Did you ever think that a Disney film would include a scene that was “a metaphor for rape”? According to Angelina Jolie (‘Wanted’, ‘Lara Croft: Tomb Raider ‘) there was just such a scene in ‘Maleficent‘ and anyone who has seen the film most likely knows exactly which one she was referring to.
The scene in question is where Sharlto Copley as Stefan drugs Maleficent and cuts off her wings while she is passed out against her will. While Stefan doesn’t want to kill Maleficent he uses them as proof that he did to the king. This mutilation was so powerful and disturbing that the reaction to it could have very well been seen as rape, and that was the point. The scene was supposed to be a horrible life altering event that changes everything for Maleficent from that moment on and it did just that.
From the beginning, the writers had meant for that scene to be a metaphor for rape and Jolie not only was aware of this fact but tried to keep the scene intact because of it. According to Jolie:
“We were very conscious, the writer [Linda Woolverton] and I, that it was a metaphor for rape. This would be the thing that would make her lose sight. … The core of [the film] is abuse, and how the abused have a choice of abusing others or overcoming and remaining loving, open people. The question was asked, ‘What could make a woman become so dark? To lose all sense of her maternity, her womanhood, and her softness?”
This is quite a powerful message to be put into a film by the usually extremely family friendly Disney. It is a touchy subject because obviously rape is something that we should all want stopped and a dialogue should be open for it. But I have to wonder, though, if this is the best place for such a discussion? Many of the target audience for the film might have a very rudimentary understanding of sex as it is, let alone rape.
Do you think this was the right place to discuss the topic? Please, if you are commenting on this one keep it civil.
Source: Cinema Blend
