Movies News
By Stone Martindale Jan 24, 2007, 21:23 GMT
Dakota Fanning 'mad as she can be' at 'Hounddog' critics
And Also
Dakota Fanning - View Dakota Fanning Pictures - Dakota Fanning News
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Older Talkback
To the woman who called herself 'cootie'...I too was raped in my 20s and I am sorry for your experience as a much younger woman. I applaud Ms. Fanning for her mature approach to a terrible issue that has occurred in this country and throughout the world. Cootie's assertion that neither she nor her parents spoke of her horrible experience are indicative of a problem that existed years ago and to this day regarding rape, silence and shame. If more people would speak out about this very senstive issue perhaps the indignity and embarrassment that weighs heavily on the shoulders of those men and women who have been abused by another may be eased ever so slightly. I can not bear to even give my real name in this discussion out of a sense of fear, worry that someone I might know may somehow connect me to this terrible secret I hold inside. It is a brave 12 year old that can approach this matter in the sensible and sensitve way that Miss Fanning seems to be comporting herself. Rape is a subject that should absolutely be addressed by responsible parents and teachers of adoloscents in junior high school as it is a very real issue.
Portrayl of this tragic tale by this young actress may make people uncomfortable; however, isn't the reality more uncomfortable than the fiction? Where is the outrage, the support and the response to the millions of young rape victims around the world?! Cover-up in the Church, silence from embarrassed parents, rape punishble by death to this day in other cultures...these are some of the very real reasons why this young woman's role is as important as it is. Bravo and thank you, Miss Fanning. I hope I can bear to see this brave film.
I'm sure you all know exactly how Ms. Fanning was raised and were in on every decision made in her life. Otherwsie, how can you sit back and judge the choices she and her family make. Do you really chategorize everyone you meet like that?
Do people really care that much about what roles a person chooses to make as an actor/actress? Who really has the right to judge any decisions they make about whether or not the parents should have stopped Dakota Fanning from playing a ROLE.
It's a movie. It is telling a story. The great thing about it is you have the right to choose whether or not you want to see the movie. So if you have this choice why make a negative comment about a movie that has not even been released?
Talk about having serious issues.
Dakota seems very level headed, caring, mature, responsible. Critical of her, huh? Are you jealous? Would you rather women be barefoot, pregnant & owned by men, men's corporate hierarchical money/power machines? Who are you people? I'm open minded but stay clear of fundamentalist & their reactionary thinking where they think they are their 'egos' & want to dominate others out of fear, & may have high IQs (but usually not), but are so stupid. Can a person get far enough away from such? The world is too much with YOU. Ever wonder how other normal people think all over the world, & what they think of these types of Americans? Too much to be disgusted about. If you're not outraged, you're not paying attention. There's my business, your business, & God's business. Keep your snout out of our business & clean the log/beam out of your own - hypocrite, phobic, manipulative, anal retentive control freak. Get my drift?
Dakota's Fanning parents made a huge error in judgement. The director appears to be another sick movie producer.
What a freeking sewer.
Geez, I wonder why Christians have so much trouble distinguishing fiction from reality? When you start threating legal action about a work of fiction,
as in the fictional 'da vinci code' or in this fictional movie, one wonders
why do they perceive fiction as reality? I wonder....
What is sickening is not this movie ... it is what takes place everyday in our homes, lives and around our neighborhoods. 1 our of 4 girls WILL be sexually assaulted by the time they are 11... FACT. If religous fundamentalist wish to have a target for their misguided judgementalism maybe they should start with the sexual repressive nature of the church!
I have never understood why or how Dakota Fanning has received such critical acclaim. To me she has displayed no real talent (take for instance War of the Worlds -- all she did was scream). At this point she should just be joyful over the publicity -- even bad publicity. It won't be long before she's Hollywood's pariah.
I love the comments from people using as their sole authority that they are 'Christians'. As if this self label makes the poster an actual moral person. The threats some of them then make when it is obvious that so many 'Christian' organizations are in fact helping to cover up, refuse to investigate allegations of issue's with their leadership or members activities and own morals. I think that if the so called 'Christians' spent more time cleaning their own house and their own issue's they might actual become the better people they spend so much time telling the rest of us we're not.
She is taking on a daring role and showing the truth at the same time. 12 year olds unfortunately do know what rape is...and it's better for the kids her age to be educated about it than have it be a 'taboo' subject. She is an actor after all, and she's chose to act out this role. Kudos to her for doing what many other actors her age won't do because of negative criticism. Her role supports those men and women who have been raped and there's nothing negative to say about that.
I have actually met and worked with Dakota and also met and spent time talking with her mother. As many people have pointed out, she is mature, professional and capable. Talking with her and her mother changed my mind about child actors. Some people are blessed with incredible talent at a young age and are equipped to do things most of us cant. I am a Christian and the other 'Christians' posting comments and/or rallying against this film might be surprised to learn that Dakota and her family are Christians as well. Dakota is doing a job, understands what's going on and I believe is trying to tell a story that supports her beliefs. I can only speak from my experience with Dakota and her mother and that experience was positive, refreshing and inspiring. I only hope that other Christians will reserve judgement and extend grace to a young woman who is following her convictions (all under public scrutiny no less) and realize that even Jesus told stories that included the 'ugly' aspects of humanity. But those stories had a message of hope, redemption and overcoming difficulties. I would assume that 'Houndog' does as well.
There are many issues about this scene in the filmt that bother me for various reasons. I keep on reading that this was a choice Dakota made on her own and that she was willing to do and so forth and so forth but I'm sorry, I forgot that 12-year olds are responsible enough to make adult decisions and always know what's in their best interest. Adults are not even capable of knowing what is best and yet somehow the the whole world thinks that because a 12-year old child makes a choice that is what is best for them. Our role as adults are to always protect, guide, and attempt to never harm a child in any way and I feel that by allowing a child (who does not know what is best for them by the mere fact that they haven't really experienced life yet) to even put themselves in that role and attempt to recreate the horrendous experience of rape is not only irresponsible but the opposite of what our role as adults constitutes.
