![]() ![]() Not only do women do away with their abusers in these films, they get away with it, "It’s a hyperbolic notion of feminine agency that is very predictable at this point,Īnd the narrative closure is usually the death of the abuser by the abused woman. Portrays an unrealistic and dangerous form of victim empowerment that involves runningĪway and changing one's identity before ultimately standing up to the abuser. Slim is forced to take matters into her own hands, training relentlessly in martialĪrts until the final scene, where she confronts Mitch, engages him in a physical fightĮven though the film takes the side of the abused woman, Shoos points out that it When Mitch threatens to get legal custody of their daughter, Mitch tracks her down, and Slim is unable to get help from outside sources like When the abuse continues to escalate, Slim takes her daughter and runsĪway. Over time, the marriage deteriorates-Mitch strikes Slim duringĪn argument. In the 2002 film Enough, Lopez stars as Slim, a waitress who falls in love with, marries and has a child Go see a film about domestic violence might go to an action film starring Jennifer To those genres because they do bring people to the theater. Two examplesĪre the suspense-thriller genre and the action genre. “There are proven formulas,” she says, “that work to draw audiences in. That are intended to bring in large audiences and make a profit. When Shoos refers to "Hollywood films," she specifically means popular U.S. That we seem to be stuck with them, inside and outside the theater.” Narrative and Genre While she thinks each contains positive elements, “there are certain characterizationsĪnd narrative patterns in these films that have become so established and ingrained Shoos examines six films- Gaslight (1944), Sleeping with the Enemy (1991), What’s Love Got To Do With It (1993), Dolores Claiborne (1995), Enough (2002) and Safe Haven (2013). But it isn't something that happens publicly “I thought it was really important to look at these films becauseĪll cultural representation will have an influence on us, but especially so if it'sĪn issue we don't experience or experience secondhand-maybe we know somebody or have Turn to abused women to explain domestic violence-what did they do to cause it or why didn’t they leave,” Shoos says. “There is a certain level of denial about it, and there's a way in which we as a society In Domestic Violence in Hollywood Film: Gaslighting, Shoos argues that what we see onscreen has a significant impact on what we believeĪbout domestic violence, mainly because domestic violence typically happens behind ![]() Reasons for and consequences of that gap.” Was really happening to abused women,” Shoos says, “and I wanted to talk about the “I saw again and again that representation in film and television was far from what Shelter Home, a refuge for domestic violence victims and their children. She also served for 18 yearsĪs a board member, and for several years as board chair, for Barbara Kettle Gundlach Shoos’ professional expertise is in gender and film. They ignore the complexities and consequences of violent relationships. Shoos found that even though these films intend to condemn abuse and empower women, Way these films might shape our viewpoints on domestic violence as a social problem.” Ubiquity-they have a large audience that spans the world. Of the reasons I chose Hollywood films is because of their accessibility and their Partner violence against women, rather than use it as a backstory or subplot. To get that deeper look, Shoos studied a body of Hollywood films that focus on male The conversation usually quiets down pretty quickly. There’s a media event or a new film that broaches the topic, we talk about it, but “Public discussion of domestic violence has been very sporadic,” says Diane Shoos,Īn associate professor of visual studies at Michigan Technological University. As part of the discussion, the hashtag #WhyIStayed trended nationallyīut within a matter of weeks, people had moved on. In the video-who had since married the athlete-was criticized for remaining in anĪbusive relationship. In late 2014, released security footage from an Atlantic City casino showed a professionalĪthlete striking his then-fiancé in the face, rendering her unconscious. Silver Screen that reinforce who and what we believe about domestic violence. In her latest book, Diane Shoos examines portrayals of abusive relationships on the ![]()
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