This week’s readings,
specifically Markus, made me think of rape culture, not only in its persistent
and ever present nature but also its celebration in humour. Looking back onto
the language and dynamics of scripting, many of the words and narrative we receive
are disseminated through popular media. An uncomfortable scene from the
critically acclaimed It’s Always Sunny In
Philadelphia embodies many of the issues of the language and the
“narratives, complexes and institutions” which perpetuate the language, script
or procedure of un-named rape (389).
One of the four protagonists
frequently seduces women in a sociopathic manner, often to what is construed as
comedic effect. Much of the shows dark humour stems from how malign it can
construct its characters while still allowing them to retain their humorous
draw. Dennis abuse of women is his mortal flaw in the show, but the humour is
incredibly damaging as it reinforces “language structures” which perpetuate
rape and even rewards the viewer with the less damaging humorous wit in the series
(390). When Dennis says “they can’t refuse because of the implication” whilst
isolated on a boat, he is committing sexual assault without, what Markus
describes as, “act of naming” (400).
Carrying
roughly a fifth of the shows content, Dennis is portrayed in countless ways
abusing women’s safety for allegedly humorous ends. A key component of his
“system” for picking up women are “nurturing dependence” , specifically by
prank calling and terrorizing women with physical threats from ‘third
party’. The show directly depicting him
calling one of his victims with a voice masking device and proclaiming “I’m
watching you, you bitch. You’re going to die tonight”, so as to drive the women
further into his protection.
His
abuse of women extends further than just mere self-inflation. In the season
three premiere he convinces a woman to partake in LSD and later on copulates
with her, as a means of extracting revenge on a man who called him an
inauthentic hippy.
The
actions are so clearly inappropriate the audience is left with the question as
to whether the character of Dennis is some kind of dark parody of the world we
live in. Could the character be a means of condensing all the issues of rape
culture into a single telos as to point out the flaws in the system? Or is the
humour of his crass, manipulative and sociopathic actions simply another way of
reinforcing these structures, by allowing them to be something to laugh at? If
anyone in the course is looking to do a content discourse analysis on rape
culture, the show is ripe with unapologetic examples.
[on a side note- Recently Ex Machina has become available on Canadian Netflix. Its portrayal
of femininity, humanity and authenticity are very interesting. In terms of
understanding the narratives and discourse available, the movie claims that an
authentic intelligence cannot simply reiterate phrases, but must be able to
generate its own.]
To flesh out your questions concerning Dennis' character I am going to explore the victim-blaming present in Marcus' argument. I think that the two clips you include could be viewed as supporting Marcus' argument that "rapes often succeed as a result of women's fears" (394), however I do not believe that they have to. Marcus argues that by being fearful subjects women are conceiving themselves as beings to be destroyed, as lacking agency and action (394). Thus to break the rape script for Marcus entails an insertion of "women's will, agency, and capacity for violence" (395). While I am not at odds with these characteristics Marcus wishes feminist discourse would give women, other than perhaps an increased potential for violence which I believe is problematic, this focus blames rape on women's fear.
ReplyDelete"The implication" discussed in the clips shown is, I believe, similar to this argument. Dennis suggests that he is able to have sex (read: sexual assault) with women because of their fear of what may happen if they resist. Stranded on a boat far from land with a strange man, Dennis thinks women will not resist sex because they know what violence they may experience as a result. Therefore in a sense Dennis is also blaming his victims for their own rape; because they are non-combative the rape was able to occur. Dennis insists that if a woman said no he would, of course, stop. But, if she seems to not be resisting, then the rape is able to happen - it is the result of her own passive actions.
Now to consider the questions you discuss about Dennis: Is his character meant to make fun of and thus resist this victim-blaming thinking? Or does his character simply represent and reinforce this victim-blaming? While I do not think these scenes are flawless, I understood them as an effort to comedically dismiss this victim-blaming. Dennis is telling his buddy Mac about this notion of "the implication" and during this conversation Mac is clearly not supportive. Both that Mac is slightly aghast that Dennis seems to be justifying rape, and that Dennis' character sees no issue with his plan, indicate to me that the show is attempting to make fun of this notion of victim blaming.
However, I am not certain that this is how most people would receive Dennis' character especially when we consider that feminist scholars such as Marcus are furthering this discourse of victim-blaming.