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After reading this article, I am more than ever convinced that the answer is a big resounding YES.
"It’s not a rape movie," Fanning said Tuesday. "That’s not even the point of the film."
The disturbing scene lasts a few minutes but is not graphic. There is no nudity, the scene is very darkly lit and only Fanning’s face and hand are shown.
Kampmeier said it took her a decade to get the film made, largely because of the rape scene, but cutting it was a compromise she was unwilling to make.
"This issue is so silenced in our society. There are a lot of women who are alone with this story," she said.
"When you’re shooting a film, it’s the images you line up next to each other that create a story," Kampmeier said. "If you have a hand hitting the ground, Dakota screaming ‘stop’ and you see a zipper unzip — that creates a rape."
Ted Baehr, chairman of the Christian Film and Television Commission and publisher of the Web site movieguide.org, claims "Hounddog" breaks federal child-pornography law. He said the law covers material that "appears" to show minors engaging in sexually explicit conduct.
"Even if they’re not actually performing the explicit act, we are dealing with a legal issue here," he said.
Baehr said Fanning is being exploited in the film, and that it should be considered an outrage.
"Children at 12 do not have the ability to make the types of decisions that we’re talking about here," he said. "If we’re offended by some comedian’s racial slur, why aren’t we offended by somebody taking advantage of a 12-year-old child?"
Two other children perform in the film. Cody Hanford plays Buddy, and Isabelle Fuhrman plays a girl nicknamed "Grasshopper."
Kampmeier said she talked with the children and their parents but didn’t go into great detail with the young actors about the content.
"I didn’t have to articulate to Cody and Isabelle the psychological elements that were going on in this film," she said. "I used images to tell the story. I didn’t manipulate these children or explain to these children what was going on."
Fanning said she and Kampmeier talked for months before the film was shot and spent a day painting pottery together and discussing the story.
"It’s not really happening," Fanning said of a rape. "It’s a movie, and it’s called acting. I’m not going through anything. Cody and Isabelle aren’t going through anything, their characters are.
"And for me, when it’s done it’s done," she said. "I don’t even think about it anymore."
Sundance director Geoffrey Gilmore said independent filmmakers should pursue sensitive subject matter.
"I feel the mission and very nature of what Sundance is about is to provide a platform for that," he said.
Tags: dakota fanning
As people begin to actually see this movie, those who chose to condemn the makers of Hounddog before seeing it for themselves and getting all the facts straight are being shown for the idiots they truly are, many continuing to live in denial of the facts.
Sean Hannity is perhaps the best example, as last Monday he interviewed someone who saw the movie at its premiere at Sundance. I forget the lady’s name, but I believe she was introduced as a conservative District Attorney and a child advocate for 30 years, so Hannity was a bit surprised when she revealed that all the negative claims about Dakota’s infamous rape scene simply aren’t true. According to her, all we see is Dakota from her shoulders on up and the guy’s arm. There is no touching, and the rape is actually achieved through editing tricks, and not on the set as some have claimed. She explained that it occurs more in the viewer’s mind than in the movie.
But Hannity was not satisfied, claiming that what she saw was a “sanitized” version, and that he wanted to see everything that was left on the cutting room floor. Um, right, Sean. You haven’t seen the movie, you weren’t involved in the editing process, you weren’t involved in the production whatsoever, yet you somehow know what “really” went on. What a jackass.
But probably the most disturbing evidence of these people’s dangerous mindset is what Catholic League president Bill Donohue, who is pushing for a federal investigation of the film to see if child pornography laws were being violated during shooting, said on CNN last Monday. He said that if this was not Dakota, but some unknown 12-year old actress who was involved in a rape scene, he wouldn’t even bother with it. Unbelievable.
Obviously, this is all about exploiting Dakota’s popularity and success to push their agenda, and has nothing whatsoever to do with a 12-year old being raped onscreen.
Finally, as reported by the Associated Press: Dakota herself sums it all up for us.
“It’s not really happening,” Fanning said of a rape. “It’s a movie, and it’s called acting.”
The key question is whether or not this is true:
“The law covers material that “appears” to show minors engaging in sexually explicit conduct.”
And then, of course, there is the question of the spirit of the law: is the law intended to capture scenes like this…