date rape in "observe and report"

I watched Observe and Report and figured I'd chime in on the whole "date rape" thing. I spoil this thing like a motherfucker, so watch out. In the movie Seth Rogen's character, Ronnie, takes Anna Faris's Brandi out to dinner and she gets crazy drunk and takes a lot of Ronnie's mood stabilizers, carbamazepine if I remember correctly, which actually lowers alcohol tolerance (and cancels out contraceptives, careful ladies). So yeah, she gets fucked up. They ride home on Ronnie's Honda motorcycle, she fondles his boobs, they park, she vomits, he kisses her, cut to: Ronnie thrusting away at the unconcious girl. He looks over, confused by the fact that she's out cold, and she tells him to keep going, scene ends. Now, a few things. First, you are made to believe that when Ronnie looks over and sees that she's passed out, this is the first time he's noticed. Implying that when they started, she was coherent. None of this makes what happens OKAY, which is what I hear a lot of people saying, that doesn't make it OKAY, etc. etc.

And it doesn't, no. But, here's the thing. In an earlier scene, Ronnie's drunk mom tells him a story about the night she met his father and about fucking him and everything like that. All he seems to know about women he knows from his mother. What we're supposed to get from this scene isn't that Ronnie is taking horrible advantage of a drunk girl, but that there's nothing weird to him about a drop-down, pissed drunk woman, said woman also in a sense telling him that it's normal to have sex with such drunkards.

Again, not that it makes this "okay", but this movie isn't about what's "okay", it's a character study (don't laugh) about a fucked-up individual. Ronnie has delusions of grandeur, bullies people, does coke, pot, helps his partner shoot heroin before beating the fuck out of a bunch of skater kids, hits cops, and shoots a naked man in the chest. Why all of this is funny, I don't know, that's a much bigger post, I think.

But here is a great back and forth, forum-type discussion on consent and date rape that I felt to be pretty eye opening:

Friday Feminist Fuck You: Seth Rogen

However, the actual Feministing article is knee-jerk and stupid. They haven't bothered to watch the film, see everything in context, and have instead decided to brand Seth Rogen and everyone involved as cro-magnon idiots, and that really gets under my skin, because it's exactly what people hate about feminists in the first place. Here are some notable comments that touch on my feelings of Feministing's reaction to this thing:

First up from a poster called "dormouse":

"Quick quiz:
Is this scene...
a) offensive
b) funny
c) both
d) not enough information to tell

Correct Answer: D

We have no idea the context in which this brief clip happens. Relevant questions: How drunk is Rogan's character? What happened when they started having sex? Was Faris's character conscious then? Are there any consequences to this sex? Is Rogan's character so bad at sex that Faris got bored and fell asleep? Is Rogan made to be a hero or a creep in this movie? etc, etc.

Feministing, I love you most of the time, but there is a nasty trend here of jumping to conclusions about things based on incomplete information that don't necessarily warrant such outrage."

And from a poster called "philogelos":

"I believe this kind of attitude runs contrary to the goal of trying to get people to see feminist critiques in a positive light.

For one thing, your claim to have looked at all "available information" is patently false. The movie is about how Rogan's character is the son of an alcoholic who is trying to fulfill his sick protector-fantasies in violent ways, even hindering the police investigation into a flasher at the mall because he's trying to be the one who "saves" Faris's character.

In other words, the movie's POINT is that even good-intentioned paternalistic impulses can be counter-productive, and it showcases his behavior in not at all a "oh chuckle, what a wacky but lovable bro" kind of light.

Ironically enough, that same (good) message would fit very aptly to the attitude you are taking vis-a-vis this movie.

By issuing an uninformed "Fuck You!" (always an interesting choice of terms when responding to someone being insensitive to sexual violence) at the male actor in this scene (who becomes instantly the most responsible party for this scene...why? Because he's the most visible male?), you are encouraging the misperception that feminism is knee-jerkingly strident. The problem is not that people uninterested in feminism have not encountered the message, but rather that they have been fed the notion that making passionate arguments is somehow passe, and the big issues with regards to this have been "solved."

So by flipping out about your (incorrect) perceptions about the potential message a dark comedy movie might transmit...you are really not going to be helping change anyone's minds."

ALSO:

The opening shots of the mall mutants are perfect. The kid screaming at his parents, sure, fat people eating, yeah, but watch the two second clip of the tired old guy, holding his knees for dear life, exhaling, with this huge double chin, slowly lowering down onto a bench. That sealed it for me: this dude understands malls, and he understands why they are so fucking vile. I can't really explain it in words, and won't try to, but that shot communicates everything. To me, at least.