Shame - Film Analysis

During the time that Lizzie presses charges, she is confronted by the mothers of the boys with "just because a few little sluts in this town get what they deserve." The use of slurs within this scene demonstrates how the blame for the rape has been shifted from the rapist to the victim, representing how these situations are carried out in our society. This also displays how the rape culture is reinforced by the entire community, presenting women with internalised misogyny as accepting of the same cultural assumptions of the rapists. It exposes how the male hegemony has been accepted by our society and that rape has become the natural expression for male dominance because as a culture we assume men are entitled to this power. Shame utilizes common idioms and slurs to represent how our male dominant society accepts rape as a basic part of life, and how these sexist boundaries against women are reinforced through social judgement and retribution. .
             "Shame" uses misé en scene, most predominantly through selection of characters and composition, to reflect how within our society rape is an act of dominance and power allowed by a male hegemony. Character selection within the scene is used to expose the cyclic nature of rape culture that is upheld by a dominant male discourse through multiple generations. Within the scene where Asta goes to collect a package from the train station, she is ambushed by a band of young boys, who maliciously harass her and have implied intentions of rape. The selection of this gang of boys illustrates that in our oppressive male society generations of men have been conditioned to see rape as a normal manifestation of male dominance. Composition has also been used within this scene by placing the boys in intimidating positions to demonstrate the power they hold in the situation and to represent the power that they hold in our society. A frequent occurrence within the film, which is shown in this scene, is women being encircled by men in large groups, working together like packs to gain power over women.