"The Elusive/Ubiquitous Representation of Rape..." - 0 views
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emilie neuss on 19 Apr 10Projansky, Sarah. Autumn, 2001. "The Elusive/Ubiquitous Representation of Rape: A Historical Survey of Rape in U.S. Film, 1903 - 1972. Cinema Journal 41: 63 - 90. This article was a wonderful article for me to begin my research with because it led me into many of the topics I wish to discuss within my research paper. In fact, the article was a main instigator in my changing my research topic solely to film and its relation to rape, rather than film and pornography and their relation to rape. This article argues "that rape is a central theme in American cinema… [That] not a year has gone by since the beginning of cinema when rape, attempted rape, or other forms of sexual violence were not represented or alluded to in films" (63). Many of the topics that surface throughout this article will be key in explaining my own film selections and how they promote patriarchic ideals, the submission of women, and the desensitization of rape that film presents historically and globally to its viewers. Topics I will touch upon include Production Code regulations (from the beginning of film to present), rape in relation to women's vulnerability, independence and the family, rape in relation to economic and social class ambivalence, and finally, rape in relation to race. All these subtopics arise in differing aspects of each film I have chosen to consider in relation to my research topic. Overall, this article is the perfect push I needed to get my research started, and it will continue to be valuable as the holder of the bedrock ideas and topics I wish to present within my paper.