Alice Vol. 7 No. 3

“Take, for example, a famous scene
from the 1931 film ‘The Public Enemy’
where a male character hits a female
character with a grapefruit; this scene
was incorporated by its director to enact a
fantasy of doing this to his wife,” Palmer
said.
When watching films for class,
Palmer encourages the students, in his
Motion Pictures History and Criticism
and Critical Study of Television class, to
analyze why it’s there at all.
“When I teach my television course,
I ask students to view media as a cultural
forum, a term that television scholars use
for analyzing how television addresses
pertinent social issues,” said Palmer.
“When you see representations of abuse
in the media, what is the goal of such
representations? Are they contributing
to our current social conversations about
these issues, or are they exploiting or
trivializing them?”
Taking this critical approach to
television allows viewers to see that certain
television shows use abuse as a gimmick
and plot point that doesn’t create a positive
discussion around the real issue.
This is exemplified with the movie
“365 Days.” In the film Massimo, the male
lead “saves” Laura, the female
BY
lead, and
they develop this love/hate relationship.
Massimo comes off as possessive and
persistent toward Laura. He’s obsessed
with her and would do anything to keep
her. It was clear at the beginning of their
interaction together she was not pleased,
but then she eventually gave in to the
“irresistible” Massimo.
The issue with this film is that it
romanticizes kidnapping and abuse.
While also normalizing partners who are
physically and emotionally controlling.
This leaves the impression that this
behavior, the movie’s plot, is acceptable
when it is not.
“I do not think there is anything
wrong with TV shows and movies
promoting awareness of abuse, but there
is a gray area in what is considered a
negative or positive view of abuse,” said
Ashley Blevins, The University of Alabama
junior majoring in public relations.
Blevins questioned this gray area
when she watched “You,” a Netflix
television show about a stalker who is
described as “a dangerously charming,
intensely obsessive young man [who] goes
to extreme measures to insert himself into
the lives of those he is transfixed by.”
The show garnered rave reviews
and backlash for its portrayal of its main
character as a sort of underdog that many
found themselves rooting for.
Blevins said the show pushes the
viewer to root for Joe, the main character,
but in reality, his behavior is reprehensible,
including manipulation, stalking and
murder.
The book series “After,” by Anna
Todd, which was later turned into a film
series directed by Jenny Gage, similarly
has received backlash for normalizing
and romanticizing abusive behavior in
relationships by letting its main character,
Tessa, fall for Hardin, an emotionally
abusive narcissist.
Another book to visual adaptation
that also received backlash was “13 Reasons
Why” by Jay Asher for how graphic some
scenes were throughout the show.
As a result, new trigger warnings
appeared before the episodes. The cast
addressed all the rumors in interviews
to assure the audience that the goal was
not to glorify but to be realistic about
sensitive topics by pushing uncomfortable
boundaries through film.
“We wanted to do it in a way where
it was honest, and we wanted to make
something that can, hopefully, help
people, because suicide should never,
ever be an option,” said Selena Gomez in
“13 Reasons Why: Beyond the Reasons,”
a mini-documentary released after the
season.
While these new age and trendy
movies and tv shows are entertaining,
leaving viewers on the edge of their seats,
it doesn’t take away from the fact that it
can confuse many people and convince
impressionable audiences that this is
normal and okay.
In an article for Impact Magazine,
Jasmin Lemarie discussed how men play
a huge role in the objectification of women.
“The male gaze and the male ego
are all about portraying women to fulfill
men’s desires; you have to be sexy, but
not too sexy, you have to be nice and
supportive and not bossy,” Lemarie said.
“For decades, women have been portrayed
in film as one-dimensional characters that
are there to serve the men in their lives.”
According to the Center for the
Study of Women in Television and Film,
during the 2019 to 2020 tv season, 94% of
the programs considered had no women
directors of photography, 76% had no
women directors, 81% had no women
editors and 73% had no women creators.
Yet, some films and shows do a great
job of displaying these issues without
glorifying them.
“MAID,” a 2021 Netflix show based
on a memoir written by Stefanie Land
about being a single mother trying to
escape an abusive relationship by cleaning
houses to save up money to live a better
life for her and her daughter. The show’s
realistic portrayal of generational trauma,
poverty, and abuse was well done and
realistic.
Along with shows like this,
documentaries have also created realistic
portrayals of abuse.
“Far from glorifying abuse, these
documentaries ask audiences to empathize
with victims and understand what this
abuse means, how it affects people’s lives
and how power protects abusers,” said
Palmer. “I would put the 2019 independent
film ‘The Assistant’ in a similar category.
This film is about a lowly assistant to a
Harvey Weinstein-like producer, and it’s a
film that asks complicated questions about
complicity and systems of power that
perpetuate cycles of abuse.”
He said rather than glorifying
abuse, recent works like these have asked
audiences to confront abuse as a societal
problem in ways that very few media
works have before.
It is essential for those who
experience abuse to know that there are
many resources that can help them. The
Women and Gender Resource Center
and Counseling center are just two of
the resources available for students
at The University of Alabama. For
some community resources, check out
Turning Point, a domestic violence and
sexual assault counseling and shelter,
Child Abuse Prevention Services, Crisis
Services in North Alabama, Shelby County
Department of Human Resources and
One Place Metro Alabama Family Justice
Center.
If you or someone you know is
experiencing abuse and needs help, here
are some national hotlines that you can
reach out to:
National Domestic Violence Hotline
Hotline: 1.800.799.HOPE
National Teen Dating
Hotline: 1 (866) 331 – 9474
RAINN National Sexual Assault
Hotline 1 (800) 656-4673
Substance Abuse and Mental Health
Services Administration (SAMHSA)
Hotline: 1 (800) 662 – 4357
Department of Defense (DOD) Safe
Helpline for Sexual Assault
Hotline: 1 (800) 995-5247
StrongHearts Native Helpline
Hotline: (844) 762- 8483
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