"Rape: It's Your Fault" - Satire

So this video is ... interesting. It's a great example of using satire to get a point across. The purpose of satire is to criticize in order to shame a target, person, group, idea, attitude, institution, social practice, etc. into reform. This video is using satire to shame the victim blaming attitude towards rape in order to bring awareness and reform to the idea. Any rape victim, whether they identify as male, female, or any gender in between, is not at fault.

I think what slightly bothered me about this video was how extreme it went, but that was the point. You are supposed to be bothered by it, that's why they showed the women looking more progressively beaten up throughout the video and actual instances of being attacked.

An example the video begins with are examples of "clothing that could cause rape". The outfits vary from a shirt and shorts to a full on astronaut uniform. The commonality they point out is that all of those outfits were worn by women. This was to get the point across that what a woman wears should not be blamed as the reason for rape. Women should be able to wear whatever they want without anyone attacking them, verbally or physically. If someone gets raped, it's not their fault. Period. This video gets that point across, if you didn't get it in the first 3 minutes, it clearly states at the end, "Stop Blaming the Victim".

Juvenalian is a form of satire that is biting and doesn't necessarily make you laugh. It's angry and points out things that make us uncomfortable. This video definitely uses juvenalian satire. I didn't crack a smile while I watched it, but that's because I understood the point the creators were trying to make. I have also had education in women's studies and learned about sexual violence and victim blaming, so to me it is a serious subject that people really do need to be more aware of.

However, if someone has not spent time learning about sexual violence and survivors, they may not understand this video. They might get the fact that it's a satire, that's pretty obvious. But they might not get the full extent of the point being made, and they could agree with the reversal of the truth that is presented.

This is why I've always had a bit of a problem with certain satirical television shows, like South Park and Family Guy. They say that they make fun of everyone so it's even. But it's still offensive, and if someone doesn't understand that there's a bigger point to such sarcasm, then they buy into the often racist, sexist, classist, and homophobic "jokes" and stereotypes. Therefore, i'm not entirely convinced that certain showcases of satire are more helpful than damaging. But in the case of this video, I would say that the message is portrayed in such a way that it is successful.