Rape in Art Cinema

Art cinema has always had an aura of the erotic, with the term being at times a euphemism for European films that were more explicit than their American counterparts. This focus on sexuality, whether buried or explicit, has meant a recurrence of the theme of rape, nearly as ubiquitous as in mainstream film.

This anthology explores the representation of rape in art cinema. Its aim is to highlight the prevalence and multiple functions of rape in this prestigious mode of filmmaking as well as to question the meaning of its ubiquity and versatility. Rape in Art Cinema takes an interdisciplinary approach, bringing together recognized figures such as historian Joanna Burke, philosopher Ann J. Cahill, and film scholars Martin Barker, Tanya Horeck and Scott Mackenzie alongside emerging voices. It is international in scope, with contributors from Canada, the U.S. and Britain coming together to investigate the representation of rape in some of cinema's most cherished films.

Art cinema has always had an aura of the erotic, with the term being at times a euphemism for European films that were more explicit than their American counterparts. This focus on sexuality, whether buried or explicit, has meant a recurrence of the theme of rape, nearly as ubiquitous as in mainstream film. This anthology explores the representation of rape in art cinema. Its aim is to highlight the prevalence and multiple functions of rape in this prestigious mode of filmmaking as well as to question the meaning of its ubiquity and versatility. Rape in Art Cinema takes an interdisciplinary approach, bringing together recognized figures such as historian Joanna Burke, philosopher Ann J. Cahill, and film scholars Martin Barker, Tanya Horeck and Scott Mackenzie alongside emerging voices. It is international in scope, with contributors from Canada, the U.S. and Britain coming together to investigate the representation of rape in some of cinema's most cherished films.

Art cinema has always had an aura of the erotic, with the term being at times a euphemism for European films that were more explicit than their American counterparts. This focus on sexuality, whether buried or explicit, has meant a recurrence of the theme of rape, nearly as ubiquitous as in mainstream film.

This anthology explores the representation of rape in art cinema. Its aim is to highlight the prevalence and multiple functions of rape in this prestigious mode of filmmaking as well as to question the meaning of its ubiquity and versatility. Rape in Art Cinema takes an interdisciplinary approach, bringing together recognized figures such as historian Joanna Burke, philosopher Ann J. Cahill, and film scholars Martin Barker, Tanya Horeck and Scott Mackenzie alongside emerging voices. It is international in scope, with contributors from Canada, the U.S. and Britain coming together to investigate the representation of rape in some of cinema's most cherished films.

Introduction: Why Rape?Dominique Russell

I. Canonical Works and Auteurs

1. Screen/Memory: Rape and Its Alibis in Last Year at MarienbadLynn A.Higgins,Comparative Literature, Dartmouth College

2.  Kurosawa's Rashomon and Oshima's The Man Left His Will on Film Eugenie Brinkema, Modern Culture and Media, Brown University

3. Buñuel: Stories, Desire and the Question of RapeDominique Russell

4. Materiality and Metaphor: Rape in Anne Claire Poirier's Mourir à tue-tête and Jean-Luc Godard's WeekendShana MacDonald,Communication and Culture, York University

5. Rape and Marriage: Die Marquise von O and Breaking the Waves Victoria Anderson,Visual Cultures, Goldsmiths College, University of London

6. Rough Awakenings: Unconscious Women and Rape in Kill Bill and Talk to Her Adriana Novoa,Humanities, University of South Florida

II. English-Language Independent Cinemas

7. Jane Campion's Women's Films: Art Cinema and the Postfeminist Rape NarrativeShelley Cobb,School of Film and Television, University of East Anglia

8. Boys Don't Get RapedAnn J. Cahill,Philosophy, Elon University

9. "If it Was a Rape, Then Why Would She Be a Whore?" Rape in Todd Solondz' FilmsMichelle E. Moore,English, College of DuPage

 III. Case Study: Cinéma brut and The New French Extremists

10. "Typically French"?: Mediating Screened Rape to British AudiencesMartin Barker,Dept. of Theatre, Film and Television Studies, University of Aberystwyth

11. On Watching and Turning Away: Ono's Rape, cinéma direct Aesthetics and the Genealogy of cinéma brutScott MacKenzie,Cinema Studies Institute/Dept. of French, University of Toronto

12. Uncanny Horrors: Male Rape in Bruno Dumont's Twentynine PalmsLisa Coulthard,Theatre and Film, UBC

13. Sexual Trauma and Jouissance in Baise-Moi Joanna Bourke,Professor of History, Birkbeck College, University of London

14. Shame and the Sisters: Catherine Breillat's à ma soeur! (Fat Girl)Tanya Horeck,Communication, Film and Media, Anglia Ruskin University

Notes on Contributors