Rape as Storytelling: Why It Is A Cheap Out

[2012 Wont Happen]

Rape is no more a cheap storytelling tactic than murder. Notice, I did not say killing, I said murder.

Movies will show villains kill the defenseless to set the tone that they are bad. Stories use rape to the same end. Ultimately, murder is as bad or worse than rape. It may seem less villainous when seen on-screen, but it is still a vicious crime used as a storytelling shortcut.

Should film and other stories use more subtlety instead of these shortcuts? I don't know. I suspect the answer to that varies with what the person creating the story wants to do with it. I've heard good things about those books about a woman with a tattoo though, and I've also heard some pretty rapey things about it, so its not as if it never works to use as a plot device.

 

[Lilikins]

Rape is no more a cheap storytelling tactic than murder. Notice, I did not say killing, I said murder.

Movies will show villains kill the defenseless to set the tone that they are bad. Stories use rape to the same end. Ultimately, murder is as bad or worse than rape. It may seem less villainous when seen on-screen, but it is still a vicious crime used as a storytelling shortcut.

Should film and other stories use more subtlety instead of these shortcuts? I don't know. I suspect the answer to that varies with what the person creating the story wants to do with it. I've heard good things about those books about a woman with a tattoo though, and I've also heard some pretty rapey things about it, so its not as if it never works to use as a plot device.

Ill tag along with this one, personally speaking, rape is one of the tabboos for me. Though I do know that many find it alluring in a controlled environment, I just plainly dont like it, so either forced or tolerated, I really dont like it. (each to their own mind you, this is just my personal opinion)

Yet nevertheless, being as it is, I can clearly see the after effects of it being a motivation to the specific character, much as 2012 Wont Happen said.

 

[DementedSheep]

Eh depends on how its done really. It cheap motivation but then so is family murdered or captured. If they throw it in at every opportunity or use it multiple times on the same character (I'm looking at you The Witcher) it's not good.

It has far more pitfalls than murder which is why you need to be more careful about it and not just throw it in whenever. For example being raped out of being a prude or a lesbian which is awful on so many levels. I read a book where a girl who didn't have much interest in sex because of her career and distaste for sex before marriage got raped. She immediately (as in on the same night) fucked the guy who rescued her as well as started sleeping around in general and offering to spread her legs for gain because "oh well not a virgin", her mother later said it was a good thing she got raped because she been a virgin to long and she conceded that her mother had a point. Way to ruin a book. Then of course you get "funny" rape (which how men being raped/ threatened with rape is usually presented) or what starts out as rape but the person enjoys it so it okay now (this is disturbingly common) or the character accepts it because they were being selfish by withholding sex. It also not good when that is the defining reason a "normal" women is now "tough" and join some military or a mercenary group.

 

[eberg]

Sometimes, it seems like writers can't think of anything interesting to do with a female character aside from having them raped or getting pregnant. I'm almost tempted to go through TV shows with female leads and see how many I can find that didn't have them sexually assaulted or pregnant before the show ended.

 

[Thaluikhain]

It's also very gendered. The majority of (adult) victims are women raped by men. In fiction, this is overwhelmingly the case, it's common for women to be raped by men, to the extent that it's par for the course, often claimed unrealistic to not have this going on in totally fictional worlds, but men being raped by men is a serious issue in our society (especially in prisons), and you don't see this anywhere near as frequently.

Like hell it's not commonly mentioned in entertainment. Almost every film, game, etc. that has a part that takes place in prison or has someone getting sent to jail has references to "dropping the soap". It's so common that it's become a cliche.

Sure, it's often mentioned, as a throwaway line, often as a joke. Actually having it be a plot point, something that happens to a main(ish) character is much more unusual.

Sometimes, it seems like writers can't think of anything interesting to do with a female character aside from having them raped or getting pregnant. I'm almost tempted to go through TV shows with female leads and see how many I can find that didn't have them sexually assaulted or pregnant before the show ended.

I can remember where, but someone had written an article about making games of D&D more friendly to female players.

One of the main points was "Don't have the female character raped and impregnated by a m0nster", because apparently that's a thing that commonly happens enough that it's worth advising people not to do.

 

[Darkmantle]

It's also very gendered. The majority of (adult) victims are women raped by men. In fiction, this is overwhelmingly the case, it's common for women to be raped by men, to the extent that it's par for the course, often claimed unrealistic to not have this going on in totally fictional worlds, but men being raped by men is a serious issue in our society (especially in prisons), and you don't see this anywhere near as frequently.

Like hell it's not commonly mentioned in entertainment. Almost every film, game, etc. that has a part that takes place in prison or has someone getting sent to jail has references to "dropping the soap". It's so common that it's become a cliche.

Sure, it's often mentioned, as a throwaway line, often as a joke. Actually having it be a plot point, something that happens to a main(ish) character is much more unusual.

Sometimes, it seems like writers can't think of anything interesting to do with a female character aside from having them raped or getting pregnant. I'm almost tempted to go through TV shows with female leads and see how many I can find that didn't have them sexually assaulted or pregnant before the show ended.

I can remember where, but someone had written an article about making games of D&D more friendly to female players.

One of the main points was "Don't have the female character raped and impregnated by a m0nster", because apparently that's a thing that commonly happens enough that it's worth advising people not to do.

I generally DM for my group, and I pretty much always forcefully leave gender politics out of my games, but I've had to stay the hand of some newer DMs with shit like that. I'm just thankful they came to me for advice before trying to put that shit actually in game in front of everyone.

Some people have weird hang-ups.

 

[Thaluikhain]

I can remember where, but someone had written an article about making games of D&D more friendly to female players.

One of the main points was "Don't have the female character raped and impregnated by a m0nster", because apparently that's a thing that commonly happens enough that it's worth advising people not to do.

Whu- but... why would you... I just... du... da fuq?

How is it people think this is a good idea?!

Eh, the whole mystical pregnancy. How many long running fantasy or sci-fi series don't deal with this in some way (usually without consent of the women)?

I'm thinking that the ones that don't probably are mostly those without female characters.

 

[Relish in Chaos]

I believe it?s implied in Aoi Hana that the main character, Fumi Manjome, was a victim of at least statutory rape by her older cousin Chizu (who later marries a man and seems to just forget about it), but since Fumi was already a painfully shy individual before, it doesn?t really define her, and she still enters in a subsequently more healthy lesbian relationship.

And The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo. She seems to be more angered than saddened at the act, swiftly gets her revenge, and continues being a badass.