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"Scandal Anatomy" presents sexual assault as something that happens to the defendant, not the defendant - Walla! culture

2022-05-08T20:46:32.415Z


The successful Netflix series deals with a case of sexual assault, the privilege of the attacker who thinks he deserves everything and his wife's coping. But there is one main point where its weakness is revealed


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"Anatomy of Scandal" presents sexual assault as something that happens to the defendant, not the defendant

The successful Netflix series deals with the case of sexual assault, the privilege of the attacker who thinks he deserves everything, and the world of his wife's course.

But there is one main point where the "anatomy of scandal" is exposed in its weakness and superficiality

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09/05/2022

Monday, 09 May 2022, 00:00

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Trailer for the series "Anatomy of Scandal" (Netflix)

"Scandal", "Novel", "Betrayal", "Political Personality", "Rich Family" - using the code words in its name and description, "Anatomy of Scandal" tempts viewers to imagine that there is going to be a yellow story here about sex and intrigue, betrayal and revenge.

But if you sit down to watch it and expect to follow the romantic and sexy adventures of beautiful young people in coveted professions or in the corridors of politics, you will very quickly discover that you are in a completely different story.



The peaceful life of the beautiful and successful Whitehouse family is undermined when the father of the family, British MP James Whitehouse the charming (Rupert Friend, "Homeland"), is accused of rape.

Whitehouse is a very close friend of the prime minister, responsible for important political processes in the kingdom, ostensibly an exemplary husband and father.

Until now, Sophie, his supportive and beautiful wife (Sienna Miller), lives with the thought that her life is perfect.

Then the affair he had with one of the facts was revealed in his office, and she is forced to look at what the man she trusted since she tied her fate to his when they were both students at Oxford, and wonder what the truth really is.

He swears he loves only her, that the affair he ran for five whole months is in fact just a mistake and has no meaning.

Sophie somehow manages to pick herself up and decide that she believes him and has no intention of leaving him, when the real blow lands - the woman with whom Whitehouse had an affair accuses him of rape.



From that moment on, the series becomes a legal drama, with the third rib in the story being the rape case prosecutor, attorney Kate Woodcroft (Michelle Dockery, "Downton Estate"), determined and a tireless fighter for justice, Kate feels she can win this case, which is like so many Rape cases, a case of "his word / her word".




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Entertaining thanks to a successful cast and plot twists.

"Anatomy of Scandal" (Photo: Ana Cristina Blumenkron / Netflix)

So yes, the point here is actually the least sexy issue possible when it comes to sex - sexual assault.

But the series does a very interesting thing in the way it presents the affair.

Instead of telling the story of the scandal, delving into the scandal and its aftermath, wallowing in the yellow newspaper headlines and paparazzi persecution - in other words, concentrating on the word "scandal" in the series' name, she tries to examine the "anatomy" more.

The information is unfolded before the viewer gradually, each time a little, each time more.

Each piece of information changes the perception of the characters and each other, and how we feel about them.



Most of the time we have more questions than answers, and the questions are very similar to those that arise in reality, when we experience as an audience, as spectators, an indictment of rape.

Who is lying?

He or she?

What does she have to gain and what does he have?

When we hear the details of the case, is it a memory or an invention?

But he was her boss.

But she admitted she was in love with him.

And if the defendant and the victim have a sexual past, does that make her story more credible or less credible?

And what if he is a good man who loves his family?

And what if his wife believes him?



In the first part, the creators do a very good job of making viewers feel empathy with different sides of the story, and wonder.

Various cinematic means are used, some accurate and beautiful like camera angles (Sophie discovers a truth that makes her feel the world is contorted, the earth is dropped), some are exaggeratedly stylish (James gets the news that he is being investigated for rape by his ex-girlfriend, and his body is thrown back as if he Shot by a gun), some distract from an important moment in the over-drama they create (the victim Olivia physically moves from the memory of the assault to the courtroom), all to illustrate the intensity of the emotions. It is not entirely clear why these stylish moments are needed Their work well.Especially outstanding are Michelle Dockery and Sienna Miller, both of whom take us into the minds of women whose worlds are being undermined, and who need to reconsider the big decisions they have made that have shaped the course of their lives.

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Chronicle of Privilege.

"Anatomy of Scandal" (Photo: Ana Cristina Blumenkron / Netflix)

It is evident that a real attempt has been made to confront us with the complex questions of the "gray" area in sexual assault.

In the parts where it works, viewers can learn a lot about themselves according to the questions that arise in them as the plot unfolds and the secrets of the past are revealed.

The question of consent is at the heart of the legal drama and invites us to ponder - how explicit consent must be in order for it to be considered consent, how sharp and smooth the "no" must be in order for it to be considered "no".

