May December: Analyzing A Shocking True Story & Problematic Trope

[shangri__la]

Click to view

The Take examines how sixth grade teacher Mary Kay Letourneau's grooming and abuse of her student inspired the Natalie Portman and Julianne Moore film May December.

They also dive into the harmful "male student has an "affair" with the hot teacher" trope in society and media, and how the trope puts the blame on the victim.

Source

Comments

[floatinglately]

if anyone here is interested in a novel about this kind of case, i remember really liking barry lyga’s “boy toy.” the title is sort of deliberately provocative and the book, while easy to read stylistically because it’s YA, can be tough going emotionally because it’s clear the narrator has not fully processed the extent of his victimization and the text deals a lot with the beliefs he’s internalized about himself as a result, but i found it ultimately quite sensitive and moving, and there’s a line near the end that has stayed with me for years.

ETA: i also really liked my dark vanessa, which is more recent / for adults / about a girl preyed on by a man, but which worked for me for the same reason boy toy did, which is that it was willing to spend a lot of time in the head of someone who “logically” knows what happens but still emotionally perceives the abuse as something they did rather than something that was done to them. in both of these books you know the “facts” of the case early on, and the emotional tension comes largely from wondering when, how, or if the protagonist will come to recognize the actual heinousness of what was done to them, which felt really honest to the non-linear process of coming to terms with abuse.

[bitchsdangerous]

Reading your comment made me realize I still think of what happened to me as my fault. It’s been almost 20yrs since. I guess I don’t really let myself think on it too much. When I was divorcing my abuser my own lawyer told me, “Well, you married him.” and my family guilted me heavily for leaving him.

I really can’t see the situation as anything other than my fault cause I allowed it (it began when I was underage and he absolutely was a predator), but if I think of it in terms of my daughter, I would never allow her to feel or make her feel like it was her fault. Hmmm. 🤔 Another thing to unpack with my therapist.

[floatinglately]

i’m so sorry that happened to you, i’m so glad you found the strength to leave him (my father is a piece of shit and so through my mom i’ve witnessed what a nightmare divorcing an abuser can be), & i hope you’re able to continue moving further away from whatever is left of the past ❤️

[bitchsdangerous]

Thank you 🙏🏼

[ponyboy]

https://ohnotheydidnt.livejournal.com/117043424.html

[astrofisica]

while there's a worthy discussion about "marketability", Ortiz's accusation forced Russell into admitting she had been groomed during her childhood.

https://www.vox.com/culture/2020/3/6/21158138/my-dark-vanessa-excavation-controversy-lolita

[delfintaka]

This debacle left Ortiz looking bad. I read both books, and cannot realistically imagine Ortiz trully thinking her book was plagiarized, vs. just doing what she can to bring attention to her book. And it forced Russell to be outed as a victim.

[anyaroses]

Everyone was hating on Russell, but having read both books, I can confidently say that they aren't that similar.

My Dark Vanessa did remind me a bit of the novel His Favorites by Kate Walbert, though.

[floatinglately]

in addition to what other people have said, the sad truth is that predators often operate in remarkably similar ways and overlaps in two narratives about this kind of abuse demonstrates nothing beyond the fact that these monsters are not original. one thing i liked about my dark vanessa, in fact, was how much the fictional school reminded me of my own real world school in which nothing happened to me but we had several cases of serial sexual predators in the faculty.

[louisebelcher]

Oh wow I never heard about this controversy. I read Excavation because one of my profs is friends with Ortiz, I thought her book was really well written.

[miwa201]

my dark vanessa was really good, i felt so bad for the author bc she was forced to admit it was based on her life bc some other author accused her of plagiarism (for what it turned out to be common plot points)

[johnjie]

My Dark Vanessa was one of the best explorations of the mental gymnastics of grooming I’ve ever read. It really shows how it warps the thoughts and why exactly it can take so long for people to come to terms with and name what happened.