21/02/19

Since discussing the initial idea with the group tutor and the rest of the crew, the films central topic had been talked about a lot. I’d come up with multiple structure’s, tweaking it a little after every meeting. We need to find a focus. Trying to tackle social anxiety AND sexual abuse with a short amount of time and little resources isn’t doable. It also feels like a one-sided story. And I’m worried the audience will think she’s feeling this way because of her anxieties. I think we need to make it less about that.

Throughout the story we will follow “Lucy” from the moment she gets ready, to be groped on the dance floor, culminating in someone making sexually assaulting her in her room. Her safe zone. We then see her the next day, distraught by the whole night.

We need to think about the type of person that would do something like this.

I’ve started looking into cases of this type of thing happening on US university campuses. I read about the case of Brock Turner. Brock raped a girl behind the bins of a frat house and was chased and caught by two guys. For this he only received a 9-month prison sentence and only served 3 of them. This, rightfully so, caused a huge outcry for more to be done. It’s believed that Brock was given the short sentence because of his status as a promising swimmer for his school. Even if not true, the suggestions baffled me. Did he know all along he’d get a short sentence just because of who he is? It’s made me question if “promise” and privilege means you can get away with things like this.

This might be the case for universities in America. But students in the UK, in most cases, are equal playing fields in terms of wealth and promise. The film wont relate to my audience if that’s how the narratives made up.

I’ve looked into the general attitudes of the individuals. How they feel after they’d done these things. In an article from The Guardian I’ve read that perpetrators have already accepted the guilt they’d feel before doing it. Lots of studies about sexual assaults at universities have been conducted over the past few years. Most of them found alcohol had been a major factor, mainly in coercing the victim. A lot of cases found the perpetrator knew the victim prior to the attack.