And although there is only one correct answer to a question ("no" is "no" and has no ranks and no shades), in reality we discuss it all the time, especially in a legal situation.



"Scandal Anatomy" is also very successful in portraying the character of the spotless man, and the character of James Whitehouse is written in such a way that it is easy to get confused in front of him.

Yes, we are told, he did betray his perfect wife, and yes, that was a relationship with his employee, and he is a Member of Parliament who should serve as an example, and yes, it is a five-month relationship so it can not exactly be said that this is a meaningless one-time stumble.

But Whitehouse apologizes for the affair, denies the rape outright, tries to give his wife time to digest, begs her to be by his side.

In court he looks at her all the time, as if drawing power from her, as if her opinion is the only one that matters to him.

He repeatedly emphasizes that he is a family man.

Willing to give up his entire political career if she just asked.

Sophie decides to restrain the affair, and she does not believe in the rape at all.

Despite the market and the immense sense of infidelity she feels, Sophie chooses to try to preserve her marriage, for the sake of the love between them and for the sake of her children.

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Not her story.

Naomi Scott, "Anatomy of Scandal" (Photo: Ana Cristina Blumenkron / Netflix)

When we hear such a story in life, it is easy for us to immediately say "why is she not leaving it?", So the series really invites viewers to judge Ms. Whitehouse dedicated to the fact that the discovery of the novel does not make her get up and leave, to judge her for continuing to stand by her husband. When she is forced to hear intimate details about the betrayal, and all the shocking testimony of the victim.

The series also provides us with two answers to this question, the superficial answer - it's Sophie's fear of losing stability, comfortable life, wealth and status;

And the deeper answer - her fear of looking around and realizing that she is the one who chose to ignore a lot of warning lights to preserve this life, even when it was against her beliefs, even when the ugly values ​​she did not believe passed on to her children.



For there is another whole subject which deals with the "anatomy of scandal," at first only between the lines and then more directly, and is the matter of the privilege into which certain people are born, and the many concessions people make to gain that privilege for themselves or their children.

In other words, there is also a spotlight here on privileged rich, who grew up in abundance and taught them from childhood that they would always be winners, those who studied at the prestigious Oxford University and are considered the elite of their country.

Such is James Whitehouse, and such are his friends, who have only advanced in their status, one of whom is even the Prime Minister in this story.

While James begins as a credible man who has gotten involved, throughout the series he betrays himself in words and deeds, until towards the end even his wife can see how the value instilled in him in childhood, that everything is allowed because he is the best, distorts his perception of reality.

When you see this pattern, you also see how easily this feature allows you to cross boundaries, not to hear "no" when it is said, to refuse to acknowledge a situation where there is no consent,

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Fails to delve deeper despite the good intentions.

"Anatomy of scandal" (Photo: Netflix)

Defendant and wife are given a long time to present their side, and go through all the emotional storms that this horrible crime evokes in them.

This is how we are made to think about this difficult subject, which most of us prefer not to think about in depth.

This is an important and very good mission, and some of the time "Anatomy of Scandal" succeeds in the task it has set for itself, and does it fluently, with the help of a successful cast and plot twists.

But there is one main point where her weakness is revealed, and the superficiality of her treatment of the complex issue.

Whoever is definitely not represented in this series as she deserved, and justice for her is certainly not exhausted, is a character who was supposed to be at the center of this affair but somehow almost completely disappeared - and she is Olivia Lyton (Naomi Scott, "Aladdin"), the woman who accuses Whitehouse of rape.



It serves less as a legitimate character and more as a tool in the hands of the creators of the series (and in the story itself - a tool in the hands of the prosecution) whose role is solely to be the source of the crisis.

Until the trial itself and after it, she does not exist (except in a few small scenes of fragments of memories), and after giving her testimony, she has no side in the story.

It is much more important for creators to focus on the tension between the couple, the breakdown the lawyer is going through, and especially the sense of disaster that has collapsed on Whitehouse's head.



In the second chapter, the adviser to the prime minister says that he must dissociate himself from White House publicly, so that he does not harm politically.

According to the consultant, the world has changed, and today "the road is lined with 'Mi-Tu' mines."

Elsewhere in the series, the phrase is used as a verb.

He became "Mi-Tu".

As if 'who-to' happens to the offender, and not to the victim.

So despite all her good intentions, "Anatomy of Scandal" does not really manage to go down to the depth to which it purports.

It is certainly a suspenseful and effective legal drama, but in a clever treatment of the issue of sexual assault with all its consequences, there are benefits to it.

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Source: walla

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