Violence Against Women in U.S. Film

Abstract

This paper seeks to contrast the 1988 Film The Accused with other examples of U.S. mainstream movies depicting violence against women. In so doing, this analysis does not make the claim that The Accused is the only movie to address violence and women, but rather argues it is the first cinematic endeavor to reveal the multi-dimensional aspects of rape. Other movies preceding or following The Accused are often sensationalized revenge stories. These films can then disconnect with both real female victims of violence, and their perpetrators alike. To illustrate these points a two to seven minute scene from The Accused will be examined.

Pre-1970s Violence and Women in U.S. Film

Prior to the 1970s most Hollywood roles placed a women in harms way by one of two ways. She either crossed paths with a fictional being (e.g. Dracula; 1931, Creature from the Black Lagoon; 1954), or she was the ill-fated victim of a disturbed psychopath (e.g. Psycho, 1960). As a side note the “disturbed psychopath” includes the spinoff of the slasher/final girl genre. In either cases, the leading actress often delivers her traditional bloodcurdling scream. As previously stated, this is not to say that no movie had combined violence and women prior to the 1970s or The Accused. Therefore, it is worthy to mention a few pre-1970s Hollywood endeavors to break free of the ill-fated damsel by monster or maniac. Payton Place (1957) exposed issues such as incest, rape, and abortion. Audrey Hepburn’s portray of a women attacked in her apartment by men looking for drugs separates her from being a victim of a psychopath (Wait Until Dark, 1967). Also released in 1967 was Bonnie and Clyde which contained “one of the bloodiest death scenes in cinematic history” (Rovie) to reenact the “take down” of real life outlaw Bonnie Parker.

1970s Violence Against Women in U.S. Film

By the 1970s Hollywood films addressing violence against women had drastically expanded due in part to the counterculture, drugs, and changing attitudes (Dirks). For example, Death Wish (1974) stars Charles Bronson as a husband turned vigilante after his wife is killed and daughter left catatonic from a home invasion. Coincidentally, Bronson’s wife and daughter are initially followed home from the store – an eerie parallel to the real-life Cheshire Connecticut home invasion 33 years later. In 1976 although not centered on child prostitution Jodi Foster shocked audiences when she played one at the age of 12 hiding from her abusive pimp (Taxi Driver). Also in 1976 Margaux Hemingway publicly blows away her, and her 13 year old sisters rapist with a pump action shot gun in Lipstick. Although this movie is a candid look at rape and the U.S. justice system it is a sensationalized rape-revenge story. In 1977 Gloria (Gena Rowlands) counters a cities violent mobsters to protect a small boy and defines a female pop culture gangster. In 1978 I Spit on Your Grave although not a commercial success is a noteworthy gang-rape revenge cult classic.

Post-1970s Violence Against Women in U.S. Film

Movies such as Urban Cowboy (1980), Tuff Turf (1985) Sleeping with the Enemy (1991), Thelma and Louise (1991), A Time to Kill (1996), Enough (2002), Kill Bill (2003), and The Brave One (2007) all contain domestic violence or crime against a female, yet all respond with vengeance and death. Other films such as The Color Purple (1985) and Twelve Years a Slave (2013) rightfully bring attention to the suffering of black women in the 1800s, but they are not of course representative of modern day rape and rapists.

The Accused

Sticking to raw facts director Jonathan Kaplan loosely bases The Accused (1988) on the real life gang rape of Cheryl Araujo. The movie opens with a shot of The Mill − a tavern which ominously transitions from day to night. A young male bursts through The Mill’s door and runs across the street to call 911 from a payphone. Moments later, during his 911 call Sarah (Jodi Foster) bursts from The Mill door and runs down the street screaming. She is wearing a miniskirt and clutching her torn shirt. The real victim was wearing only an unzipped jacket and a sock (Vespa). Sarah flags down a truck, jumps in, and it takes off. In reality, the men who picked up Araujo that night were Bobby Silva and brothers Michael and Dan O’Neil (Pateakos). The movie then cuts to Sarah being photographed and probed in the emergency room. Her assault is not revealed on film until the criminal solicitors of rape go on trial.

