What’s funnier, cancer or rape? That’s a trick question; neither is funny. And in the past 24 hours I’ve seen concerns for two Seth Rogen movies because of how they involve these unfunny subjects. Of course, I doubt the cancer comedy Funny People will turn as many people off as much as the date rape joke in Observe and Report.
If you’ve seen the red-band trailer for Observe and Report, you’ve seen the gist of the joke, which has Rogen pause mid-intercourse because he thinks Anna Faris’ character is unconscious. She’s apparently not, though, and scolds the guy for stopping. Yes, it’s black comedy, and yes, it makes sense as a joke in theory. But neither Faris’ seemingly conscious outburst nor the audiences’ laughter make it okay, according to some people who will not be going to see the movie this weekend or ever.
Few blogs are writing about the date rape issue surrounding the movie, but those that are have received a few interesting comments, all of which make me wonder if Observe and Report’s box office could be even slightly hurt by the joke. Certainly there have been successful films featuring total scumbag protagonists (Gran Torino is one example, though its character’s racism isn’t necessarily played for laughs), but does this one really appear to be saying that the scumbaggery is forgiveable in certain situations? After reading Faris’ thoughts, watching Rogen’s apologism and reading the comments below, let us if you’ll also be avoiding the movie as a result of its misogynous humor.
* In the first of two posts on the issue, Sady at Tiger Beatdown complains, in response to the apologism of the punchline, that the film not just “contains, by all accounts, a scene of rape; it contains, by all accounts, a scene of rape in which the victim likes it and begs for more.” Commenter “antiplath” writes:
this movie sounds beyond horrid and I’m about to vomit just reading the description of the rape scene. Do people actually laugh at this? Really?
* Quoting from Sady’s post, Melissa McEwan at Shakesville calls the film an “unmitigated clusterfuck” and calls Rogen “Rape Apologist #1.” Commenter “AnneOnne” asks:
Why is it that people would want to ban or belittle perfectly consensual, nuanced portrayals of human sexuality, yet find it acceptable, indeed ‘artistic’ to broadcast rape as entertainment or being ‘edgy’. We have serious problems with our attitudes to sexuality, humour and free speech.
* Dan Kois at Vulture affirms that what Rogen’s character does is indeed rape, though in context, “this scene winds up seeming a lot less awful as the movie goes on.” Commenting in response to Kois’ inclusion of a justifying quote from Faris, “REBECCAROSE2004″ writes:
because I suspect many people will defend this by saying “Oh, well Anna Faris thought it was no big deal, and she’s a woman, so we shouldn’t care., I will say this…go rent a BRILLIANT film called “The Journals of Jean Seberg” directed by cinematic mastermind Mark Rappaport. Once you have seen his unflinching depiction of how carelessly women allow themselves to be used and abused just to claim the privelege of being part of the Hollywood scene, then I will be THRILLED to debate you on this issue. He frames it in a way that is more poignant and impactful than I ever would.
* In her second post, which responds to the Vulture piece, Sady gets even more infuriated:
what we need to talk about is that the other crimes of violence in Observe & Report are just so much worse than rape, really, so women and rape victims should all just chill and agree to like the movie (even though, I am betting, it’s far more likely that a woman will be raped at the end of a date than that she will be killed or maimed by a comically insane mall security guard; I am also betting that the widespread social toleration of rape is far more likely to be reinforced by a joke that trivializes and justifies rape than the non-existent social toleration of murder is likely to be reinforced by a joke about murder)
* Amanda Hess at The Sexist also lashes out at the joke being that “she just prefers to fuck while sleeping!” Commenter “Brohem Can Sukkit” writes:
Rogen: “when we’re having sex and she’s unconscious…”
You’re not “having sex” when one of you is UNCONSCIOUS you disgusting piece of shit! Now I even regret just having rented Knocked Up. I’ll never see anything associated with this scumbag again. He Fatty Arbuckled himself here as far as I’m concerned.
