As far as I can recollect The Accused scene was disturbing (more for the fact that there were numerous people witnessing the act and did nothing and the one guy who did stand up still lacked the balls to stand up all the way). The scene in Irreversible is 8 or so mins. which already makes it more disturbing and honest in my opinion. Her gut wrenching screams go on forever. The only thing that makes the scene a bit false was the use of a cgi penis. What makes the scene graphic is the manner in which it was carried out, the language used, the violence. She was turned into nothing more than a fleshy hole in the ground.
In short, I don’t think the scene in the Accused compares to the one in Irreversible, in a tangible or visceral sense. They are both good scenes with emotional value, but Irreversible takes the cake so to speak.
Also, when they said "this would never happen in a US movie" I think they were talking about the harshness and the sheer length of the scene. They didn’t say that the rape would be suggested and then cut away. If anything they were saying that the scenes didn’t last 5 to 10 mins as the one in Irreversible does. They didn’t say they didn’t show it at all, just not for as long, especially in the cases of ones as unsettling as Irreversible.
“(Though I wonder what it would have initially gotten if the NC-17 rating existed in 1988.)”
I really doubt it would have gotten an NC-17. That rating used to be X until Deep Throat came out and X became a term for pornography. NC-17 is usually given to movies with pervasive sexual or violent content. The Accused does not qualify. Every NC-17 film I have seen is far beyond The Accused in mature content. Also, they (the makers of the film) would have wanted The Accused to be R so it would have the chance to be seen by a bigger subset of adults. This is also important because it was based on a true story and who doesn’t like that? Another selling point, another reason why it was acclaimed and not snubbed. Irreversible was fiction, an idea. The idea of a brutal rape is a lot more confusing to the public at large. "Why would you show that if you dont have to? Why would you go there?" This mentality is the same mentality the majority of Americans have invloving sex in film in general. "Did we really need to see that? Couldn't we have just got the implication and went on from there? Did that sex scene really need to go on for so long or even be there in the first place?"
“I guess American studios aren't so prudish and afraid after all. But it is more fun to bash Americans than to be accurate.”
American studios are made of Americans, just as of Government. They not only are us, but are in control of us. What we see, do, talk about, ect. The studios want to make movies, tell stories, entertain, AND first and foremost, make money. The ratings system is a way to regulate what we see, but also what is made. Hence it is the American public that comprises American studios and delegates what the rest of us Americans can do in the realm of film (if one wants studio backing). Now, that is not to say that Americans are the prudish ones. It’s the certain Americans that run the studios that are prudish. And they are prudish because America was settled by the Puritans and the religious right (mostly). Religion/morals keeps movies like Irreversible from being made under American studios, for the studios are attempting to work within the right’s guidelines, from the inside (the studios) and outside (the public). They don’t want to upset the applecart and they want to make money. Easy way to do that is to do what you are told and make things that the ordinary Christian or even non-practicing Catholic would see, like and endorse. Americans are getting more and more open to NC-17 films and themes in general. Our youth is more open to what some would call sins than ever before. Gay acceptance and adopting Agnostic/Atheism beliefs instead of believing in an organized religion, or even a god at all is gaining in numbers. Maybe we will see things change in the American studios when the new generation grows a bit and cultural changes happen. There are tons of open-minded Americans just waiting for their chance, hence the birth of American Independent films and film goers. The people are there, the thoughts are there, they just aren’t accepted by the majority...yet.
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