Rape Scene Examination Set-Up

Approximately three quarters of the way through the movie Kenneth (Bernie Coulson) the young man who called 911 begins to tell what he witnessed in The Mill that night. It is necessary to first set up the rape because what Kaplan does here is vital to the entire scene and movie. Rather than leave any room for the audience to entertain the idea that Sarah encourages the gang rape − he offers us everything one might view as encouragement. Kenneth Joyce begins to speak and there is crosscutting from his testimony to what actually transpired in The Mill. Joyce appears alert, honest, and sincere. He has revealed that Sara was “really sexy” as she walked through The Mill that night. The Areas of Setting are the bar, half a dozen smaller tables, booths against a wall, and a rear game room. All areas were occupied with customers, lighting was dim, and music was playing. Sarah’s friend Sally (Ann Hearn) whom she came to visit was serving patrons. Sarah’s Costume was a jean miniskirt, tank top, small black leather jacket, and black pumps. Her facial Makeup was noticeable and her blond hair teased. Props and Motifs used are keys Sarah loosely handled before tossing them into her purse, and a cigarette hanging from her lips. Sarah then removed her jacket and revealed her bare shoulders, lack of brazier, and tattoo. She smiled at a man named Danny (Woody Brown) as well as Joyce’s friend Bob (Steve Antin) whom she also joked about having sex with. Sarah consumed several drinks Danny bought her and laughed with him eyes half opened hunched over in a booth. Then, she followed Danny into the game room where no less than eight men and a woman named Angie were located. This was in addition to Sally, the bartender, and patrons throughout the bar. Joyce stated that “(Danny, Sarah, and Bob) were getting really loaded” as Sara jumped around and laughed while playing pinball with them. Notably, Sarah told Bob to “knock it off” when he attempted to touch her buttocks, and she also refused to leave with Danny while smoking marijuana with him. When a song began to play that Sarah liked she took to the center of the game room floor to dance solo. This upset Angie so she left The Mill. Men slowly gathered around Sarah as she smiled, swung her hips, and raising her arms above her head. Still dressed in her miniskirt, pumps, and tank top with no bra she was an erotic sight to see. After about one minute Sarah motioned for Danny to dance with her; which he did. Then, for about another minute she laughed with her arms around him and reciprocated his kisses.

Six Minute Rape Scene

Kaplan’s offerings of Sarah encouraging the rape stop when at ~ 23:19 remaining in the film she states through Danny’s repetitive kisses; “hey listen, hey I’ve gotta go cuz I gotta work tomorrow, I have to work, I’m a work’in thing, I’ve gotta go, I’m too drunk man, I’ve gotta go home {both Sarah’s forearms are up in front of her chest separating herself from Danny}, Mr. Funnyman I’ve gotta go {both Sarah’s arms are up and away from his body}…like…” Danny cuts off Sarah’s sentence with an unrelenting kiss lasting approximately ten seconds. A spectator shouts “come on, it’s your day” and now Joyce looks worried. Danny is backing Sarah up to the pinball machine and pulling up her skirt at the same time. Sarah protests as he is doing this “hey…hey…” {her arms are up and away}, but Danny shoves Bob away and lifts Sarah up onto the end of the machine anyway {hooting and hollering from spectators begins}. Sarah is now sitting on the end of the pinball machine and Danny is standing in between her legs. She protests again “wait, wait, wait a minute, wait a minute, hey…” {Sarah attempts to shove Danny away at his shoulders with both her palms}. At this point Danny accelerates into a frenzy of grasping and kissing about Sarah’s face, neck, and body. She protests again “hey…(faint) no…I…hey…hey…hey…”. But, Danny uses the weight of his own body to force Sarah back onto the glass. When Sarah attempts to sit up Danny places his hand on her forehead and applies pressure so that he can assault her breast. Spectators shout “go Danny! You caught the one my man, stick em!” and “right!”. Sarah is now kicking, shrieking loudly, squirming, and repeatedly attempting to sit up. The spectators are now in an uproar of excitement. They are howling like wolves, laughing, and shouting, “all right!”, “yea!”, “come on!, and “go for it!”. Danny chokes Sarah’s neck, licks her chest, and covers her mouth. A spectator shouts “he’s gonna fuck her right there! He’s gonna fuck her right there!”. A spectator stands on a booth and shouts “all right, all right Danny! You’re the man!”. Danny then yells “grab her hands Kurt!” which Kurt obeys and pins Sarah’s hands to the pinball machine. Danny keeps his hand over Sarah’s mouth while he pulls down his pants and underwear, yanks Sara’s underwear down her legs, and rapes her. Spectators shout; “come on Dan, go for it Dan! Come on big guy! Smell that new blood baby!”, “that’s it Danny make her cum!”, and “she’s lov’in it!”. After Danny rapes Sarah solicitors invite Bob to rape Sarah too with “hey college boy your next!”, “frat boy!”, and more. Sara screams “no!” when her mouth is free for a moment. After Bob rapes Sarah, solicitors then provoke Kurt into rapping Sara by suggesting that he is a “faggot”, has a “needle dick”, and “silk panties”. Kurt eventually gives in to the pressure and violently rapes Sara. Kaplan’s lens sporadically captures Sarah’s perspectives through out her assault. To her left three men stand near a pool table all of whom say and do nothing. Each of her assailants atop her are in ecstasy willfully oblivious to the pain and suffering they each inflict upon her. Beyond that, a solicitor stands on a booth cheering, pressuring, and encouraging Sarah’s three revolving assailants Danny, Bob, and Kurt. Two more cheering solicitors dressed in brown plaid and a vest stand nearby. Sarah looks to her right and sees Joyce – fear, shock, and disgust have all crossed his face. Three men are standing near him; one is wearing black plaid, a second is wearing a long-sleeved denim shirt, and a third is wearing a black t-shirt. All three men also say and do nothing. Interestingly, when Danny is raping Sarah, a glass Prop breaks prompting a man at the bar wearing a brown leather jacket to investigate the noise. While he is walking to the game room, he passes another man at a table sporting a sleeveless black t-shirt and long black ponytail. This man sitting, appears to look back in curiosity himself, but then looks away as if to dismiss the noise/matter. However later, when Sara is being raped by Bob she glimpses these two men silently standing near the game room entrance watching her get rapped. This shot is so quick it is often overlooked, yet Kaplan did answer the question ‘didn’t anyone in the bar know what was going on and check it out?’ While Sara is being raped by Kurt and solicitors are chanting “one, two, three, four, pump that pussy till it’s sore!” Joyce runs from the bar to call 911. Right after this, Sarah bites Kurt’s thumb, is able to break free, and runs screaming from the bar. Somber music leads the audience into stunned silence.

