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.]
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