Dakota, 12, to star in 'disturbing paedophile film'

[Willamena]

We don't need Dakota Fanning to be exploited for our "education."

Acting is not "being exploited". I'm sure I'd like to hear her side of this.

 

[!Fluffy!]

We don't need Dakota Fanning to be exploited for our "education."

:clap: Amen.

 

[angellous_evangellous]

Acting is not "being exploited". I'm sure I'd like to hear her side of this.

Imagine this:

A local pastor has a Sunday School class of 12 yr olds. In an effort to educate the kids about the horrors of sexual abuse, he has a deacon and a volunteer kid act as if the kid was being raped, with exposure and everything. All the while a member of the church is videotaping the whole event with the intent to sell and make a profit for the minister.

Without question, children are being abused in this case.

 

[Willamena]

Imagine this:

A local pastor has a Sunday School class of 12 yr olds. In an effort to educate the kids about the horrors of sexual abuse, he has a deacon and a volunteer kid act as if the kid was being raped, with exposure and everything. All the while a member of the church is videotaping the whole event with the intent to sell and make a profit for the minister.

Without question, children are being abused in this case.

Yes, but then the local pastor is not a professional filmmaker and the children involved not professional actors. The situation is entirely different.

 

[angellous_evangellous]

Yes, but then the local pastor is not a professional filmmaker and the children involved not professional actors. The situation is entirely different.

Professionalism is no excuse.

We have professional bank robbers, too. Here we have in Hollywood professional child exploitation.

 

[Willamena]

Professionalism is no excuse.

We have professional bank robbers, too. Here we have in Hollywood professional child exploitation.

You are correct: professionalism is not an excuse, it is a standard. The film industry has standards that it must adhere to, government and peer guided regulations.

 

[SoyLeche]

Yes, but then the local pastor is not a professional filmmaker and the children involved not professional actors. The situation is entirely different.

Define professional. If it simply means getting paid, then he would be a professional filmmaker if he were to sell the film, and if he paid the deacon and the teenager than they would be professional actors. We're back to the same situation.

 

[angellous_evangellous]

You are correct: professionalism is not an excuse, it is a standard. The film industry has standards that it must adhere to, government and peer guided regulations.

They are still adults exploiting kids for money.

 

[SoyLeche]

You are correct: professionalism is not an excuse, it is a standard. The film industry has standards that it must adhere to, government and peer guided regulations.

Let's say then that the pastor has a copy of these "regulations" and has followed them to the letter. Is what he is doing ok?

 

[Willamena]

Let's say then that the pastor has a copy of these "regulations" and has followed them to the letter. Is what he is doing ok?

A professional film maker as vocational qualifications, is a member of a peer review guild(s) and has certification.

"OK" is another matter, and irrelevant.

 

[Faint]

In other news, not all movies need to be escapist, P.C., feel-good, family appropriate productions. And often, I would argue some of the best movies are mirrors that reflect a true image of humanity...even the worst aspects of it. So you lot are more enlightened than the general public on such matters as rape/child sexual assault. Good for you. But don't think your opinions represent what is good for the masses. Most people don't think about these subjects as deeply as they should. No doubt you've noticed? Sometimes people need a shocking wake-up call.

I can watch action flicks full of violence, like Kill Bill - over and over. We know the violence is fake, so we can tolerate it.

And in this case we know the rape scene is equally fake. So?

I cannot stomach one rape scene, ever, no matter the context, what is shown/not shown, whether the director or actors are A-list or not. I automatically get up and walk out of the theater or turn the channel immediately. The same applies to child abuse. It is such a powerful reaction, I simply have no choice.

And it's your right to walk out of the theater. I walked out on "Autumn In New York" because the script sucked.

It can never be well-done enough in a movie. There is no way except via the printed page to convey the true horror of such a thing, the feelings of the victim during such an act. The pain, suffering, fear, and the death of innocence, the betrayal, the inestimable damage being done, none of it can be shown on film, unless that film were an actual depiction of an actual rape or abuse of a child.

On this you are 100% wrong. You want to argue that cold word/symbols on a page can draw more of a human reaction than watching/hearing the event on the big screen? I love reading fiction/non-fiction, and there's a lot to be said for the human imagination, but come on. Try reading the chapter of Lonely Bones I posted earlier. I'm willing to bet large sums someone else's money that the printed page will not carry the same level of impact that the film would.

