gerald Walton, « What rape culture says about masculinity », 17 October 2017, The Conversation, https://theconversation.com/what-rape-culture-says-about-masculinity-85513. Then, how to explain how persistent rape culture is in Northern American cinema?

American society, between decorum and sensationalism

As is often the case, movies are a mirror of the society in which they were created. In the USA, the so-called “morals” are very important, both in public and in private. Crimes, including sexual assault, are repressed by society (even if they are less so in the judicial system). There is an ambivalence in American society, as it wishes to preserve a political, economic and family ideal but also does not hesitate to normalize rape and that can be explained by deeply-rooted stereotypes. The saying “boys will be boys” is a perfect example of how much men’s behavior is excused: they rape because they have uncontrollable needs so it is not their fault. This type of masculine representation is pregnant in movies and is based on beliefs and myths coming from our patriarchal societies, that place men in a superior position to women, in every sphere of life. In the movie musical Grease (1978) by Randal Kleiser, or in Ted (2012) a comedy by Seth MacFarlane, sexual harassment is trivialised on the pretense of humor^[8]Ariane Lange, « 11 Films That Make Sexual Harrasment A Joke », 18 August 2020, Buzzfeed, https://www.buzzfeed.com/arianelange/sexual-harassment-as-a-joke-in-movies. Rape and sexual assault jokes are frequent and the audience even forgets that these are crimes, punishable by law. This trivialization of violence can be explained in great part by how much patriarchy is predominant in American society, where the man, thanks to his gender and his sex, is above everything, even laws^[9]Patricia Paulson, « Rape Culture in Disney Animated Princess Movies », Cornerstone, Minnesota State University, 2018, p. 11, … Continue reading.

Rape representation in movies

Moreover, some directors do not hesitate to stage rape scenes in a very visual and chocking way, as it can be seen in the movie Millenium (2011) by David Fincher, The last house on the left (2009) by Denis Iliadis or A Clockwork Orange (1971) by Stanley Kubrick. These three movies show rape as a spectacle, in sensationalist fashion, that would satisfy some of the audience members’ morbid curiosity. The interest, cinematically speaking, to show a scene with such sexual violence can be questioned. Some will say that showing violence allows to prove that it exists, others will say that movies must take on the topic of rape so it is not only seen as a “show”. Movies should also show the consequences of this violence, and explain the trauma that victims can experience^[10]Elena Lazic, « Film depictions of sexual violence are increasingly alarming. It has to stop », 14 March 2008, The Guardian, … Continue reading.

Furthermore, a lot of movies showing rape scenes perpetuate the idea that the woman is only a victim, that she will stay that way her whole life, without being able to leave her tr
auma behind. Once again, male writers and directors show the woman as a passive object, not as a subject capable of owning her destiny. Representation of rape and its consequences for women should not only show her as a victim, but also as a resilient person, that fights to get justice. Unfortunately, rape culture also manifests in a more implicit, insidious way in cinema, most notably in children films.

Disney movies: promoting rape culture from an early age

Female led Disney’s animated movies such as Snow White and the seven dwarves (1937), Beauty and the Beast (1991), or more recently Frozen (2013) all have one thing in common: promoting gender stereotypes. An American study called “Rape Culture in Disney Animated Princess Movies” (2018)^[11]See supra, note 9, p. 10. has analyzed several Disney movies where the main character is a princess to show how some aspects of rape culture are represented. Patricia Paulson, the author, explains the consequences that these movies can have on how children see relationships between men and women: “It is difficult for children to differentiate between fantasy and reality (Smith et al. 2010) and this can also be seen in adults that accept rape myths as facts and continue to victimize women based on stereotypes and myths”^[12]Ibid, p. 14.. Be it Ariel in The Little Mermaid (1989), Esmeralda in The Hunchback of Notre-Dame (1996) or Rapunzel in Tangled (2010), the woman is seen as an object, dependent on men, and that only finds happiness in marriage^[13]Jenna Dorsi, « Why These Disney Films May Help Perpetuate Rape Culture », 27 October 2017, Teen Vogue, https://www.teenvogue.com/story/disney-films-rape-culture.  The Hunchback of Notre-Dame is particularly representative of rape culture in the character of Frollo, that wants to seduce Esmeralda, and goes to such lengths as burning Paris when she does not respond to his advances (he also blames her for his sins)^[14]See supra, note 9, p. 24.. Cette dernière est également menacée de mort par Frollo. Frollo even threatens to kill her. Even if these movies are fiction, it has been proven that images and stories have a great influence on children, even at a young age^[15]Ibid, p. 14.. In order to fight gender stereotypes, Patricia Paulson makes this theory: “It is also hoped that Disney will continue the trend in their movies of empowering girls by showing that they can complete heroic rescues, defend themselves, and demand more equality in their treatment by others. Many young girls grow up wanting to be a princess, and Disney has the power to change these ideals in an extremely powerful way” ^[16]Ibid, p. 33..

