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Is that so? I find that U.S.A. media tends to avoid rape but features all other kinds of violence. Anything related to sex, nudity and swearwords is held to th

Is that so? I find that U.S.A. media tends to avoid rape but features all other kinds of violence. Anything related to sex, nudity and swearwords is held to the utmost standards of censorship.

mr_custard 6y ago
That's been my impression for as long as I can remember. Very puritanical compared to, say, Europe... and yet violence is no problem. I honestly don't think that I'll ever understand what the hangup with nipples is all about.
- Blikkentrekker 6y ago
  It seems to be compared to most places that aren't Anglo-Saxon, even Canada seems to be excluded, and the U.K. seems to be quickly moving away from the nudity puritanism as of late. — Australia is very much still the iron bastion of Anglo-Saxon purity with it's censorship laws. Even the many developing nations that have very strict moral standards on such matters seem to have no problem featuring it as an evil in fiction, in the same way the U.S.A. might feature murder as an evil in fiction, for the point is for the audience to condemn it. But rape cannot actually be shown, as that would be too sensitive. https://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/RapeIsASpecialKindOfEvil https://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/RapeIsASpecialKi... It's a rather interesting thing. It does not seem to be entirely isolated to the U.S.A., but definitely more common there. I remember reading an interview with a Dutch criminal defence attorney, who talked about the principle that every man deserves a trial and the best legal defence, but also said that even though he personally feels that a man suspected of a sex crime should get a legal advocate, he would personally præfer it not be he, as he had moral problems with it that would make him less effective. This was a man that regularly defended murderers, who no doubt confess to the crime within the seal of attorney–client confidentiality to him, but sex crimes are the limit? — it seems an odd standard to me. Which was exactly the argument that the Dutchmen in the comments raised, so the mentality seems les common in the Netherlands, but not nonexistent either.
mumblemumble 6y ago
It depends somewhat. There are very strict rules around sex on broadcast TV, but those rules largely do not apply to cable TV or internet streaming.
- Blikkentrekker 6y ago
  The rules might not apply, but the subject matter is avoided all the same for commercial reasons, since the audience finds it very sensitive. The rules, of course, exist as a reflexion of the sensibilities of the people. It's similar to how in Germany anything related to the Third Reich is treated with the utmost sensitivity, with many rules; these rules exist as the people willed it so. The end result was that the videogame Wolfenstein 3D had to be significantly edited ere it could be legally sold on the German market, as it depicted Third Reich soldiers in accurate uniforms, which was considered too sensitive, even though they are the opposing side the player is fighting against.
  - mumblemumble 6y ago
    Several very popular US shows come to mind: Weeds, Game of Thrones, Orange is the New Black, just to take the first three that come to mind. I admittedly don't watch a whole lot of TV, so I may be off base here, but my impression is that, here in the USA, on TV, onscreen depictions of rape are more common than onscreen depictions of positive sexual activity.
rtkwe 6y ago
In a general sense yes. The instant there's a (female) nipple on screen there's basically no way you're going to show up on broadcast TV and largely get relegated to paid cable or internet streaming. You don't get onscreen rape but a lot of sex on TV is really rape adjacent and perpetuates the kind of "when she says no you really need to keep asking" thing that's messed up so much of the US's sex culture.
- Blikkentrekker 6y ago
  > when she says no you really need to keep asking I must say that I find it rather tame compared to Japanese fiction. Though, I suppose there the perspective is invariably reversed. It is almost always the perspective character that is the defending party, so perhaps it doesn't have the same influence. It's an interesting difference. I find that in U.S.A. romance fiction, more often than not, the protagonist is the party who falls in love, and the story is about the protagonist courting and succeeding in winning the love interest, whereas in Japanese romance fiction, the protagonist usually starts out strongly disliking the love interest, who is the offensive party, but eventually is won over. I find that say, Boston Legal is essentially a clichéd Japanese teenage girl's romance fiction from the other perspective. If one think of Alan Shore's many love interests as the protagonists of such stories, who are initially quite disgusted and annoyed by his antics and sexual harassment, but more and more find themselves falling for him, it's actually quite similar but reversed.
  - rtkwe 6y ago
    > I must say that I find it rather tame compared to Japanese fiction. It's definitely shades all over the world. I only really know about Japan's culture 12th hand honestly so the only thing that's really filtered down is that it seems kind of repressed in public having gotten a big infusion of US laws and ideas post WW2 and there's some issues with creeps in public? > I find that in U.S.A. romance fiction, more often than not, the protagonist is the party who falls in love I think a lot of that is due to the target audience being largely women so it's written from and towards what the audience wants to read. Most TV and movie romances show a predominantly predatory almost (sometimes explicitly) coercive romance especially in media aimed at men.
mywittyname 6y ago
Might be a product of what you watch. One of the longest running dramas on American television is Law & Order, a crime drama. The most popular spinoff of this series, Law & Order:SVU has focused on this topic for the entirety of twenty-two (!!!!!!) season run. That's nearly 500 episodes of detectives investigating and describing some pretty brutal rapes and sexual assaults of people of all ages, genders, and walks of life. Pretty much any crime drama is going to hit on this subject pretty regularly. Based on the stuff I've seen on shows that run on broadcast TV during primetime, there is not really much taboo around the subject. Comedian John Mulaney has a very popular skit that focuses entirely on the ridiculous things that are said on this subject during day-time TV.
- Blikkentrekker 6y ago
  But do they show the rape scenes, or do they merely discussed that they happened? As I find that a great deal of violence is often shown rather than merely referenced, but rape never is. This also seems to apply to The Practice, with which I am more versed.
TeaDrunk 6y ago
I'm confused how USA Media tends to avoid rape but Game of Thrones, which has plenty of rape (and even implied rape of a teenager) was massively popular in USA?

