Category: Reviews & Analysis

Women Talking and the Importance of Movies about Survival

Anna Schwartz February 28, 2023 0 Comments
Women Talking is a film about survival. Written and directed by Sarah Polley (and Oscar-nominated for Adapted Screenplay and Best Picture), it’s based on the book of the same name by Miriam Toews, which is based, in turn, on true events. It follows the women of an isolated Mennonite community that has been rocked by a series of violent rapes. While the men are gone, they must vote on their...

Call A Monster What It Is: Rape in the Horror Genre

Laura Browne August 17, 2021 0 Comments
TW: This article discusses depictions of sexual assault and violence in film. For better or for worse, the horror movie genre is rife with depictions of sexual violence.  Where do I even start?  There are the explicit rape scenes, prolonged and intensely violent, like you’d find in Rape and Revenge horror such as I Spit on Your Grave or The Last House on the Left. Explicit depictions...

“I May Destroy You” is an Affirming Experience for Survivors

Ilana Slavit May 3, 2021 0 Comments
This article includes spoilers and graphic discussion of sexual violence.  During pre-production of writer/actor/television creator Michaela Coel’s hit show “Chewing Gum,” she was roofied and assaulted at a bar by strangers. Therein lies the premise of her next miniseries, “I May Destroy You,” which delves into the intersections of consent, racism, queerness, and technology. Coel...

Moving in the Right Direction

Alyssa Henderson March 3, 2021 0 Comments
A Review of Promising Young Woman (2020) TW: Sexual violence  I’ve been on a mission to find a film that depicts and discusses sexual violence in a way that isn’t damaging to survivors or their loved ones. I was starting to lose faith that a film like that could exist until I saw Emerald Fennell’s new film, Promising Young Woman. As an homage to the rape-revenge genre popular through...

What Fifty Shades of Grey gets Wrong About BDSM and Trauma Healing

Ilana Slavit November 27, 2020 0 Comments
Content Warning: This article discusses sexual violence. The movie Fifty Shades of Grey was released in 2015, a time when I was experiencing peak levels of anxiety and panic attacks around sex. I was a junior in high school, traumatized by routine sexual harassment and assault in the classroom, as well as fear tactic sex education I learned from school and the media. I distinctly remember the...