(COMIC) The Pervert Press Parade
“While the majority of media communication may not be pornographic, it does echo in somewhat muted forms the predominant themes of pornography: sex, violence and male domination of women”
–an excerpt from “Gendered Media; The Influence of Media and Views on Gender” by Julia T. Wood.
Does anyone else think its strange that there is a show that is almost entirely dedicated to rape as a form of entertainment? I speak of course of Law and Order:SVU, but other shows like “To Catch a Predator” and a lot of what Nancy Grace puts out also seems to be in the same genre of “Rape-tainment“. Why is it that we have shows that focus on sexual assault, but there are no TV shows that have an honest and healthy conversation about sex – - real sex that real people are having.
We, both in the media and in our collective consciousness in America, seem to have some weird fixation with victims. Its not enough if someone gets assaulted, we need to see them paraded through talk shows, teary eyed, recounting with horror their ordeal while we the audience listens on, turgid with rapt attention.
The Smart girl who was abducted a few years back was putting her support behind a piece of legislation, but all Nancy Grace wanted to talk about was her abduction. Grace, in an incredible act of “cunt-ness”, had the nerve to passive-aggressively berate the poor girl on live television because she refused to get into the graphic nature of her abduction. Grace managed to actually make me angry, which is not an easy thing to do. The sadder part is that the ratings on her show probably would have gone up if Smart had divulged some “juicy new information” on her kidnapping.
It gets even weirder when high profile personalities are involved, because thats when the media circus is revved up to to maximum. In a 2003 article by Julie Blidel of The Guardian:
The reporting of celebrity cases adds to public perceptions of rape being a good bit of juicy gossip. For the thousands of genuine victims reading such rubbish, it can only add to their pain. …It is not as if the reports show genuine concern for the accuser. The mix of scandal, sex and fame makes for salacious gossip – nothing more.
Here is where some of the problem is. With Kobe Bryant’s trial, there almost seemed to be a carnival like atmosphere to the news. The trial (and many others like it) stripped the whole ordeal of its true gravity, and by extension, paved the way for non-celebrity cases of sexual assault more of a salacious, gossip-laden dark entertainment in the public mind.
They canceled regular Law and Order, but SVU is still on the air and doing well. To Catch a Predator went off the air because it got so popular that it got harder to lure perverts to spots where the crew could actually film and catch them. Apparently, according to the numbers, we as an audience love watching rape and underage kids having sex. We can’t get enough of it. Why? Where does that come from? I’ve been trying to find the meaning of for about a month now and I can’t really dig up an answer that explains our strange need to watch such things on television. Is it because we, in America, are sexually repressed and all this sexual violence on TV is the result of our warped sensibilities, like the vending machines in Japan that dispense used girl’s underwear?
I believe that, as Americans, our Puritanical roots are clashing with our true human nature now more than ever. As society and gender roles shift and we all progress further in that forward march of progressive legislations and enlightened thought, the pillars of sensibility that once held up Olde Tyme America are now stifling to us. There is so much shit that we need to let go of or confront from our past as Americans. So much of our past that still haunts us, and as long as we have some of those outdated forms of “proper demureness” toward sexuality, the weirder we’re going to get. We need to learn to be honest and open about sexuality, and depicting rape and inappropriate relations as much as we do in the media is a clear sign of “un-health”.
I’m curious in the extreme on what many of you think on this. Where does the apparent urge to play voyeur come from when we watch these sexually violent shows? Leave your comments below! Also, special thanks to Zachs on the Duncan Trussel Family Hour Message boards for hooking me up with some sweet, sweet research info.
First things first, just stumbled across your blog via a Facebook post and I’m liking what I see/read! Definitely going to check back here more often!
Now, regarding this post, I feel that voyeurism is something that has been a part of human nature for quite a while now. There has always been an urge to see, especially when what we are seeing is something terrifying/extreme/”other”. We get to experience the horror and pain without it actually being directed at us. That is the basis of a great many (successful) horror movies throughout time. And the resurgence of “found footage” horror films only amplifies that because it adds a sense of realism to the story. We are safe within our horrified reaction.
I was very guilty of making rape jokes and finding them to be humorous in the past. But no longer. Now I just feel dirty and offended when people
Is rape something real and an issue that needs to be dealt with much more seriously? Without a doubt. But SVU and To Catch A Predator aren’t tackling the issue of rape. They’re dealing with the rapists. It’s dealing with the symptoms and not the cause.
If you make a rape joke and its funny, I say go ahead. My only real issue is that there seems to be no real, popular talk show that talks about an honest image of sex and tries to find a healthy way to express it – - and by “healthy” I mean healthy in the sense of tried and true psychology, not that weird Christian, right wing shit that leaves more people repressed and miserable.
I think you’re on to something with the “voyeurism”, though. That’s a large part of what is going on here, and probably part of the same coin that is the reason why we enjoy watching car wrecks and fights.
I don’t know that it’s fair to put Svu and to catch a predator in the same boat, hear me out.
Having become something of a Law and Order expert, by which I mean my roommate and I always had it on, I know that SVU and it’s counter part criminal intent were made as lifeboats. Law and order’s writers were some of the oldest in the business and were worried that if the show were cancelled nobody else would hire them.
They picked a Sherlock Holmes model for one, and for the other, attention grabbing crimes (with I must admit, some awesome characters). It wouldn’t surprise me if they looked back through their most memorable/talked about Law and Order episodes and used those themes as their jumping off point for the new show.
The problem is, the reason those would’ve been most talked about or edgy is because they weren’t the every day. By making that the norm of your program you have to constantly on-up yourself or, in this case, spiral down.
This “genre’s” popularity drags anyone else who wants those ratings into the same toilet. Instant ratings are the gold mine of media right?
Kinda like someone pointed out that yellow journalism sells and everyone else said “oh yeah! How did I forget that !” “but with the new standards of journalism we can’t just make stuff up anymore.” “I know we’ll generate it ourselves, we have a whole nation to cull from, or we can create the salacious situation ourselves!”
I think what I’m saying is that our media (fiction or otherwise) plays off itself one upping itself to take old tropes to extremes until that styke combusts and fades away. Like the A-Team, Mission Impossible, Macguyver, there’s nothing like that anymore on tv, that adventure show ceased being profitable (cost vs ratings)
The fact that these shows are cheap to produce (Nancy Grace/Predator) and salacious (SVU), combined with the fact that people are drawn to it (to paraphrase George Carlin, a distant house fire is a tragedy, a nearby house fire, let’s check that shit out!) they’re here to stay, until one of those things changes.
Personally I hold little hope for changing the networks. Crap I may have just disproved my thesis statement. Fun train of thought though. Byron your stuff is amazing, poignant, and thought provoking as always.
Thanks, Matt! I probably came off like I don’t like SVU, but I actually do sometimes when the episodes aren’t too over the top. As much as I like it though, there should be a good counter to that show.
Absolutely, our society will benefit when we are less sexually repressed, and therefore twisted, and sexually healthier. We should investigate starting a grass roots movement.