Going off of what little I know about acting (based on two years of participation in stagecraft/crew in high school) and the work that goes into it by many different people, I doubt that the actor was left in a situation that left her the potential of being emotionally traumatized or harmed in any way by acting out this scene.

Exactly.
I think some of you are not aware of the safeguards for children in the entertainment industry. Dakota has played tough, "scary" roles before in which violence was an important element. I think it's foolish to try to label acting as child abuse. How do you think scenes work? Do you think they just throw the actress into a cellar where some pedophile is waiting and then the director yells, "Okay Dakota...act scared--like you're being raped. Ready? Action!" Please...there is so much interaction and prep work off camera that it is HIGHLY unlikely she would feel scared even for a second.

Quote:

A source close to the film said: "The two taboos in Hollywood are child abuse and the killing of animals. "In this movie, both things happen." Fanning's mother, Joy, and her Hollywood agent, Cindy Osbrink, see the movie, written and directed by Deborah Kampmeier, as a possible Oscar vehicle for the pint-size star.

...

"It's not just the rape scene - the whole story is challenging Dakota as an actress," Fanning's agent, Osbrink, said. "And I've never been so proud of her in my life. In every scene she gets better and better."

Sick.

Are you surprised that there is a selfish element to Hollywood...that actors (or in this case the mother of an actress) seek glory/fame/money? Come on...we're talking about show biz. Of course a lot of motives are going to be "immoral". Even "Passion of the Christ"--no difference there. You could argue that it was glorifying violence, and sadism, and "teaching" people how to torture religious profits. But aside from such ridiculous assumptions, and aside from whatever Mel's motives may have been in making it, the film made you feel something. And that's the point here. What the audience feels will depend on the artifice of those who make the film, and of course who's watching. There will probably be a lot of sick, f***ing pedophiles who love it, but I'm hoping the rest of the crowd--the people desensitized by bland news reports (and "the printed page") of girls being raped on a daily basis--will leave the theater thinking, "That was horrible! And to think that actually happens. It's too much. Something must be done." Whether or not it stirs action is another debate...people are pretty lazy. But at least it will get them discussing something that is too often considered too impolite for conversation.

 

[nutshell]

One thing I don't get with those opposing this is why they are apparently OK with violence in movies, but vehemently oppose this rape scene. Please explain. How is it any different than showing children getting murdered, children being starved, etc.?

Perhaps we should boycott Schindler's List as well - that movie had tough subject matter.

 

[nutshell]

OR Passion of the Christ

OR Oliver Twist

OR The Constant Gardener

OR Hotel Rwanda

 

[angellous_evangellous]

OR Passion of the Christ

OR Oliver Twist

OR The Constant Gardener

OR Hotel Rwanda

I don't recall child porn in any of these movies.

 

[nutshell]

I don't recall child porn in any of these movies.

And you won't see it in the upcoming movie either.

 

[angellous_evangellous]

And you won't see it in the upcoming movie either.

True - I won't be going.

 

[Willamena]

And you won't see it in the upcoming movie either.

Well, d'uh... she's not going to the theatre.

 

[nutshell]

I think another thing everyone needs to keep in mind is the rhetoric behind the article. It is intentionally writen to ellicit the kind of response demonstrated here. I could write my own version of the article that would have everyone praising Fanning and the director's bravery and skill in tackling such a tough issue. Of course, it's too late now because you've all been tainted by the original article.

 

[nutshell]

True - I won't be going.

But even if you did you wouldn't see it.


And for the record...I doubt I'll be going either, but I do not oppose the film.

 

[angellous_evangellous]

I think another thing everyone needs to keep in mind is the rhetoric behind the article. It is intentionally writen to ellicit the kind of response demonstrated here. I could write my own version of the article that would have everyone praising Fanning and the director's bravery and skill in tackling such a tough issue. Of course, it's too late now because you've all been tainted by the original article.

*Angellous falls to his knees and shakes his fist at the sky*

"God damn them all, damn them all to hell!"

Those monkies in the media have taken over the world and turned us all into apes.