This film was released in the beginning of the
year of 2015. It focuses on the prevalence of sexual assault on college
campuses and the unjust in the way the cases are handled. The director and
producer, Kirby Dick and Amy Ziering, had previously made a documentary on
sexual assault in the military and the ways the military has avoided dealing
with the issue and the struggles that victims face. They were then approached by
college students who saw their film and expressed that
essentially the same situation
was occurring except within college campuses. In present day, in order to
achieve success, you have to go to college. Many parents are sending their kids
off to far away places and this film revealed the fallacy that exist on these
so called “safe campuses”. The cast and directors chose to give personal
narrative of their attacks. Many of the people who appear in the film are
students who are able to provide first hand experience of the issue and explain
their mistreatment. College is getting increasingly more expensive and this
film called into question what colleges value more, funding or safety? Many
colleges nowadays have become essentially a business. They advertise, draw in students,
and make money. However, this need for a spotless reputation left some victims
being silenced. Sexual Assault prevention groups and rallies shave existed for
decades and has been a prevalent issue. This documentary incorporated the time
line of the issue and the small response to such a large issue.
This film’s message was extremely direct. It discussed
the inequality between women and men alongside the corruption of universities. The
film discusses how this is a largely female victim crime. It includes anecdotes
from primarily women to convey this point. The lack of reaction shows how
women
have once again been overlooked by the government and now institutions. Male
athletes and students have managed to rape and assault people without repercussions.
By doing this, campuses essentially say that an athlete is worth more to them
than the safety of their students. The film provided horrifying statistics and
reports of the weak punishments administered to those accused of assault to
reveal the true inequality in the way women are treated in means of campus
safety. The film also uses first person narrative to reveal the horrific
interactions between victims and staff of the university. The staff has been severely
negligent and been encouraged by the school to look the other way on this issue
so as to keep the crime numbers “artificially low”. This film focuses heavily
on this aspect of corruption and how it stems from a need for applicants and a
desire to steer clear of a reputation as an unsafe school when the reality is,
is that it is happening on every campus. It challenges this idea of cover up
and says that the issue is universal and the only way to attempt to improve
this issue is to take accountability. The film included the refusal of
presidents to speak on this issue to show the universal corruption that exists
in universities across the nation.
This
piece’s power and bravery is what gives it beauty. Many people who suffer from
assault have trouble speaking and advocating for themselves. This documentary
provides a voice for those who cannot speak up. It’s narrative based format
gave a face to this national issue. It also inspired global change. The result
of the film was huge and many schools began to address the issue. The way
the
directors constructed the film outlined the problem extremely well and definitely
included a call to action. The bravery of the women and men who were willing to
share their very personal stories contributed a lot to the piece. It made the
issue hard to ignore. I thought the film was pretty revolutionary in the sense
that it generated both conversations and change. It followed the stories of two
women who single handedly found a way to force colleges to change. This
documentary showed that anyone is capable of calling out an injustice and working
t fix it. It challenged people to refuse the current and injustice and not
except anything but equality and respect. This film gave a voice to an extremely
prevalent issue and its honesty is what made it extraordinary
I also watched this film, and though at first I was extremely reluctant to do so, while watching it I slowly gained the appreciation that you also express for it in this post. The message is one that needs to be heard, because the problem of rape, especially unacknowledged rape, is very prevalent - too prevalent - and it needs to end.
ReplyDeleteThe reason I did not want to watch the film at first was because the thought scared me; I do not like thinking of the issue, as I'm sure many people do not, but it is an issue that needs to be spoken about if we want change. The movie was not scary. What was scary - terrifying in fact - was the reality that it did shed on the situation: the statistics that it brought up of not only rape cases but how easy and common it is for those in power to sweep them under the rug. The action of rape, though it does not only affect women, is heavily misogynistic in nature, as is the act of blaming the victim and pretending that everything is all right. As colleges get more expensive and greed in businesses becomes more prevalent, money is used as an excuse to avoid giving the rapists the punishments they deserve, as the movie talks about.
Though the reality of the situation is difficult to bear, it is nevertheless one that must come to light, and as you said, the theme is not only of justice but also of hope. If all people can come together and work to correct this societal wrong, a difference can be made, and I think this idea that pervades The Hunting Ground is exactly what makes it so beautiful and empowering.
I think that this film is very revolutionary, as you had mentioned. I think it really says something that I am a senior in high school and had not been warned/told about the prevalence of sexual assault on campuses until I saw this documentary. Clearly, we need to do a better job of talking about it. Sex in general is extremely stigmatized in our society, and it makes people feel extra "dirty" to think of someone forcing it on another individual. However, as is pointed out in the film, we need to talk about it in order to change the culture. As the next generation of parents, we need to tell our children not to rape. Rather than telling them what to wear, and what not to drink. The documentary does a good job of pointing this idea out. I think a quote that really nails this idea in is from the book Annie and Andrea wrote called "We Believe You", it features the story of a woman who was drugged and raped by a classmate. She explains at the end that the saddest part wasn't the fact that she was raped but the fact that the boy thought it was okay to do so. We have the power to change things, and this documentary really showed that everyday activism can have a chain reaction.
ReplyDeleteI was very interested in this piece. My world literature class is about to watch this film so I am glad I had some context to it! I think this is a very important topic and I am glad you chose to blog about this film. It’s really fascinating how you talked about how colleges essentially become a business. I never thought about it that way before reading your blog. I also think it is interesting how uneducated we as high school seniors are about how prevalent rape is on campus. It is a bit sickening how pushed under the rug everything is. I really liked your view points. Your blog was a great read and I am excited to watch the film!
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