"It’s tricky to puzzle out exactly what to make of the persistence of rape in film. You could argue that the ubiquity raises awareness about sexual violence as easily as you can say that it desensitizes us to the trauma. But one thing is certain. The idea of “legitimate rape” is not an idea ensconced only in red states by conservative extremists. It’s in blockbuster action movies, on TV, and in sensitive indie films. And when you start to recognize the persistence, it’s hard to see the experience on its own terms rather than a trope, the cherry atop the coming-of-age sundae."
— Special Victims by Elizabeth Greenwood (September 14th, 2012)
