Rape isn’t a freak thing that happens to an unlucky few. It’s something that follows women around every day, a sense of perpetual physical vulnerability that’s not always conscious, but is ever present, like a shadow, governing what time we feel we can safely walk home at night by ourselves, or even the simple decision to get a drink with a guy we don’t know very well. You don’t have to be a survivor to appreciate what a singularly traumatic event rape is, or how much it sucks that a part of growing up female (and yes, gay or trans, too) means developing survival instincts to avoid being prey.
So why do so few TV shows seem to get that?
We seem to have entered a dismaying era of TV in which rape appearsmore frequently onscreen than ever, and yet rarely is treated as the abomination that it is. Salon TV critic Sonia Saraiya seems heartened by this: At least we’re talking about it. But if graphic rape scenes can be triggering to survivors of sexual abuse, then showing them for the sake of showing them is highly irresponsible. Realism isn’t the issue; lack of purpose is. The best of television ought to reflect some version of our world back to us, and in real life, we can’t pan away from rape. Rape is not sexy, or a plot point, or a shocking secret to be set up for a dramatic reveal. The reason — the only reason — to film a rape scene is to make the audience dig into that feeling of discomfort, to force us to be witnesses to the torture we are capable of inflicting on one another and come away with a deeper understanding of who we hurt and the depth of their pain. TV shows don’t all need to delve into Hard Truths; Lord knows we need our sitcoms and competitive cooking shows, too. But if a show is going to go there and put a character through something as awful as rape, it better be brave enough to depict that horror without flinching.
Source: vulture.com
Sansa Stark's story line on Game of Thrones is getting some changes from the books this season, and just like he did last year, George R.R. Martin has decided to get his version out first by releasing another preview chapter from The Winds of Winter.
EW put Game of Thrones on its cover this week, showing off bold new looks for a few of our favorite characters. Arya discovered makeup! Tyrion grew a beard! Meanwhile, Jon Snow is still stuck in that ratty old cloak. As you might assume, he's none too pleased about it.
Source: vulture.com