Worth Watching: 5 TV Shows About Women Resisting Violence
'17.02.2022'
Source: Burninhut
The heroines of these stories are fighting the system, administering justice and doing everything to protect themselves and their loved ones, writes Burninghut.
Big Little Lies (2017–2019)
What is the series about
Murder takes place in the small town of Monterey. For a long time, the viewer does not know what happened or the name of the victim. Only that the story is somehow connected with three mothers whose children study in the same class.
But what is known is this: with the appearance in the city of a young single mother Jane, a real war begins among the mothers. On the first day at the new school, Jane's son allegedly strangled a classmate - the daughter of one of Monterey's most powerful women. Jane doesn't believe her son can do that. On her side stand the exemplary housewife Madeleine and Celeste, in the past a successful lawyer, and now a mother of two children, whose marriage the whole city envies.
Why is it worth watching
The series, which raises the problem of domestic violence, shows the mechanisms of interaction between the victim and the abuser: how it starts and what consequences it can lead to. The viewer is clearly explained why it is so difficult for a woman to get out of this relationship, how to the last she denies the problem, justifies her husband, tries to convince others and, first of all, herself that they love each other.
The theme of motherhood is also revealed in the series, especially vividly through the heroine Reese Witherspoon. She is an example of what women experience when they choose to be a mother when their children grow up as a mission in life.
Unbelievable (2019)
What is the series about
Eighteen-year-old Marie Adler reports the rape to the police. The offender entered the house at night, left no trace, and the neighbors did not hear anything. Marie participates in a program to adapt difficult teenagers, Marie's former guardian tells the police that the girl likes to attract attention in provocative ways, and the inspector investigating the case comes to the conclusion that she made it up. He forces her to confess to perjury and closes the case.
Two years later, a similar crime takes place in a neighboring state, and two female detectives take on the investigation.
Why is it worth watching
The series is based on real events taking place in the United States from 2008 to 2011. And that makes it even more creepy.
It is painful to watch as Marie, a rape survivor, is repeatedly asked to tell in detail about the events of that night. And then they are convinced that she invented everything, and so persistently that the girl has no choice but to agree - she is tired and just wants to be left alone.
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The Handmaid's Tale (2017 - ...)
What is the series about
The series is based on a dystopian novel by Canadian writer Margaret Atwood. The action takes place in the Republic of Gilead - the totalitarian state of the future. In power are male officers, while women are considered to be of the lowest class. The only way for a woman to get at least some privileges is to become the wife of the commander.
Due to the spoiled environment, only one woman out of a hundred can have a child, so women from the common people who are capable of childbearing are assigned as "servants" to officer families to continue the family line.
Why is it worth watching
In the year of its release (2017), the series became one of the most sensational premieres of the season. This is a terrible story about the future, which throws us back several centuries, when women were forbidden to read and receive an education, they were treated like things.
The ideology of the Republic of Gilead is based on the religion of Jacob's Witnesses, which completely deprives women of their rights. In this world, both men and women suffer from fertility problems, but, according to religious beliefs, all the blame is placed on women - this is the punishment for their sins.
While the men of Gilead lead an idle lifestyle and can afford to entertain themselves in brothels, women are taught to be meek and obedient. Any disobedience is followed by punishment, the most terrible - a colony, chopping off limbs or the death penalty.
Worst of all is the “servants”, who, in addition to everything else, are deprived of their name. They are given a new one, indicating that they belong to one or another man: the main character, for example, is called Fredova, since she is assigned to the house of Commander Fred.
Watching what happens in this universe is scary. But, nevertheless, the series gives hope, because even in such a terrible place with strict rules, denunciations and complete control, there are people who are not afraid to fight for their freedom and resist the totalitarian government.
Dietland (2018)
What is the series about
Alicia Kettle, known as Palm, lives in New York and works for a glossy magazine. She is a literary slave who writes a column for her boss Kitty Montgomery, responds to letters from readers who have been harassed, raped, victim-blaming. Palm does not fit into the world of gloss: she has been struggling with excess weight all her life and dreams of finally losing weight and becoming a real beauty who deserves to be called Alicia.
In parallel to her story in New York, the Jennifers group commits a series of murders, the victims of which were men accused of sexual harassment.
Why is it worth watching
Based on Sarai Walker's novel, this black comedy is a satire on a modern society obsessed with weight loss and unattainable beauty standards. Fashion magazines destroy women's self-esteem and influence the emergence of complexes, which is what large corporations profit from.
Take, for example, Palm: she does not love herself so much that she does not recognize her talent and is ready to give her merits to another person. She does not believe that men can please - only fetishists. Alicia is notorious and closed, and she has a difficult path to accept herself.
The killing line is debatable. On the one hand, women who have been abused are finally seeing retribution. On the other hand, it is the response of cruelty to cruelty.
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Sweet vicious (2016)
What is the series about
Black comedy about the life of Princeton University. The two girls - the rebel Ophelia, who loves to break the rules and constantly gets into trouble, and the sweet and sociable Jules from the prestigious female community - are connected by the same secret. They administer justice on the university campus and punish those who abuse female students.
Why is it worth watching
A bright and colorful series from MTV in the spirit of teen comedies designed for a young audience. And yet, he raises a number of important issues: rape, impunity for rapists and victim blaming - when the responsibility for the crime is placed on the victim.
Girls in the series face violence from casual acquaintances, teachers, friends and their own boyfriends. They do not remember the face of the rapist, because something is mixed into their alcohol, and if they remember, they are embarrassed to seek help. The guys, in turn, do not admit guilt, calling what happened just an affair.
Jules and Ophelia are militant masked avengers fighting injustice. Colors, staged fights and angles add a special gloss to the series - clear references to superhero films.
As in the case of Dietland, it is important to realize that in reality such revenge is not an option. But the very fact that rapists live for their pleasure with impunity, and the girls quietly experience the consequences, led to the fact that Jules and Ophelia took justice into their own hands.
