So I just read this article http://www.xojane.com/entertainment/girls-adam-natalia-rape-scene by Marianne in Jane's Diary about a scene from a recent episode in Girls, and it left me thinking about rape culture and if the show was actually reinforcing rape culture as Marianne implies or doing something a little different.
I'm a fan of Girls. I have watched every episode during both seasons, and one of the reasons I like it so much is because it captures the essence of twenty-something women. I think there is a touch of feminism to that principle alone. Don't get me wrong, the show is not about a bunch of feminists marching their way up the corporate ladder and getting shit done. I know this. The girls are all struggling and often depending on a man for happiness, except for maybe Jessa (who is now MIA with evident "daddy issues"). To me, though, it feels like there is an underlying tone of feminism throughout the show as the female characters are, though, stepping off the beaten path of female stereotypes with their lifestyles.
Marianne implies in her article that she is simply familiar with the show and has watched a few episodes prior to her critique of episode 9 where Adam drunkenly instructs his girlfriend, Natalia, a new and minor character on the show, to "get down on all fours" and crawl to his bedroom. I think what Marianne is missing in her claim about this scene reinforcing the status quo in a rape culture is that this scene was intended to disturb us.
My boyfriend and I have watched the show together faithfully since it came out and this scene actually has been a topic of discussion randomly for the past couple weeks. It opened up a gateway for me to say "never say something like that to me or treat me that way," as I'm betting it did with more than just one couple watching the show. Because, hey, didn't all fans of the show wonder what the hell was up with Adam and feel a bit queasy at the unveiling of this dark side? And wasn't that what it was supposed to reveal--a dark side to a beloved character?
I can't remember if Lena Dunham wrote that episode alone or if it was co-written with Judd Apatow and/or others, but I truly felt like the episode was written to reveal a dark reality about sex and rape culture--NOT to reinforce rape culture. It opened a gateway to address when "kinky" sex is okay and when it's not. I'm pretty sure we all got the "uh-oh" feeling and realized it was an instance where it was NOT okay whether Natalia said "no" aloud or not. In fact, it was one of the best portrayals of the "uh-oh" feeling I've ever seen. No, Natalia did not verbally object. No, Adam did not stop or really address the wrongness of the situation, but did it not grab the attention of everyone watching? Didn't it bring up an issue of the uncomfortable situations girls can get in with partners they have previously had consensual sexual relations with? I think so. I'm not a guy, but I'm betting it helped put things into perspective for male fans watching, too.
In the same episode, Hannah's past with OCD is revealed, as well. I took it to be an episode about the reality of people's every day lives fighting battles with disease and dark sides (not to imply Adam is Jedi). Fans of the show know Hannah and Adam at this point. We just did not realize the depth of histories they have both been striving to repress and move past until they pop up in this episode.
That's how it is in the real world, right? People trying to live their lives and occasionally having to deal with the demons they thought they had put behind them. The show has constantly portrayed the characters in the most genuine roles as any show I've ever seen. That's why I feel that instead of reinforcing rape culture, the people behind Girls intended to highlight areas in society that need attention--"grey rape" or rape and mental illnesses. Aren't these topics two of the hardest to address in society? Yes. There's no other answer. They're topics that are having to be forced upon society because they're becoming such an issue that they have to be dealt with soon. We need to treat mental illnesses like any other illness and we need to stop acting like such a traumatizing act as rape is "just another thing." So, if Girls can help push these issues to the front of everyone's minds for even a few minutes with a giant wave of awkwardness, I'm glad.
No fan of the show was rooting for Adam in this scene or felt like it was okay for him to treat Natalia that way. It left everyone, not just Marianne, feeling uncomfortable for a reason! When people feel awkward about something, they're often forced to address it. Yes, we return to rooting for Adam when he begins to get his shit together in the season finale and literally runs to Hannah's aid, but it did not mean we just accepted the unhealthy nature of that sexual encounter with Natalia.
Marianne raises some great, valid points in her article about rape culture, but I think non-fans of the show would be more inclined to miss the point of the plentiful scenes of awkwardness in the show as I think Marianne did in this instance.
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