At the Smoking Gun right now you can read five pages from “Hounddog” A.K.A. “That Dakota Fanning Rape Movie.” Ironically, (not really) that is the scene covered by those five pages. You can read it for yourself right here. It is not everything, but it gives you a better idea of what exactly the scene is about and how it is done. The scene is very intense and disturbing. It is hard to read actually, but the rape is not the point of the scene from what I read. The scene seems more about the fact that they felt it was fine to do this to a little girl because she was a “nigga lover” (that is from the script; I never use such language). It is not about sex, but, like most rapes, is about the attacker’s pathetic needed to feel some sort of power. This one seems to be racially motivated and would be relevant to the story because Elvis did borrow heavily from black culture and his fans could be seen as that thing I will not type again.
This most-famous-yet-to-be-seen scene also seems to go for the “artistic” approach rather than the graphic. While I am the first to say how much I hate the cliché “lightning flash” quick shots that movies use so often, this is a scene that it would work in. The script plans out exactly what will be shown and when and how and at no point does it seem to exploit Dakota Fanning or could ever be taken as kiddie porn. It is dark and hard to get through, but it is supposed to be and the director seems to have done everything to make sure the 12 year old star was mentally, physically, and emotionally "OK" with the scene.
Should the director have even asked a 12 year old to pretend being raped? I do not believe so, but I would say it depends on the 12 year old. Dakota Fanning comes across in interviews more mature at 12 than I am at 35. I encourage everyone to read these pages for themselves before coming to any conclusion and even then not jump to any. I mean how much can we really know from a shooting script to be honest?
ANOTHER GREAT FIND FROM SMOKING GUN
7 comments:
I read the script.....My question is, why? What purpose does it serve to show this kind of thing? Who does it help? What audience does it speak to?
I think it is just to gin up publicity.....And I have no intention of ever seeing it...
P.S. I still think the rape scene in Bastard Out of Caroina is much worse.....Why was there no uprorar when 12 year old Jenna Malone was raped by her step dad in that movie? Maybe because she was less well know than Fanning?
I have no desire to see it either. Reading it is hard enough and I also do not see the purpose to be honest. If it was to get publicity for the movie then it is ironic as usual that those who most wanted to stop it are giving it the most press.
Never saw that movie. I do not handle torture in movies well and handle rape even worse.
It seems to me that the story itself is comparable to Faulkner or Tennessee Williams. Authors like them always wrote about the raw side of real life. This story strikes me as being in the same vein, especially considering the period it's set in. I do (still) have a problem with putting a 12-year-old in the role. Will I see it? Probably. But I'll probably wait for the DVD.
Remember the Farrah Fawcett movie?...The one where she is raped and held hostage until she turns the tables on the guy?....That one gave me nightmares...
Extremities I think it was called. It is on Lifetime every two days.
I remember that movie. I remember rooting for her all the way to hurry up and turn the tables on that guy. As a woman, movies that involve rape disturb me and make me uncomfortable. It's interesting to me that men perceive them the same way. Good to know.
Thanks for coming by my blog. I appreciated your opinion and comment.
Wow, it's interesting to read that bit of the script. I think what disturbs me most is how Buddy could set her up for that. I wonder if the story progresses far enough to see them all as adults, and what kind of man he became as a result of his betrayal. I want to know what happened to their friendship after that point.
Yes, I'm sure the film is controversial (which always helps sell it), but the fact that it's disturbing is exactly what good writing is about. If you can make your reader feel something, whether it's love, hate, sympathy, outrage, or any other emotion, then you've done your job. If you write a novel and it doesn't evoke some kind of emotion from the reader, you can bet you're not going to sell many books.
I'm never for violence against women, children, or anyone else, for that matter. I'm not condoning that this kind of thing takes place all over the world every day. It's horrific. But the fact that the author can rouse such emotion from people who haven't even seen the movie, tells me he or she is a damn good writer. I'm sorry. That's probably not what anyone wanted to hear, huh?
Great blog. I'll be back - if you let me.
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