Abstract: »This book, which takes the first part of its title from the musings of C.S. Lewis, discusses the subject of rape in classic and contemporary Hollywood cinema—yesterday and today, i.e., from 1915 to 2003—in which I interrogate the rape and victimization of women as viewed through the lens of feminist theory and film. Despite much feminist intervention and revamping of rape laws, women are still seen as instigators of their own victimization as well as victims of a distraught and failing femininity. I concur with many film theorists that most rape scenes provide insight into the power relations of race, gender and class oppressions; however, by taking a slight departure, I move beyond these relations and enter into a wider discussion of the construction of female virtue, pedophilia, female sexual orientation, woman as spectacle, woman in the middle, and commodification of female sexuality. Additionally, I discuss the relationship between religion and rape. Working from a selective rather than exhaustive and from a thematic rather than a strictly historic framework, these themes are discussed in conjunction with their significance as it relates to particularly graphic rape scenes. I explore what these films collectively say about rape, as I try to understand what about the victim or theme makes the rape scene so graphic. I submit that in each of the films that I analyze, the individual trauma of the victim has its beginning in more complex dysfunctions of the larger social world; therefore, I examine sexual victimization in the context of the societal power structure in which the victim resides. I also look at masculinities under pressure and how these pressures are often used to explain and to excuse men’s doing harm to women. Finally, I juxtapose the connection between past histories and images of rape in film with the contemporary reality of the discourse of rape and provide some commentary on how to lessen their impact onto the female experience.« (Source: Book)

Contents:

	Acknowledgements (p. ix)
	Abstract (p. xi)
	Introduction Theoretical and Generic Contexts of Sexual Violence (p. 1)
	Chapter One A Review of Literature on Feminism’s Response to Rape (p. 7)
		An Overview of Rape on the Big Screen (p. 13)
		Invisibility and the Beast
		Masculinities under Pressure
		Black Women’s Sexuality: “It’s Not Over Just Because It Stopped”
		Methodology: The Bottom Line
		Film Representations of Rape
	Chapter Two For Such a Time as This: Female Virtue (p. 49)
		The Woman Dilemma
		Birth of a Nation
	Chapter Three Girls, Interrupted: Pedophilia (p. 57)
		A Time to Kill
		Bastard Out of Carolina
		Monsoon Wedding
		Things Behind the Sun
	Chapter Four No Rest for the Weary: Sexual Orientation and Rape (p. 75)
		Boys Don’t Cry
		Women of Brewster Place
	Chapter Five Woman as Spectacle: Exploitation and Idolization (p. 87)
		The Accused
		Swept Away
	Chapter Six Woman in the Middle (p. 97)
		Straw Dogs
		Dust
		Thelma and Louise
	Chapter Seven The Commodification of Women (p. 113)
		Pretty Woman
		“Monstrous” Monster
	Chapter Eight The Religious Connection (p. 127)
		The Virgin Spring
		The Magdalene Sisters
	Chapter Nine What Shall We Say To These Things—A Few Suggestions (p. 135)
		The Medium or the Message
		Other Representations of Rape’s Staying Power
		What Else Can We Do?
	Appendix: Rape Films Categorized (p. 151)
	Bibliography (p. 155)
	Index(p. 159)

Description: »“A Zoo of Lusts . . . A Harem of Fondled Hatred”: An Historical Interrogation of Sexual Violence against Women in Film explores the pernicious nature of rape in films from the silent era to the 21st century. Film is an excellent medium through which to hold this discussion, because film, like the body, as Judith Butler, et al. suggest, is fluid and indeterminate, and it is often contemplated as a site for negotiation and resistance. This book addresses three major questions: (1) why does rape persist as a recurring theme in film, (2) how is this subject manifested in film and (3) what does this manifestation say about the act of rape itself, its victims, its perpetrators and our culture?
Rape is a sexual manifestation of aggression with the purpose of overpowering, humiliating, and hurting its victims. An examination of media accounts has revealed that before the evolution of feminist film theory and the dismissal of the Production Code, the rape victim in films usually fits into one “neat” set of criteria (e.g., young adult, white, single, middle class, heterosexual). When the victim’s physical makeup deviated from the traditional set of criteria (e.g., a child or a mature person of color, married, poor, homosexual), the rape was portrayed more violently. The research for this book dwells on the portrayal of the latter type of victims because their sexual violations evoke an absorbing commentary on society’s reaction toward those who do not easily fit within the status quo. What is it about the makeup of these victims that makes their violations more horrific?« (Source: Cambridge Scholars Publishing)

Thesis: James, Deveryle. “A Zoo of Lust ... A Harem of Fondled Hatreds”: Interrogating Sexual Violence against Women in Film, 1915-2003. Ph.D. Thesis, State University of New York at Buffalo, 2008. - Bibliography Entry: Info

Wikipedia: History of Asia: History of India | History of Europe: History of Sweden | History of the Americas: History of the United States | Film: Films about rape / Bastard Out of Carolina (film), The Birth of a Nation, Boys Don't Cry (1999 film), The Magdalene Sisters, Monsoon Wedding, Pretty Woman, Straw Dogs (1971 film), Thelma & Louise, Things Behind the Sun, The Virgin Spring | Television: American television series / The Women of Brewster Place (miniseries) | Sex and the law: Rape / History of rape