AMC Presents: Revenge Of The Porn
There were a dozen or so men. All dressed in hoodies to obstruct their faces. They broke into the house where many young women lived and ransacked the place, stealing undergarments as a distraction while others planted cameras. They returned to their residence, and spent the entire evening watching the women while they undressed.
But for one man, simply seeing wasn’t enough. Several weeks later, he took things in an even darker direction. He stalked one woman in particular, and showed up at a costume event she attended. He stole her boyfriend’s mask, and disguised as him, followed the women to a remote area where he sexually assaulted her. She did not resist, as she believed the man was her boyfriend. When he finally took off the mask, she realized what had happened.
Yet, she did not run away, or report this incident. She did not go to the hospital for a rape kit. In fact, she forgave the man on the spot. In the ensuing time, there were no repercussions for his actions. Even worse, they started dating, as he and his friends sold topless photos of her, screengrabs from the cameras they planted.
This story is terrible, and it’s hard to imagine the pain and horror an experience like this can cause. And as much as It sounds like another tragic story ripped from the headlines, it wasn’t.
It was the plotline of an 80’s comedy called Revenge Of The Nerds.
Let’s put this all in context. I was watching the AMC version of this movie with my college-age son. We were road-tripping from Oregon back home to LA and stopped at a hotel for the night. We watched it together and slowly I began to see it with new eyes. My son also gave me some sideways glances as if “Is this really happening?” during several scenes.
In the edited-for-TV version, they removed nudity and language, but the central plot point of Rape By Deception and Revenge Porn, remained intact. I found it odd that AMC didn’t want people to hear “Shit” or “God Damn,” yet, major sexual assault scenes and themes were left untouched by the Broadcast, Standards and Practice department. Especially considering their job is much more than just editing profanity. They are responsible for the moral, ethical, and legal implications of the program.
So, how can did this slip through? How can it be ok to air a movie that sends the wrong message to men and women? How can this be the standard by which we evaluate morality in entertainment?
I started asking fellow children of the 80’s how they remembered the movie. The general recollection was this: Nerds start a fraternity, get bullied by the cool kids, comeback to win the fraternity event, and the nerd gets the girl. Classic underdog tale, right?
But as I dug deeper, many of the sordid details had been forgotten. And when I repeated back those unsavory plot points, you could see the confusion and anger in their eyes.
My son’s reaction to the movie made me proud. Because every 80’s movie sets up women as sex objects, possessions or achievements to be conquered. It’s no wonder the men of my generation who have committed sexual assaults or silently challenge the #metoo movement feel entitled to their behavior. Because they were raised in a culture of entertainment that taught them to be that way. The movies shaped the culture and the culture shaped their attitude. It’s jaw dropping, and yet, as we experienced it in 1984 real-time, we thought nothing of it.
I could go on, because there are many more movies that treat women like this. And yes, some may give them a pass as movies were not as “woke” as they are today. But what separates this movie is the way these messages slid into our consciousness through the back door. How we forgot the dark plot line through our adult memory. How it was presented as a comedy, geared toward children who are forming their identity and attitude towards women.
Let’s cut to today. If my college-age son can see the deeply immoral fault lines in this movie, why can’t the networks? How is it ok to normalize such acts, and send a message that men can have sex with women by any means possible? Why would we make it seem ok for women to overlook sexual assaults? Why did she forgive her attacker simply because she had an orgasm? And how can we show the sequels, where the couple gets married, and pretend they can have a healthy, adult relationship.
Oh, and any kids watching should know that sharing nude pictures for profit is socially acceptable. Mind blowing, right?
Just as we have taken down symbols of our racist past, we should do the same with entertainment that propagates an old way of thinking and sends the wrong message to men and women everywhere. Yes, we can blame it on the past, but today we are in the present. And today we have a voice in what our entertainment says about how we see women, how we live our lives and how we teach our children.
And “GodDammit,” the networks should get their “shit” together and make the right choices too.