Is that so? I find that U.S.A. media tends to avoid rape but features all other kinds of violence. Anything related to sex, nudity and swearwords is held to the utmost standards of censorship.

mr_custard 6y ago

That's been my impression for as long as I can remember. Very puritanical compared to, say, Europe... and yet violence is no problem. I honestly don't think that I'll ever understand what the hangup with nipples is all about.

Blikkentrekker 6y ago
It seems to be compared to most places that aren't Anglo-Saxon, even Canada seems to be excluded, and the U.K. seems to be quickly moving away from the nudity puritanism as of late. — Australia is very much still the iron bastion of Anglo-Saxon purity with it's censorship laws. Even the many developing nations that have very strict moral standards on such matters seem to have no problem featuring it as an evil in fiction, in the same way the U.S.A. might feature murder as an evil in fiction, for the point is for the audience to condemn it. But rape cannot actually be shown, as that would be too sensitive. https://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/RapeIsASpecialKindOfEvil https://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/RapeIsASpecialKi... It's a rather interesting thing. It does not seem to be entirely isolated to the U.S.A., but definitely more common there. I remember reading an interview with a Dutch criminal defence attorney, who talked about the principle that every man deserves a trial and the best legal defence, but also said that even though he personally feels that a man suspected of a sex crime should get a legal advocate, he would personally præfer it not be he, as he had moral problems with it that would make him less effective. This was a man that regularly defended murderers, who no doubt confess to the crime within the seal of attorney–client confidentiality to him, but sex crimes are the limit? — it seems an odd standard to me. Which was exactly the argument that the Dutchmen in the comments raised, so the mentality seems les common in the Netherlands, but not nonexistent either.

mumblemumble 6y ago

It depends somewhat. There are very strict rules around sex on broadcast TV, but those rules largely do not apply to cable TV or internet streaming.

Blikkentrekker 6y ago
The rules might not apply, but the subject matter is avoided all the same for commercial reasons, since the audience finds it very sensitive. The rules, of course, exist as a reflexion of the sensibilities of the people. It's similar to how in Germany anything related to the Third Reich is treated with the utmost sensitivity, with many rules; these rules exist as the people willed it so. The end result was that the videogame Wolfenstein 3D had to be significantly edited ere it could be legally sold on the German market, as it depicted Third Reich soldiers in accurate uniforms, which was considered too sensitive, even though they are the opposing side the player is fighting against.
- mumblemumble 6y ago
  Several very popular US shows come to mind: Weeds, Game of Thrones, Orange is the New Black, just to take the first three that come to mind. I admittedly don't watch a whole lot of TV, so I may be off base here, but my impression is that, here in the USA, on TV, onscreen depictions of rape are more common than onscreen depictions of positive sexual activity.

rtkwe 6y ago

In a general sense yes. The instant there's a (female) nipple on screen there's basically no way you're going to show up on broadcast TV and largely get relegated to paid cable or internet streaming. You don't get onscreen rape but a lot of sex on TV is really rape adjacent and perpetuates the kind of "when she says no you really need to keep asking" thing that's messed up so much of the US's sex culture.

Blikkentrekker 6y ago
> when she says no you really need to keep asking I must say that I find it rather tame compared to Japanese fiction. Though, I suppose there the perspective is invariably reversed. It is almost always the perspective character that is the defending party, so perhaps it doesn't have the same influence. It's an interesting difference. I find that in U.S.A. romance fiction, more often than not, the protagonist is the party who falls in love, and the story is about the protagonist courting and succeeding in winning the love interest, whereas in Japanese romance fiction, the protagonist usually starts out strongly disliking the love interest, who is the offensive party, but eventually is won over. I find that say, Boston Legal is essentially a clichéd Japanese teenage girl's romance fiction from the other perspective. If one think of Alan Shore's many love interests as the protagonists of such stories, who are initially quite disgusted and annoyed by his antics and sexual harassment, but more and more find themselves falling for him, it's actually quite similar but reversed.
- rtkwe 6y ago
  > I must say that I find it rather tame compared to Japanese fiction. It's definitely shades all over the world. I only really know about Japan's culture 12th hand honestly so the only thing that's really filtered down is that it seems kind of repressed in public having gotten a big infusion of US laws and ideas post WW2 and there's some issues with creeps in public? > I find that in U.S.A. romance fiction, more often than not, the protagonist is the party who falls in love I think a lot of that is due to the target audience being largely women so it's written from and towards what the audience wants to read. Most TV and movie romances show a predominantly predatory almost (sometimes explicitly) coercive romance especially in media aimed at men.

mywittyname 6y ago

Might be a product of what you watch. One of the longest running dramas on American television is Law & Order, a crime drama. The most popular spinoff of this series, Law & Order:SVU has focused on this topic for the entirety of twenty-two (!!!!!!) season run. That's nearly 500 episodes of detectives investigating and describing some pretty brutal rapes and sexual assaults of people of all ages, genders, and walks of life. Pretty much any crime drama is going to hit on this subject pretty regularly. Based on the stuff I've seen on shows that run on broadcast TV during primetime, there is not really much taboo around the subject. Comedian John Mulaney has a very popular skit that focuses entirely on the ridiculous things that are said on this subject during day-time TV.

Blikkentrekker 6y ago
But do they show the rape scenes, or do they merely discussed that they happened? As I find that a great deal of violence is often shown rather than merely referenced, but rape never is. This also seems to apply to The Practice, with which I am more versed.

TeaDrunk 6y ago

I'm confused how USA Media tends to avoid rape but Game of Thrones, which has plenty of rape (and even implied rape of a teenager) was massively popular in USA?