Insofar that it is educational, the true way to educate people is to bring about understanding and that is not achieved through any scene in any film. You want to educate people, then join an organization that helps those who are victims of sexual abuse, or volunteer for an organization that deals with those topics, or go to meetings for individuals who have gone through those experiences. I doubt that this film or scene is going to bring any more understanding or educate about child sexual abuse than Gone in 60 seconds will do about stealing cars. A child who goes and sees this film will not understand rape any more than if they heard about it in the news, what brings understanding is dialect and a interaction amongst either individuals who have gone through the experience or someone who is capable of relaying the significance of it to a child.
I know that children are extremely smart and absorbant of their surroundings and are capable of understanding a lot more than most adults give them credit for however, I feel that a child should last a child as long as possible and not be polluted by all the filth in this world for that time will come when they will be bombarded by it and have to fend for themselves. All you can hope is that that child was given enough love and support through their childhood years that when they are faced with the perils of this world they will be able to not only deal with them but if they fall, get back up and be a better person than before. Peace and love to all! May God continue to bless all!
Those with the strongest convictions seem to be the most ignorant here. Based on their spelling and grammar, it seems 'Sunday school' was the only one in attendance by these people. It is unfortunate, but you're unable to articulate an intelligent argument. I can only assume that your logic for not attaining a proper education must be: 'Why bother? The end is near!'
I am not a religious man, I rid myself of that virus long ago, but I'm appalled at the level of judgment and hatred spewed by the religious zealots commenting on this article. You're not 'pretending' or 'acting out' your hatred, you're actually living it. Isn't your religion founded on love and forgiveness?
It's sad, but just as those passing judgment here, speaking of something they know nothing about, such as the scene they haven't even seen (yeah, 'scene' and 'seen' are two different words - look them up!), there are others who hold the same convictions and are in positions of power. The thought is frightening... imagine the logic behind their decisions! For example: 'There's no need to take care of the environment! Jesus is coming soon anyway.'
Some infants are raped in the womb. They don't even have a chance to run away.
Sadly, we cannot hold on to our innocence. The question seems to be, should the awareness of harsh realities be thrust upon a young person or should they be delicately eased into the darker aspects of human nature by a loving parental figure whenever possible? I opt for the latter. Who can say, beside Ms. Fanning and her parents, how Ms. Fanning has been educated regarding such things? Certainly not you or I.
The necessity of exposing a girl to the possibility of being raped depends on numerous factors, not the least of which being, statistically, how likely she is to be raped. No one can be sure of that, but probabilities can be established based on where she lives, what kind of school she attends, the prevalence of rape in her community, etc. The more risk, the more a girl should be educated in order to increase her chances of avoiding and/or escaping such a threat. In my opinion, the less risk there is, the more a child should be protected even from the notion of such things, as youth is short and she will find out soon enough.
My instinct is that an 11 or 12 yr. old girl, no matter how intelligent, talented and mature, should not be put in a position to act out being the victim in a rape scene (even if she wants to). Actors, in general, tend to be particularly sensitive people (I am an actor, so I know of what I speak). The more talented and committed they are (and Ms. Fanning seems to qualify), the more deeply they prepare for their roles and the more deeply they are affected by them. Add to that the sheer fact that she is a child and you may have a recipe for some kind of trauma. I repeat, MAY. It is not a guarantee that she will be damaged by the experience, but my feeling is, why take the chance? Entertainment doesn't justify it and there are plenty of other educational sources.
I bet there will be creepy single men in trench coats at the theater watching it over and over.
In responce to the fellow named 'ThereIsNoGod': Theirs no such thing as too words... 'scene' and 'seen' sound the same to me last time I cheked. You're jist talkin atheist nonsense to try to confuce us. But the Lord can see tru all, he even knos how many heirs are on your head. When the rapture comes, I'm glad I wont be here to see you scorch in the fires of hell.
Unlke the previous poster, I am a Christian and not afraid to admit it. As much as I am tempted to contribute to this conversation, however, I cannot offer much of an opinion as I have not actually seen the movie. I am a little confused, though. Is the raping of a child promoted/applauded in this movie or is it condemming it? If the movie is saying that forced intercourse on anyone is okay, then the outrage is justified. If the movie is telling a tragic story about a child who is raped, however, shouldn't the outrage be directed at the society that allows this to happen as long as we don't talk about it? Lastly, one might view the verbal attacks on the actor and her loved ones as a type of victimization in itself, don't you think?
You can't get a much more benign rape scene than a hand,
a scream and a zipper.
Rapists are out there and pretending they don't exist isn't going to make them away.
We need to educate our children so they are aware of the dangers growing up in this world.
Don't actors go through emotions as their characters do? I'm not an actor, but a translator/writer (though not in English), and I go through emotions of characters I write or translate as if I were them. It is definitely different from just reading characters from books. I once was nearly traumatized after translating a very dark book. And I should think actors, especially good actors, would go through the same thing.
If Ms. Fanning is as good an actress as people make her out to be, then I'm concerned.... It's not about filming without the male counterpart or creating a scene by showing the background... she must have gone through the mind of a raped girl, to properly portrait the character. That worries me - that a child, even as a second-hand experience, had to go through it.
I would've defended Ms. Fanning's parents if I hadn't experienced a trauma like real during the process of writing/translating. Now I know better... I just hope Ms. Fanning was not a good actor and acted superficially... because otherwise, it would be too bad for a little girl.
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