Showing women and girls that don’t need to be rescued by a prince or don’t have to get married to be saved or to be accomplished could a first idea for children to have a better vision of relationships between men and women.

More women in cinema: a lead to end rape culture

In order to counterbalance a very masculine and sexist vision of American-produced movies, there has to be more female directors, producers, etc. The actress Keira Knightley put it this way: “When there are female writers and directors and producers, the parts for women are better, and so the way that society views women through drama is much better and much more well rounded”^[17]Brent Lang, « Keira Knightley on ‘Colette’, Pushing for Social Change, and if She’ll Ever Direct », 16 January 2018, Variety, … Continue reading. It is true that in the United States, women’s representation is very narrow, in the creative process and on the screen. A study published in 2016 showed that in Hollywood, there is only 7% of female directors and only 18% of movies count at least two women among the three main characters (analysis based on 2,000 American movies)^[18]Hanah Anderson et Matt Daniels, « Film Dialogue from 2,000 screenplays, Broken Down by Gender and Age », April 2016, The Pudding, https://pudding.cool/2017/03/film-dialogue/index.html.

Only having films made by men can be problematic because they will spread one vision of society, one vision of women. Including more main female characters, whose happiness and success does not rely on a man, would send a strong message of gender equality to young women and girls, but also to young men and boys. Cinema is a way to spread more modern values and vision of society, and women in movies can change minds that way. In Marvel and DC superhero movies for example, we had to wait 2019 to see a superheroine headlining a movie, with Captain Marvel (directed by Anna Boden and Ryan Fleck). More and more, children grow up with diverse role models, but we still have a long way to go on the path to gender equality.

Conclusion

Thanks to the #MeToo movement, victims of sexual violence or sexual harassment, women and men, have been able to make their voices heard. This movement shone a light on how pregnant rape culture is in American society, be it through the impunity of men accused of agression or rape, or the normalization of violence done to women in film. Rape culture can be explained by the predominance of social norms, myths and beliefs that place the man at the center of society and tell him that he can do whatever he wants to women without consequences. Hollywood is now trying to include more gender equality with its choices of authors, directors, scenarii and producers, and to give women more opportunities. In 2019 for exemple, 45% of female characters appeared in movies produced by main studios, whereas in 2018 it was 32%^[19]Marie Dis, « Plus de femmes dans les films : Hollywood, sur la voie de la parité ? », 9 January 2020, Le Journal des Femmes, … Continue reading.

Even if there are still efforts to be made, a few movies with female leads have hit the theaters in the last few years, such as Wonder Woman 1984 (2020) by Patty Jenkins, Monster Hunter (2021) by Paul W.S. Anderson or Respect (2021), an Aretha Franklin’s biopic, by Liesl Tommy.

Next article will tackle the issue of rape culture in Latin American cinema, especially in telenovelas, famous for promoting a close-minded image of women. Machism is very present in Latin America countries, the macho role is predominant and conveys the idea that the woman must be submitted to the man.

To find the first article of this series of articles about rape culture: 
1/2 La culture du viol en Europe 

To cite this article: Laura Delcamps, “Rape culture in American cinema”, 12.10.2020, Gender in Geopolitics Institute