Conclusion

The rape scene in the The Accused lasted just under six minutes and is difficult to watch and read deconstructed. However, it exposed more about rape than most films previously had in ninety − which is actually how long the real rape lasted. First and foremost, Kaplan established for humanity and all time that no matter what a woman wears, says, or does she does not deserve to be raped. Second to this, it forced society to look at sexual assault in a whole new light. Sara was not rapped in alleyway by a fiend, nor by a man she knew who just did not take ‘no’ for an answer. Sarah was raped in a public establishment she felt safe in because it was filled with patrons and two staff members − one of whom was her friend. Although the real rape did not establish a legal precedence for “criminal solicitation” (Gore) Kaplan’s artistic licenses are justified because it should have. Sarah was obviously raped by two additional men who greatly exacerbated her pain and suffering based solely on the solicitation of others. Moreover, additional dimensions and lessons hidden within these crucial minutes are a) the seduction and cunningness of a rapist who can appear funny, generous, and gentle b) the ambiguity of when a rape begins. This author chose the point at which Danny cut off Sarah’s words and did not respect her repeated assertions that she must leave because she is too drunk c) the comradery and kinship rapists can share d) the accord in which rapists can work in unison e) the terror which rape and solicitors radiate as demonstrated by Sally abruptly leaving the bar after catching a glimpse of the rape and being threatened f) the pressures men can place on each other to join a rape g) the shock and fear of a witness to stop or report a rape h) the conflict within a witness to choose between justice for a stranger or loyalty to a friend i) the error of non-rapists and non-criminal solicitors who watch a rape but say and do nothing. Lastly, for those who doubt the moral culpability of the eight men in The Accused scene who never say a word, or do a thing I offer this quote made notable by Edmund Burke; “the only thing necessary for the triumph of evil is that good men do nothing”.

Works Cited

Dirks, Tim. “The History of Film The 1970s”. amc filmsite<http://www.filmsite.org/70sintro.html>;.

Gore, Donna R. “Legislation and Advocacy: Changing Tolerance Levels of Sexual Assault”. Web. 22 July 2013. <http://donnagore.com/tag/cheryl-araujo/>;.

Pateakos, Jay. “Brothers break silence in Big Dan’s rape case”. The Herald News. Web. 26 October 2009. <http://www.heraldnews.com/article/20091026/News/310269264>;.

Rovi, Don Kaye. “Bonnie and Clyde 1967”. The New York Times. Web. 8 February 2015. <http://www.nytimes.com/movies/movie/6614/Bonnie-and-Clyde/overview>;.

Vespa, Mary. “No Town Without Pity, a Divided New Bedford Seeks Justice in a Brutal Gang Rape Case”. People Magazine. Web. 12 March 1984. <http://www.people.com/people/archive/article/0,,20087332,00.html>;.