Category talk:Films about rape

About or in

There is an obvious difference between rape in film and films about rape. Compare for example Category:Incest in film, not Category:Films about incest. Is this distinction kept in this category? Should it perhaps be renamed? Should it perhaps be split? Debresser (talk) 11:01, 26 February 2016 (UTC)

I would say "about" makes more sense. There are plenty of films which depict acts legally considered rape (Gone with the Wind, Revenge of the Nerds, etc) which don't really address it as a theme or important event, and if we title this "rape in film" we leave the door open to mix that kind of film with those where it plays a notable element (like Irréversible or Stadt ohne Mitleid). GRAPPLE ^X 11:57, 26 February 2016 (UTC)

That reasoning is fine with me. But the obvious question is then from the other side: why is it "Incest in film" instead of "Films about incest"? And if your answer will be, because those films "don't really address it as a theme or important event", then the logical question is: why should we have that category then, instead of limiting the category to films that are specifically about incest, just like here with the rape category? Debresser (talk) 12:23, 26 February 2016 (UTC)

I believe so; I think these categories should be used for defining, rather than incidental features (though it seems to me that it's easier for a film to "inadvertently" feature instances of rape than incest, as notions of consent solidify over time, but that's neither here nor there). GRAPPLE ^X 12:32, 26 February 2016 (UTC)

I agree that these categories should be used only where rape/incest is a defining trait, but in reality definining traits can fall short of the threshold that is implied by a film being "about" something. Straw Dogs is not "about" rape, but the rape scene is a key component of the film and the subject of a lot of secondary coverage about the film. The same can be said even of something like Gone with the Wind: the film is categorically not about rape, but a substantial amount has been written about the marital rape scene down the years, and we even have a section devoted to it in the article. If you were to write a dissertation on the subject of the depiction of rape in films then it would be difficult to avoid Gone with the Wind. We principally write articles to document commentary about the film and the categories should ideally reflect the substance of the commentary, rather than arbitrary plot points. I think we can assume that the Gone with the Wind article might be of interest to a reader researching the topic, and categories are a useful tool for locating articles that have some specific subject relevance, so I would like to see films such as GWTW and Straw Dogs included in any Films about rape/Rape in Film category. Indeed, any film where the commentary in a featured article would be expected to cover the thematic content of the film should be added to the category for that thematic content IMO i.e. thematic content categories should be based more on what the secondary commentary in the article covers (or what we would like it to cover) rather than just basic plot points. I am less concerned about what we call the category than the inclusion criteria (there currently is none in the case of this category). I think we should perhaps hack out the inclusion criteria first, and worry about the name afterwards. Betty Logan (talk) 22:50, 27 February 2016 (UTC)

I would split it. Obviously, you can't put Revenge of the Nerds in Category:Films about rape. But if people don't like splitting it, then I suppose one possibility is to put stuff like that in Category:Rape in fiction. That's an ambiguously-named category that doesn't say anything about themes or even whether the rape is acknowledged as such in the work itself. NinjaRobotPirate (talk) 02:16, 28 February 2016 (UTC)

Today this question was finally decided, when an editor moved the category to "Rape in film". Debresser (talk) 23:02, 25 January 2017 (UTC)

... later reversed per consensus at CFD, linked above. – Fayenatic London 16:53, 2 August 2018 (UTC)