Casual rape

[dyvinesweetness]

So I was gonna write an entry about work (and that one is still coming), but the rape scene in Weeds is trailing around my mind and I felt I had to let it out by writing about it. But I have no words. Weeds, whose head writer is a woman, wrote a rape scene in which the victim smiled and laughed. Something is swimming in my mind about the

Comments

[forwhataim]

I only read your entry and not the links; and I didn't see the episode. Was the rape presented as such? You are upset because the victim in the scene smiled and laughed? Do you think that there has never been a rape victim who smiled and laughed during the act?

[dyvinesweetness]

"Was the rape presented as such?"

I don't even know what this means. How could rape be presented as anything other than rape?

"You are upset because the victim in the scene smiled and laughed?"

I'm upset because they presented a rape scene and handled it casually, including the victim smiling and laughing.

"Do you think that there has never been a rape victim who smiled and laughed during the act?"

I'm... certain there *has.*

[forwhataim]

acts can be presented without contextualizing them to the audience, which leaves the audience to make sense of what just happened. after clicking your links I see that it was just put out there since some less informed people are questioning whether a rape was portrayed at all.

so since I have clicked the links, I gather that they made the rape scene the last scene of the episode and just left it hanging there? is that how they handled it casually? by just putting it in the episode without further discussion? why is the victim smiling and laughing part of handling it casually? I really am just trying to understand your point of view . . .

[dyvinesweetness]

"I gather that they made the rape scene the last scene of the episode and just left it hanging there?"

Pretty much. She giggled, someone else walked in on her with her panties around her ankles, further victimizing her and that was about it.

"is that how they handled it casually? by just putting it in the episode without further discussion?"

Yeah, by her giggling and enjoying it, by not adding a critical eye to what he did thus making it "ok" (because of her apparent enjoyment of it) and by not making it clear that it was wrong (as Roli said).

"why is the victim smiling and laughing part of handling it casually?"

Because it wasn't expressed like "well she laughed, but this is still wrong and it is rape and unacceptable." It more seemed like they had her laugh in order to explain away what they knew at least some of the audience would know was rape. sort of like a "no, no, look! she's smiling. don't write us letters. it's not rape. we promise."

[moneda]

WTF kind of paragraph of shit is this...

I’m in no way writing this as a critique of Weeds. I love the show. I’m more interested in what was such a visceral reaction on my part. I mean, on such a well-crafted show I can only assume it was a reaction they were going for. Further, the show was created, and the episode was written by women. A woman thought this scene up and made it come to a very disturbing life. So.... Am I wrong? In this age of empowerment and feminism is it ok for a women to decide she wants to have a man forced upon her? It’s completely arguable that by getting drunk and going to see Esteban, demanding of him as she did, that she knew what would come of it... Is that ok? Is that train of thought ever going to leave the station in a woman’s mind?

Why shouldn't we critique Weeds?! Who cares if women wrote it, we all know when rape is bad: it's always fucking bad! Women do not decide when men force themselves upon them! "She knew what would come of it?!" SERIOUSLY? Woooooow...