function onPlayerReadyVidible(e){'undefined'!=typeof HPTrack&&HPTrack.Vid.Vidible_track(e)}!function(e,i){if(e.vdb_Player){if('object'==typeof commercial_video){var a='',o='m.fwsitesection='+commercial_video.site_and_category;if(a+=o,commercial_video['package']){var c='&m.fwkeyvalues=sponsorship%3D'+commercial_video['package'];a+=c}e.setAttribute('vdb_params',a)}i(e.vdb_Player)}else{var t=arguments.callee;setTimeout(function(){t(e,i)},0)}}(document.getElementById('vidible_1'),onPlayerReadyVidible); This post contains some spoilers for Netflixs 13 Reasons Why.Last week, the author of the YA-tear jerker 13 Reasons Whyaddressed one of the most controversial aspects of his book and the new Netflix show that it inspired: the raw depictions of rape and sexual assault.Published in 2007, Jay Ashers 13 Reasons Whytells the story of Hannah Baker, a teenaged girl who commits suicide, leaving behind 13 cassette tapes which explain the motives behind her death.The TV adaptation, which debuted on Netflix on March 31, recreates rape and suicide scenes from the book in disturbing, graphic detail.This choice once again begs the question that comes up whenever we talk about rape on TV: Is it necessary' Or is it simply gratuitous'Its uncomfortable, but thats OK. It needs to be, Asher toldBuzzfeed News on April 7.Asher acknowledged that some people have said that scenes are too graphic, but argued that rape shouldnt be something that the viewer can look away from.You have to be uncomfortable when youre watching it; otherwise youre not in her mind, the author explained. In a way, its disrespectful if we say, We know this stuff is happening, but we dont want to be made uncomfortable by it.The two episodes (9 and 12) where scenes of rape are shown come with trigger warnings, a rarity in the world of movies and television, where sexual violence is so often filmed through the male gaze. From movies like Psycho to shows like Game of Thrones,scenes of sexual violence are often shot from the offenders point of view, with tantalizing and lingering shots of a womans body as it is violated.To its credit, 13 Reasons Why avoids this trope. In the scenes, the victims are mostly clothed, and the atmosphere is anything but tantalizing ' though that doesnt make the scenes any less disturbing. In some ways, it makes them more so.The show must also be commended for depicting the blurry gray area of consent ' in one of the rape scenes, the victim does not say no, and yet the horror of what happens to her isin no way ambiguous.Later, a high school counselor questions whether she protested the assault, once again emphasizing our shoddy definition of what does and doesnt constitute consent.And yet, theres a trend of men defending graphic rape scenes for the sake of authenticity that Asher is most definitely following. Weve seen it most recently with shows like Game of Thrones and Westworld and Poldark.So often, the defense of these depictions is that what were seeing as viewers technically isnt really rape (as in the case of Cersei Lannisters assault in season 4 of GoT), or that the writers and showrunners are trying to force the audience to confrontrape, to manufacture empathy by placing the viewer viscerally in the victims shoes.But awareness and empathy ' especially empathy for female characters 'shouldnt require the audience to see a woman being assaulted. And often, these types of plotlines are little more than lazy storytelling. After all, there are ways to bring awareness to rape and sexual assault, and to call out the ills of rape culture and victim-blaming, without normalizing depictions of sexual violence against women.This isnt to entirely denounce 13 Reasons Why or other shows that depict rape and abuse.There are similar themes of rape and violence in Big Little Lies.But where that show differs from 13 Reasons Why is that it is focused entirely on the perspective of the women who are abused. Yes, 13 Reasons Why features Hannah telling her story posthumously, but it also spends a great deal of time dealing with the guilt and man-pain of the Gary Stu-like main character Clay (who ' spoiler! 'contributed to her suicide by being too good for her).13 Reasons Why shouldnt be discounted because of its more graphic scenes. But, in light of Ashers defense and the defense of so many other men who tell stories about women who are assaulted, we still need to ask some hard questions: What does it mean if we can only connect with the pain of rape victims by watching that pain played out so' What do these scenes achieve that couldnt be achieved with their absence' And why are men so often the gatekeepers of these stories'Need help' Visit RAINNs National Sexual Assault Online Hotline or the National Sexual Violence Resource Centers website. -- This feed and its contents are the property of The Huffington Post, and use is subject to our terms. It may be used for personal consumption, but may not be distributed on a website.
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