The Digital Representation of Sexual Violence against Women

We consume digital media every second of every day. Be it films, books (I include them because of their digital adaptations these days) or games, the public are constantly digesting from the digital domain. The content that we become susceptible to has never mattered so much than it has now in this current social climate. Whether we have to be careful how we depict discrimination or terrorism, amongst other sensitive topics, the context in which something is displayed is remarkably important to get right. From my research, this might not be the case.

To put this article in the right context, let me first share with you my opinion on the depiction of sensitive subjects in digital media. I am not a fan of omitting content because of its level of sensitivity. We have the BBFC (British Board of Film Classification) and MPAA (Motion Picture Association of America) certifications in films, and PEGI (Pan European GameInformation) and ESRB (Entertainment SoftwareRating Board) in games that make sure that the content being published to the public is targeted towards a suitable age group and audience. An older audience will be more prepared to cope with sex and violence in comparison to a youthful audience, for example. So the case for complete censorship and omission is counteracted by these governing bodies originally created to prevent the publication of mature content to an inappropriate audience.

So where does this lead me to? Well, being a student of video game design and a student journalist on pertinent issues in the games industry (particularly in Scotland), I am constantly tested on hotly-debated topics. However, this is the first time I am personally tackling the topic of violence depiction. Most recently, within the last two or three years, there has been a lot of discussion surrounding the portrayal of violence in games, particularly against women. Rather than focus solely on games (as I believe games are unjustly the “easy target of blame” in terms of digital media), I want to open the discussion to all areas of the digital world, in regards to films and books.

I will be the first to admit that not all games deals with violence in the best manner. I will throw out one game I can safely say doesn’t deal with violence against women very well: the Grand Theft Auto franchise (do they ever deal with violence effectively?). The game is fuelled with murder, looting and vandalism, so it’s not the best case study in defending digital content. I do want to draw the attention of one particular area of the game, which involves female prostitution (in hindsight, it’s a wonder why there’s never any male prostitutes). What players discovered was that they could pick up prostitutes from the streets, lead them to a secluded area, watch the car ‘bounce’, then allow the prostitute to leave the car before proceeding to kill the prostitute in order to regain their money. This doesn’t help the cause for violence against women and there have been a multitude of complaints against the content in the Grand Theft Auto series (just Google it), but it is rated-18 for a reason and it is continually released and certified by PEGI and ESRB for a specific audience who should be dealing with the content in a mature manner. More often than not, it is the youths who are illegally playing this game and attempting to carry out similar actions (if any), not the demographic for which the game was intended for.

However, one of the most recent examples of this portrayal of violence against women (in an arguably-positive light) is Lara Croft’s latest – or, contextually, her very first – adventure in the Tomb Raider, released on March 5^th 2013 and rated-18 by PEGI. When the game was first announced and shown to the audience, there was a sensationally-positive response as to how great the game looked. However, when critics and players looked under the bonnet, they found a particular momentthat sparked a fair amount of criticism towards developers Crystal Dynamics. For those who haven’t played the game, Lara finds herself on the run from a group of rogues, with no equipment and her hands bound behind her (emphasising her vulnerability). She is caught by one of the rogues who attempts to take advantage of her weakened state by acting sexually aggressive, causing Lara (by the player’s control) to take action physically and resulting in the death of either Lara or the rogue (depending on whether the player succeeds or fails). As much as the content can be interpreted as shocking, the audience that it is targeted for should be able to cope with the content on a mature level (as signified by the certification received by PEGI). Unless the content is found (illegally, might I add again) in the hands of a younger audience, the content should not be brought into question due to the governing bodies certifying the product as satisfactory for the audience. This content supplies a strong message to its consumers about how vulnerable people (females, in this particular situation) are preyed upon and sexually violated by individuals who will use any weakness to their advantage. The stir that this content created provided effective publicity for the cause against sexual violence against women because of the digital distribution to the masses, something which I believe should be capitalised upon for other causes.

I would be bold in saying films do not receive nearly enough criticism in terms of “sensitive portrayal of events” as games do, but the content is still there and being consumed by the mass majority of the public. Take, for instance, The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo: either the original Swedish version (2009) or the English adaptation (2011). For the character of Lisbith Salander, the film can be broken into two halves: a troubled, vulnerable girl for the first part, and developing into a strong, bold woman that plays a pivotal role in the outcome of the film. What causes this transition, in my eyes, is the gruesome “guardianship” that she endures from Nils Bjurman. Taking advantage of his authoritative position, Nils sexually assaults Lisbith on a number of occasions – and in great detail. I struggled to watch this without feeling repulsed, which is exactly the feeling (as a viewer) you are meant to experience. Staying true to the events in the books – and the much-debated events of author Stieg Larsson’s earlier life – the film delivers a powerfully-projected moment that would horrify the faint-hearted. Rather than delivering a “voyeuristic” experience, the film conveys a grief-stricken and distressing scene that shines a bright light on the issue of violence against women in an effective manner. I do believe that this is one of the most powerful and effective awareness-raising techniques that we can incorporate to get our message across to the majority of society.

Games and films have the advantage of cinematography when it comes to conveying information, but what about novels? Where do they stand in this debate? Well, I firmly believe that novels can have a worse effect on people (if any) than games. With books, you are not shown graphics or scenes; you’re not spoon-fed visual details. Instead, books rely on an individual to lower the walls of resistance to their imagination in order to draw up a mental scene of what’s on the page. This is why I think books can be more harmful to promoting sexual violence than games or films. The counter to this is using it in the right way, whatever that may be subjectively construed as. I want to take a book that many may not call one of the “classics”, but it caught the attention of the public for its graphical content and, more importantly, how that content was perceived. I’m referring, of course, to 50 Shades of Grey. Admittedly, I have not read the book, so I don’t have the content between the covers to rely on with this part. What I can discuss, though, is the reception it garnered. Over 70 million books sold worldwide and a film adaptation to come, it’s safe to say it has reached a demographic of all ages and backgrounds. But it’s depiction of BDSM (bondage, discipline, sadism and masochism) had many people in a war of words (no pun intended) over the contextualisation of the novel. With some viewing it as downright obscene and vulgar, others defended it for distributing erotica of this nature safely within the Trade Descriptions Act 1968 (after all, it was published and placed in the “teen fiction” section of Waterstones). My naïve view from the outside looking in lies on the former’s side: the content can be taken severely out of context and (as I’m sure has been the case) could result in the content being transferred into the real world: either by a male or female, through will or not. But the audience is there. Everyone knows what it is. They may not necessarily like it or agree with it, but their awareness has been captivated by it, which brings about the potential of marketing and advertisement to combat violence against women.

What I’m trying to get across from this is that digital mediums may not necessarily be the cause of violence against the female population. There is no scientific research – on writing this article – to prove that games or films or books have a direct effect on a person’s actions. But omitting events will not educate a consumer on the right from the wrong. My personal experience comes from playing games that force me into making in-game, high-pressured decisions that could cause a “digital death” (a game over, for example). There was only so much my parents and teachers could teach me on this matter; even now, I baffle my parents talking about justice and morality and politics because I learnt about it through digital media. Digital media, to me, is more so an educational platform now than it has ever been, and this must be capitalised on. Where violence against females, or any violence, exists in digital media, the content will always be doubted as “too graphic” and “too sensitive”. But we have to look past that and look at the educational value (in terms of morality) of these depictions. Technology doesn’t need to be our enemy, and in this digital age, we have to embrace the potential as much as possible.

Andrew Reid

Managing Director