I Spit On Your Shitty Movie
I think this was just a kind of poorly made movie, but it was definitely interesting to analyze. First,
the whole movie was supposed to be a rape revenge movie-- she definitely got her revenge, but
more than half of the movie was her being slowly raped. I’m skeptical over whether the intended
audience goes to see this movie because they want to watch an empowered woman get revenge
on the men who abused her, or because they just want to be allowed to revel in the taboo of rape.
Throughout the rape, the camera rarely strays from her body, and it leaves enough to the
imagination that the whole thing feels like some sick kind of porno. I think aestheticized violence
like this can be dangerous, because it feels just fake enough for one to keep watching without
triggering their gag reflex, and it lasts so long that by the end you are entirely desensitized to it.
It glorifies the act in a way that makes it stomachable, but rape should never ever be
stomachable. Her revenge is satisfying and cleverly specific to what each man did to her, but
throughout it, she is still sexualized. She lures them back in through seduction. I think a long and
graphic rape scene can be productive and done well in order for people to empathize with victims
or really understand the horror of sexual violence, but not done like this. This was demeaning,
disturbing, and dangerous.
the whole movie was supposed to be a rape revenge movie-- she definitely got her revenge, but
more than half of the movie was her being slowly raped. I’m skeptical over whether the intended
audience goes to see this movie because they want to watch an empowered woman get revenge
on the men who abused her, or because they just want to be allowed to revel in the taboo of rape.
Throughout the rape, the camera rarely strays from her body, and it leaves enough to the
imagination that the whole thing feels like some sick kind of porno. I think aestheticized violence
like this can be dangerous, because it feels just fake enough for one to keep watching without
triggering their gag reflex, and it lasts so long that by the end you are entirely desensitized to it.
It glorifies the act in a way that makes it stomachable, but rape should never ever be
stomachable. Her revenge is satisfying and cleverly specific to what each man did to her, but
throughout it, she is still sexualized. She lures them back in through seduction. I think a long and
graphic rape scene can be productive and done well in order for people to empathize with victims
or really understand the horror of sexual violence, but not done like this. This was demeaning,
disturbing, and dangerous.
Just by the way-- the reason I think it was a poorly made movie as I said in the beginning of this post was because of the mediocre acting and not very original storyline, not because of the other reasons I stated in the post.
ReplyDeleteUPDATE TURNS OUT MY DUMBASS WATCHED THE WRONG ONE
ReplyDeleteI WATCHED THE 2010 REMAKE AGHHHHHHH OkY MAYBE DISREGARD EVERYTHING I SAID BECAUSE I DON"T KNOW HOW DIFFERENT THE TWO ARE
I'm so mad. I'm sorry pals. I tried :////
ReplyDeleteoh nooooooo! Kaaaarriinnnn! That sucks, but I will say that this reading still holds pretty true. I know Clover's argument said that the rape scenes were filmed in a way to make us identify with the woman, but after watching it, I really don't think that was the case. It felt as though I was watching as an outsider from a distance, in a very porno-voyeur-y gross way. So yeah. You're right. Shitty movie.
ReplyDeleteAhhh that suckksss! I almost watched the 2010 one too because it was super hard to find the '78 one. It was weird cause I found the older one called Day of the Woman which is apparently the original title? Like, why the title change? And How would i have felt ifd the title was Day of the Woman over I Spit On Your Grave? But yeah, from what I watched of the 2010 version, it was nasty, I'm sorry you sat through that, big oof.
ReplyDeleteSorry that you watched the wrong one! The original has pretty low production values so you would probably find that "poorly made" as well. What is interesting though is that despite its poor quality, it has remained a cult film for almost fifty years. The remake is another testament to the power of the film. I think Clover and Creed help us to understand this film's resilience. Its not simply that viewers enjoy watching rape. It also has to do with cinematic identification and its power to help the viewer negotiate anxieties around gender and sexuality.
ReplyDelete