With the Oscars just over a month away, there's been some serious talk about Leo's umpteenth nomination, and the suspense around if he'll ever get one. Maybe? Maybe? We'll see. But with his newest movie, "The Revenant," there's been a lot of talk about the "rape" scene.
Ahhh yes, "The Revenant" rape scene, where Leo's character, Hugh Glass, is rumored to get raped by a bear. Spoiler alert to anybody who still hasn't seen it: he just gets mauled by a bear, and there is no rape involved. Also, the bear is a mom protecting her cubs. I don't really see why this is getting any attention, if I'm being honest. It made sense to me that he couldn't kill a bear with one shot and that she was going to come after him with a vengeance. What doesn't make sense to me, is that there was an actual rape in the movie and nobody seemed to notice. Here's what happens when you Google "the revenant rape."
Only one of the top seven articles seems to even mention the actual "Revenant" rape scene upon first glance. People are more moved about a supposed bear rape than they are about an actual rape scene. The actual rape scene was not censored either. French trappers stole a Native American girl from her tribe because her father needed five horses. (I forgot women are bartering tools). The trapper asked for the girl while he was sitting around with his friends and colleagues and muttered something to the effect of, "He didn't think that we just gave him the horses, did he?" It was graphic. You were watching the trapper thrust and the Native American girl, Powaqa, struggle. I couldn't watch the entire scene.
I'm disappointed in Hollywood for using rape for entertainment purposes and furthering a plot. I get it. It's set in 1823, and times were different back then. But it's currently 2016, and they only had two notable women roles in that movie. One woman was killed by white men and the other brutally raped by white men. A little creativity could have gone a long way here, people.
Will I be rooting for "The Revenant" at the Oscars? Probably not. Will I rewatch "The Revenant?" No. I will, however, continue to question why there was no uproar about a gruesome rape, when there was an uproar about a roaring momma bear doing bear things. It's not due to a lack of viewers, with Box Office Mojo reporting over $100 million in total domestic grosses. It's not for a lack of time, because when the people of the internet get fixated on something, they are fixated on something. (Yes, I'm looking at you Starbucks red cup opposers and "the dress" fanatics.)
If Hollywood is going to highlight something so serious like rape, let's at least not let it just be a plot point for a movie, let's talk about it. With the slue of celebrities casted and all of the attention being received, why is nobody talking about the seriousness of what they showed? So, Leo, can you at least pledge #NoMore and spread some awareness to the harsh reality of both sexual assault and human trafficking? This movie could be used as a spring board to talk about serious problems that were facing our country in 1823 that we are still working on today, instead of just a paycheck.
