Rape Culture: Film Analysis

In the very beginning of this course, we learned about “rapeculture.” In the preamble of Transforming a Rape Culture we learned a clear definition of what rape culture means, the authors state that: rape culture is a culture in which violence is seen as sexy and sexuality is seen as violent. In addition to this definition, the rest of the readings and the film The Hunting Ground went on to explain that our culture not only allows for rape, we somewhat encourage it by neither teaching about it so it can be prevented, not punishing all those who participate in it. I remember it clearly when the “yes means yes” law was passed last year, and how all my friends joked about it, but I have always been the most aware of what is okay and what …show more content…
The fact that we are all college students, and The Hunting Ground talked about people who fit our descriptions really hit home. Immediately after watching the film I had my friends watch it, and be more aware of what is happening on campus, and even after we leave college. It is crazy to think that any of my guy friends would think like the guys in the film who believe that having sex with a girl after she says no is okay, or that if she’s drunk she is asking for it. That together with what Diana Russell said that over 50% of UCLA students who were given a rape scenario, but not told it was rape, said they would act in such a way, made me feel so helpless. I like to think that my friends are better than that, but the film made me start to second guess that thought. I cannot imagine how many college rape stories have been covered by fraternity brothers, friends, teammates, chancellors, presidents, and deans. Out of my friends I have always been the one whose shoulder they seem to lean on, and the safe keeper of secrets, but I could never keep something that frustrating to myself, and I could never tell someone a secrete that is not mine to tell. The movie taught me that there is help, and although many of these cases go unresolved, there are people fighting for those girls, and that is what I would have to do if something like that ever happened to my friends. The reason that college students are accepting of this behavior is because when the victim is finally strong enough to stand up for herself, the rapist goes unpunished and the victim is somehow blamed for it. Rape culture is all around the media, and it teaches men that women “play” hard to get, when in reality they crave that male dominance and