When beginning to explore PTSD within the media and especially the representation within film and tv, my original conception and then from research it proved correct that most representation about PTSD was about war veterans. For instance when searching for the top 10 films about PTSD, in one list from Inspire Malibu (2018) 8 out of 10 of the films, the PTSD portrayed was from war veterans, and in the second list by Alo House (no date) 4 out of 8 films involved war induced PTSD, however this website is of a recovery centre for people with mental health conditions, so not surprising it is more inclusive. However, there seems to be a lack of representation of people who suffer with PTSD from other scenarios and traumatic events. For years, PTSD held the misconception that only war/combat veterans could suffer from the condition, and originally being called Shell Shock after WW2. However, this misconception is slowly being irradicated. However, even from my experience of talking to people about my own diagnosis of PTSD, they question me and ask me how, when I have never been in the army, or fought in a war. This is difficult for people who have experienced other extremely traumatic events, as it insinuates that they can’t have PTSD and less likely to get help, but especially within people who have experienced domestic abuse, and sexual violence, where there is commonly a feeling of blame and guilt, it increases those feelings because it is like people are saying it is not that bad, or they shouldn’t be feeling the way they do.
Marvel’s Jessica Jones is a TV show on Netflix which has tackled the subject of PTSD in Women who have experienced sexual assault and rape, and has been heavily praised for it’s handling of the topic. The character, who also had PTSD in the original comics, experiences PTSD after being mind controlled by the Villain of the series Killgrave (portrayed by David Tennant), and it is insinuated that she was raped by him. Even though this is extreme as it is a super-hero show it does mirror what it feels like to be in domestic and sexually abusive relationship. Throughout the show, we see her flashbacks and what triggers them, some are only a second and some are a lot longer. We see how some are clear and crisp, and others are more blurred. But also, how one can dissociate and see the event through a third person perspective. I re-watched the first 3 episodes, to gather primary research to see how I connected to these scenes, especially as I had not seen the series since before my traumatic experiences and also did secondary research on articles about the show, and how the media reacted to it. I will be going into detail more into the show and it’s representation including the visual techniques it uses in a deeper analysis in another post.
I found it fascinating in how this show had such a positive reaction from the press and media about its representation of sexual assault, rape and PTSD, as there is sort of a movement against showing these kind of events, especially explicit rape on tv shows and film as it can be triggering to survivors. Which I completely understand, and I believe this is due to most of the time it not being done right. For instance, in Game of Thrones (a TV show I haven’t watched), showed ‘over 50 rape scenes across what had then been just five seasons’ (Abraham, 2017). With this it was normally used as a method of creating ‘high drama’ plot devices, as something to ‘titillate’ (Abraham, 2017). They never showed the long lasting affect it had on the victim, and this leads to a risk ‘of normalizing gender-based violence without highlighting the long and lasting consequences it can have on survivors’ lives’ (Girls Inc., no date). Also it has become common in many shows and films without warning the viewer of what is to come to be able to make the informed choice on whether they wish to watch the show or not. I believe this is because they want to keep the audience in suspense and use it as a shock tactic. Which I believe is wrong. However there is many people calling for rape to be banned from being in film and tv, however in my opinion I think this could be very damaging, as the subject would become more stigmatised as it wouldn’t be a conversation that needs to happen and the consequences of rape and sexual assault wouldn’t been seen to the masses. However I believe it needs to be done right.
In Jessica Jones from what I remember and watched so far, the incident itself isn’t showed but instead discussed and insinuated and instead focuses on the consequences, and how one deals with the trauma. In the show Outlander, it shows many experiences of rape, some times explicit and others comment of how one deals with the experience or how society views rape and sexual assault. But it is never used as a shock tactic, and the affects of the trauma are seen through episodes and even series. It is another series which has been accused of using rape too often in it’s show even when it is just representing the books it is based on. Myself, who is a rape and domestic abuse survivor, I found some of these scenes emotional but they showed them with the respect they deserve. The show is a period drama and based in the 18th century, and frequently is a commentary on what woman’s lives and experiences were in that time, and ignoring rape and sexual assault would have been ignoring a part of the history and experience of woman. But also they showed an experience of male rape, which I think is an important subject to discuss. I have a personal connection to male rape, as my brother was raped when he was in university after he was drugged. He found it hard to recover especially as it is an issue which is not commonly connected to men, and this scene in the show opened up the conversation and showed that you don’t need to put on a brave face and you ‘don’t need to be a man’ and it is difficult to deal with no-matter your gender. In a later series, a young woman gets raped while trying to find her family, when travelling alone. And the incident was not filmed explicitly but instead focuses on how, as it was in an inn/tavern the people who could even hear it happening, just ignored it, like it was so normalised and not their issue. I think this is a great mirror on what the situation is like today, especially with how the #NotallMen trended after Sarah Everards death and the comment of Women’s safety, and how it seemed like they were saying it is not their problem because it is not them, it’s not all men. But also, she became pregnant from the rape, and this brought up questions about how becoming pregnant from such a traumatic event can affect someone mentally but also abortion but as being a period drama not safely available but the discussions surrounding the risks but also benefits, a very honest and realistic conversation. The most recent in the show, which was in the last episode aired, showed how one can dissociate and go to a place in their head which is deemed safe to try and escape. However, with all of these occasions it was never just there for a shock tactic, it changed that person’s story line and the impact is felt further down the line, and how each character is working though their personal trauma to recover, but also how friends and family can support you, and having the discussions around it.
