Basic story: High school couple on first date at a school dance; they are both a little socially awkward and inexperienced. She isn’t at all adverse to “making out,” and they end up in the dark room where
Under her parents prodding, she accuses him of assault and attempted rape. He appears to be sincerely unaware that she felt she had been a victim of attempted rape. In court he had clearly been coached to say the “right” things—“I know my attitude was disrespectful to women.”
Lines from the program that got my attention are: (I’m probably not remembering them with total accuracy).
The registry is very harsh.
We need new rules (governing sexual behavior today).
The rules need to be clearer.
In California they have passed affirmative consent laws.
Response: Yeah, we’ll see how that goes.
One good thing about the episode is the clear message that the young lady in question would have, without doubt, accepted the young man’s apology and been happy to let it go, but that once the police and the district attorney were involved, she did not have that option.
But by far the most compelling message is that the registry is a bad, bad thing. Hopefully, this episode will open up dialogue even more for the discussion of the inappropriateness of the registry being part of the equation when it comes to juvenile and teenage situations.
The end result is not guilty for attempted rape or assault but guilty for unwanted sexual behavior.
Oh, and yes, he would be required to register. His future is over; she is pulled from the courtroom in tears while trying to tell him she is sorry. Good drama; lousy ending.
Two kids, almost forced by the system into adversarial positions, but no winners. When the public registry is part of the equation, there never are.
Law & Order SVU needs to be taken off the air because it's pretty obvious that the writers are just as much brainwashed by the media as the average person. And their show actually plays a role in the continuing brainwashing of the people who watch it and thats in the millions. Sadly.
ReplyDeleteIn your article you made this statement:
"Hopefully, this episode will open up dialogue even more for the discussion of the inappropriateness of the registry being part of the equation when it comes to juvenile and teenage situations."
Reality is that the only discussion this episode will open is the discussion parents will have with their teenage hormonal kids about how "wrong" it is to be a teenager going through what is NORMAL for human growth.
When are we going to stop making sexuality a bad thing?
There are a couple of things going on in this story;
1) Feminism. A "girl" or "woman" is not equal to a man, she is beneath him and cannot make her own decisions as to whether or not she wants to ruin his life. She's told by law enforcement (and her parents of course) that her life is 'oh-so-ruined' by the natural and normal effects of being sexual.
2) Another part of #1, she's being forced to do one thing while being told she is unable to be consenting of another.
But no one will take notice of that.
To hell with L&O SVU. The writers should have the courage to tell situations like it is and not sugarcoat them for what society expects them to be. Although this is a scripted show with actors, the truth is, lives are ruined in real life every day because of things even our parents did back in their days and no one was "damaged" from it as a sexual experience and no one was prosecuted for it.
It's only a television show based on the writers conception , the word teenager if over fourty and servived has changed dramaticly . The discriptive of teen ageing is 13teen to 19 teen and only recently has been divided but not yet brought to the atention of the Amercan public .
DeleteWondering if the feminist are insulted that the bridge under the George Washington bridge is noted as the Martha Washington, and the cost is the same to cross . Equal rights I guess .
I agree, Maestro. I stopped watching SVU after the first couple of episodes years and years ago. It was obvious that SVU was just another kind of pornography. Shelly is right, though, that if recognizing the harm that comes of the registry is part of THAT particular show, then questioning the registry might be on its way to mainstream thinking. We can hope. (Thanks for watching the show for me, Shelly, lol. I won't do it.)
ReplyDeleteI agree Marie. Shelly is right, that if recognizing the harm that comes of the registry is part of THAT particular show, then questioning the registry might be on its way to mainstream thinking.
ReplyDeleteBut the program, before the episode even starts, is basically informing the viewers that the party charged with the offense is already an "Offender" and guilty during the opening narration:
"In the criminal justice system, the people are represented by two separate yet equally important groups: the police, who investigate crime; and the district attorneys, who prosecute the offenders. These are their stories." They make no comment on the third party of the justice system; The defense attorney who fights for the rights of the accused..not offenders.
Sloan44
I'm in! If this episode causes the viewers to question the registry, even if just for juveniles, they've done a good thing.
ReplyDeleteI cannot watch it either and what really distresses me is that most fans I've talked with think it's factual! The public has forgotten how to think for themselves, question the rhetoric, and dismiss the BS.