“Just because a woman says no, and you have sex, are you a rapist automatically because of that?” Yes. The Hunting Ground is a documentary about rape on college campuses, and it is an unfortunate second installment in an accidental film series on rape from the same creators who made The Invisible War. I could be wrong, but I think that a proud mother whose daughter helped make the documentary recommended it to me at a neighborhood barbeque. The mother then shared how she got raped in college then her daughter had the same experience decades later.
The Hunting Ground clearly takes a side on behalf of those who were sexually assaulted, which has provoked a considerable amount of criticism regarding bias and accuracy. If you instinctually believe that is the right side to take or are familiar with how universities and law enforcement addresses sexual assaults, then you probably aren’t one of the people that needs to watch this documentary. The majority of stories do not explicitly name the perpetrator so it shouldn’t be a surprise that the criticism is from employees of the various universities. Secure the bag!
The Hunting Ground combines personal stories, sober statistics and expert talking heads to persuade viewers that rape occurs; rapists should be stopped to prevent more sexual assaults since only 8% of men commit 90% of rapes according to David Lisak, which are inevitable without appropriate action; and the current bureaucratic response is deliberately and commonly inadequate to disproportionately favor the perpetrator regardless of the identity of the institution. You should bring your reading glasses because there is tons of information written on screen that helps to provide broader context to the survivors’ story. If you respond to these concepts with a “duh,” again, you probably don’t need to watch this documentary unless you decide that you actively want to be armed with facts and responses when faced with people who respond in complete opposition to these concepts. I would love it to be required viewing for everyone.
The Hunting Ground is initially structured to replicate the college experience: the excitement of getting in; the delight at finally reaching the campus and becoming a part of a community then the blow of the whole experience and a life getting hijacked by an act of violence within that community then psychologically amplified by the lack of response from authority figures. The movie moves from personal stories to exploring possible reasons why institutions are so unresponsive to actively hostile to people who did not do anything wrong. It is an unhealthy casual mix of money, commercial branding and politics borne from school pride, especially if sports or fraternity is involved. The sports atheist in me leapt at that explanation—institutions of higher learning privilege sports over academics because sports make universities more money.
If you went to college, The Hunting Ground probably features your alma mater. Sadly my alma mater is prominently featured throughout the documentary. It is going on everywhere, but even though some areas are well known hot spots, no institution wants to warn people because it will make that place seem as if it is the rape college when everyone has a problem.
The Hunting Ground tries to end on an uplifting note by showing how it energized some survivors to become activists. While numerous stories are told, the most prominent activists featured are Annie Park and Andrea Pino, and how their personal experiences galvanized into a national project to prevent rape on campus. If you watch the DVD version of this documentary, thanks to their hard work, they provide resources for people regarding how to use Title IX to achieve some form of justice. Because this documentary was made before Presidon’t was in office, there is optimism that appealing to the Department of Education to withdraw federal funds from schools that refuse to address sexual assault on campus, but I wonder how effective that is when you possibly have an alleged rapist or at least a man who is buddies with one of the most prominent pedophiles of our time and gravitates towards abusers in the highest elected office.
I would have liked if The Hunting Ground had spent a little time with the survivors discussing what their plans were before this experience. I’m not only angry about the fact that these people were violated, but now they are essentially forced to be advocates and experts in an area that may not have been their chosen field or inclination. For example, one survivor was planning to go to medical school, but she talks about being a nanny. Part of the college experience is frequently changing your major, and there is nothing wrong with deciding not to be a doctor and focusing on a career nurturing children, but how much of a role did rape play? How much of a person gets lost because of violence and then the psychological trauma of injustice and gaslighting? It focuses on the psychological and physiological impact, but not what happens as more time passes after they leave campus. When something bad happens to you, you shouldn’t have to become an activist in order to survive. Only one interviewee explicitly was interested in activism before someone raped her.
The Hunting Ground wisely included male victims, disillusioned law enforcement officers, male clinical psychologists and fathers. People don’t trust women so hearing a father’s pain over his daughter’s rape will probably psychologically resonate more and be instinctually trusted more than a woman talking about her experience. The idea that a man can no longer be proud of his alma mater or cheer his favorite sports team will probably resonate with more viewers than a woman actually talking about her first hand experience of being raped. The documentary does spend a considerable amount of time on one high profile case and shows how especially women can callously dismiss another woman’s story, especially if it threatens their good time.
If you are familiar with this subject, The Hunting Ground can begin to feel repetitive, enervating and begin to blend together. I actually watched it a few times because it is hard as a person who agrees with it to see it critically like an ordinary documentary with a structure that conveys ideas well or poorly. Even though it is an honor to hear people share their experiences, it is numbing and consuming to hear so many stories and know how many more stories aren’t being heard or addressed, which is another reason that I’m concerned for survivors who become advocates. I can’t imagine how much more exhausting it would be for someone who directly experienced this trauma. It is a CNN Film so like most news shows, it has high definition video quality and high production values. I do recommend it to those people who instinctually get defensive when they even hear the word rape.
Side note: how come sororities aren’t allowed to have alcohol, but fraternities are?