In the show also, they have depicted PTSD from a different trauma, which was where one of the main characters was hanged by a crime, they did not commit but was cut down in time, and saved. But the experience was extremely traumatic. The character, Roger, after his near-death experience, was refusing to talk, at first the rest of the cast believing from damage to his vocal cords, but this wasn’t the case but instead he was ‘reliving his would-be execution as if it were a silent movie playing over and over in his head’ (Reiher, 2020). This was an incredible way of demonstrating visually of how one experiences PTSD, and it was connected to the character. Even though this is a period drama, many of the characters are from the future, therefore that is why he relived his experience in silent movies as that was one of the things he did for happiness when he lived in the future. But it also raised the topic of PTSD, how it was (in the future, it gets complicated because of the time travelling aspect) Shell Shock, and they saw people coming back from the Vietnam war fighting with it. However, the show also showed how it does not only affect the person with it but also the surrounding people. His wife felt very isolated while trying to look after their young baby and felt like she lost her husband even though he was right there in front of her.
However, this topic of banning the showing of rape and sexual assault because of its triggering affects, makes me think of how we still have many war films, and they are triggering to veterans suffering with PTSD. But also, they are very dramatized and also used solely for entertainment purposes. I think there is a lot of questions there, and I am not sure what the right answer is. But I think war films are more acceptable, and the showing of some other traumas, one because of the societal context and they are not as stigmatised. But also, normally it is normally very clear was is a war film and what is not, therefore the viewer is given the choice easily without trigger warnings. But also, as mentioned a lot of the times rape and sexual assault is used as shock techniques and tactics, which I believe is wrong, and not right, but instead should be honestly show what life is like for a woman or a man recovering from these situations and traumas. I think this is also a problem because there isn’t many woman in high up jobs within the entertainment and film industry, and many shows which use these techniques do not have the personal experience or even gathered research on what it is like, and because of this feeling it doesn’t affect men, they use it without context. This needs to be changed but getting rid of these issues in film and tv, I think will lead to further stigmatisation and people not being exposed to it, having conversations about it and realising it’s impact.
Note: There is a lot more shows and discussion which could continue around this subject, however I used examples from shows I have watched or seen in the news surrounding the subject, to get a base understanding of the issue here.
Reiher, A (2020) ‘Outlander’ Recap: A Silent Movie Motif and Roger’s PTSD 12 April Available at: https://variety.com/2020/tv/recaps/outlander-recap-season-5-episode-8-famous-last-words-1234570842/ (Accessed: 30 March 2021)
Alo House (no date) 8 Movies about PTSD (Posttraumatic Stress Disorder) Available at: https://alorecovery.com/8-movies-about-ptsd-post-traumatic-stress-disorder/ (Accessed: 29 March 2021)
Inspire Malibu (2019) 10 Films About Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) 20 January Available at: https://www.inspiremalibu.com/blog/dual-diagnosis/10-films-about-post-traumatic-stress-disorder-ptsd/ (Accessed: 29 March 2021)
Elizabeth, D (2016) 7 Rape Culture Storylines in TV and Movies That Get the Issue Right 18 November Available at: https://www.teenvogue.com/gallery/rape-culture-in-tv-movies (Accessed: 29 March 2021)
Abraham, A (2017) How Sexual Assault Survivors Feel Watching Rape Scenes on TV 4 September Available at: https://www.refinery29.com/en-gb/rape-scenes-film-tv-effects (Accessed: 29 March 2021)
Girls Inc. (no date) What TV Shows Get Right (and Wrong) About Sexual Assault Available at: https://girlsinc.org/tv-sexual-assault-portrayals/(Accessed: 29 March 2021)
Saleh, N. (2020) How the Stigma of Mental Health is Spread by Mass Media Available: https://www.verywellmind.com/mental-health-stigmas-in-mass-media-4153888 (Accessed: 29 March 2021)
Truong, K (2018) What Jessica Jones Gets Right About Women & PTSD Available at: https://www.refinery29.com/en-gb/jessica-jones-season-2-women-ptsd-sexual-abuse (Accessed: 10 March 2021)
Long, S (2015) 8 times Jessica Jones addressed PTSD and rape in season 1 Available at: https://www.sheknows.com/entertainment/articles/1103801/the-times-jessica-jones-season-1-addressed-ptsd-and-rape/ (Accessed: 29 March 2021)
Scarlet, J (2018) What Jessica Jones Teaches us about Surviving Sexual Assault Available at: https://www.syfy.com/syfywire/what-jessica-jones-teaches-us-about-surviving-sexual-assault (Accessed: 10 March 2021)