Final Project: Millennials & Rape Culture

Women speaking out about the multiplicity of justifications
for rape.

For my final project, I wanted to make a mini documentary showing the views of young people today in regards to rape and rape culture. One of the most important things to say about this video is that I don’t necessarily agree with all of the things said.  I wanted to show the differing views of young people, some that I agree with and some that I don’t.  From talking to all of the people I did, I’ve realized that there definitely needs to be more talk about rape/rape culture. The main reason I wanted to make this video is to start a conversation about something that is normally not talked about, brushed aside, or normalized in our society.  It is an extremely sensitive topic so I am VERY thankful to everyone who was willing to help me with this.  If you decide to watch it, you can see that some people have a lot more to say than others.  I’d love to eventually see a day where everyone can speak extensively about this issue, guy or girl.  There are so many layers to this issue that we need to chip away, and I thought doing this video would be a great way to start.  I wanted to especially start out by juxtaposing today’s societal norms with those of the 1950’s.  The clip comes from a promotional video called “Moral Maturity” on how to say no to pressures of drinking, drugs or having sex.  The simplification of these issues in the video amazed me, and I thought it perfectly pointed out the fact that sexual assault was in no case a factor.  It assumed that when you say no, the person or people pressuring you are simply going to respect that.  While rape was obviously occurring during that time (as it has since the beginning of human existence) it was blatantly ignored.  Cut to now, and sex is everywhere.accusation, while women are more likely to think about the scariness of rape itself.

Part of the "Wiggle" music video, which is the song used in my video.

  By being bombarded with these images of sex, consent can get lost in the mix.  How are women supposed to be fully respected as people if they’re consistently portrayed as purely sexual beings, obsessed with men and the approval of men?  This video is an attempt to show the effects of these portrayals in the way young people talk about rape and rape culture.  While all of the people I talked to thought rape and sexual assault were wrong, I found it interesting what some people chose to focus on.  I found that the men I talked to were much more likely to bring up women lying about rape, and the fact that it’s important to not “cry wolf” while the women I talked to focused much more on the damages done in situations of sexual assault. To me it seemed that men are more likely to think about the scariness of a rape accusation, while women are more likely to think about the scariness of rape itself.

The video is up on YouTube here.  While my project is mostly the video itself, my next goal is to spread awareness.  I’ve posted the video to my Facebook, Twitter, and Tumblr and I would love if you guys could do the same!  I’d also like to give a shout-out to my nephew Balboa the Pitbull, who made a few fabulously distracting cameos!  

IMPORTANT NOTE: Due to my poor editing skills, 6:09 is supposed to be the question: "What affect does rape culture have on us and our generation?" The responses from there are answering that question.

Most of the research for this project was done through the interviews, but I looked to these links to help me formulate the questions I asked. 

Works Cited

Maxwell, Zerlina. “Rape Culture Is Real.” Time Magazine 27 Mar. 2014. Web. 13 Apr. 2015. <http://time.com/40110rape-culture-is-real/>.

"Rape Culture." Day of the Girl. 2013. Web. 13 Apr. 2015. <http://dayofthegirl.org/rape-culture/>.

  

Vagianos, Alanna. "Listen Carefully, This Is What Rape Culture Sounds Like In America." Huffington Post 22 Dec. 2014. Web. 13 Apr. 2015 <www.huffingtonpost.com/2014/12/22/rape-culture-in-america-slam-poem-button-poetry_n_6366620.html>.

“Who are the Victims?” RAINN: Rape, Abuse & Incest National Network. 2013. Web. 13 Apr. 2015 <www.rainn.org/get-information/statistics/sexual-assault-victims>.