46: A Difficult But Necessary Subject

Movies deal with the worst of life as well as the best - and sometimes they get it right.

Kathleen Norris on A Difficult But Necessary Subject

Advisory: This essay discusses sexual violence in cinema.

This is an ugly subject, and is especially difficult to write about when the stalking, raping, and even murdering of women is a popular form of “entertainment.” While some progress has been made in the way rapes are investigated and prosecuted, and rape victims often get better medical and psychological care than they did 50 years ago, we still have a long way to go in terms of cultural attitudes. 

An actor recently told me about a private screening of a friend’s film that she attended with her husband, also an actor. One scene depicting a brutal rape compelled her to walk out. In relating the incident she said: “I can’t believe the director and producers didn’t realize by now that you can’t subject a woman to something like that with no warning.”