Film Analysis: The Hunting Ground

Before watching this film, I did not aware of the prevalence of sexual violence on college campuses. It surprised me how the school administrations suspected the victims are the wrong people.

Fisher, Bonnie S., et al. "There Is A Serious Problem with Sexual Assault on College Campuses." Sexual Violence, edited by Amanda Hiber, Greenhaven Press, 2014. Opposing Viewpoints. Opposing Viewpoints in context, Assault Study, Dec.2007.

In the movie,“The Hunting Ground,” by filmmakers, Kerby Dick and Amy Ziering, shows how many women have been raped. The women speak about their experience, being sexually assaulted on college and university campuses. The filmmakers communicate their message using pathos, ethos, and logos. The filmmakers used pathos to deliver the emotions the victims and their parents now carry with them.

“One in five college women, and one in 33 college men, will be sexually assaulted during their time on campus, adding up to an estimated 100,000 assaults for the coming year. But only 5% of these get reported. (The Hunting Ground).” With statistics like these, it’s easy to see why sexual assault is still a prevalent issue on college campuses. In the Movie, The Hunting Ground, the issue of sexual assault on college campuses is addressed. What set this documentary apart from other documentaries that address sexual assault was that it was from the views of the victims, as opposed to just covering statistics and generally talking about the issue. Aside from sexual assault, the other main topic covered was title IX, which is a program that is required

“'Til it happens to you, you don't know” You won't know how it feels to be victimized, or what it’s like to have, what seems like, the world against you. The documentary, The Hunting Ground directed by Kirby Dick, gives a small look into the life and treatment of a rape or sexual assault victim on colleges campuses. Using anaphora, the rule of three, and imagery, The Hunting Ground makes it a little easier to understand exactly what is happening.

I am writing to you today out of concern for many students, specifically female Penn Staters. Sexual assault is something that is frequently occurs at every university, especially this one. “At Penn State’s campus alone, since the beginning of the 2012-2013 school year, almost 30 sexual assaults have been reported to local and off-campus police departments” (Thomas par. 2). Penn State University has a rich history that dates all the way back to 1855, but that history has since been marred by the night life here in State College. Sexual assault is an extremely hot topic right now, especially after the new release of the featured film of 2015, “The Hunting Ground” directed by Kirby Dick. This film opened the eyes of the public to sexual assaults on college campuses and how frequent they really are. Dr. Barron, the number of sexual assaults at Penn State needs to decrease drastically and in order to do that we need to educate the students as much as possible, increase the number of on campus police officers, enhance the punishment for sexual assault crimes, and work closely with the town police as well.

Colleges have begun to share the number of sexual assault cases that occur on campus and are making efforts in order to produce a smaller number. They are trying to influence more victims to speak up about sexual assault and are creating an easier way to report these crimes on college campuses. Today, there are multiple solutions to solving the crime of sexual assault, and a substantial amount of these methods are being implemented at colleges nationwide. While sexual assault is common on numerous school campuses and is the most underreported crime in America, the government, along with colleges, are doing what they can in order to persuade more victims to report it and prevent it from

Department of Education implemented policies to protect students from gender discrimination and sexual persecution. Yet, campuses continue to defend their staff when discrimination or sexual assault reports are formed. Sadly, the educational system often disregards a sexually harassed victim for lack of proof. As an example, in campuses such as Harvard, Yale, and University of Southern California the victims were asked to keep quiet or made to feel like it was their fault and not the harassers’. Due to the ignorance from institution of higher education, students began to create demonstrations and protest against sexual violence on campus. As well, documentaries such as “The Hunting Ground” were produced to display the victim’s suffering after they were attacked and dehumanized by their oppressor and by authority figures on and off

Centered around the problems of rape in college, The Hunting Ground is a documentary that follows stories of many young women and men who had some of the most important things stolen from them. Virginity, dignity, respect, or an environment where they felt safe. More than 16% of women are raped while in college. With the number only increasing, this documentary was created to showcase the corrupt system of colleges handling these cases and give insight to what actually happens to the victims.

In the first critique of The Hunting Ground written by Robby Soave called “How The Hunting Ground Spreads Myths About Campus Rape,” Soave basically is trying to discredit the film and find ways to discredit the victims. Soave uses the fact that nineteen Harvard University professors have denounced the film, but of course they would because one of the main examples in the movie was a case that occurred at Harvard University. Soave also tried to say that the victims that were talked about in the two main cases in the movie had been faulty in their explanations of what happened on the night of the attacks. Soave also mentions the guy they showed in the movie who admitted to sexually assaulting someone and going to jail for six years, Soave says

College campus sexual assault has become a growing epidemic. Victims are assaulted by strangers, friends, or acquaintances, and receive no support when reported to the school staff. The importance of making this epidemic more aware to students or school faculty is to show the impact sexual assault has on a victim and their family, but also make it easier for victims to report and discuss their assault. Rape culture is becoming increasingly normalized within college campuses, and poses dangers to all students. The normalization of rape on college campuses promotes a mindset that suppresses victims and does not hold the attacker responsible for his or her actions.

Last semester NOVA women’s center organized to show the film the “hunting Ground” which lead to a discussion about the reality of sexual assault on campuses. This event will be continual and there will be another event in May. Even though such events are something to be appreciated the fact remains more needs to be done. NOVA needs to incorporate trainings and programs into the school system to educate its students on reporting, preventing and build better understanding of sexual harassment in general. Even though traditional programs are not something to be disregarded the statistical data we have is a proof that more change is needed. The climate survey findings will highlight what is urgent and critical to the NOVA community. While the survey will tell us, what is happening in our campuses the mandatory trainings will work towards addressing the issue of why sexual misconducts are happening at the current rate. Other schools – including the University of Nebraska at Omaha, Kansas University, the Montana University system, Portland State University, Georgetown University and the University of California–Berkeley – have made sexual assault awareness training programs mandatory for students according to an article by USNEWS. Elon University in North Carolina, for example, students must take a course online before they even reach campus that walks them through the ethics of relationship and alcohol's effect on behavior. "You can't do a one-time program and expect it to make a difference," says Ruth Anne Koenick, director of the Office for Violence Prevention and Victim Assistance at Rutgers, the State University of New Jersey–New Brunswick. As these schools reevaluated their way of dealing with sexual violence and changed their approach a decrease in sexual violence has been reported on their

Victimization of sexual assault survivors is in any case unacceptable for any institution, no matter the circumstances. Such victimization is insensitive and displays a lack of institutional maturity. The Hunting Grounds displayed a prime example of said victimization. As the documentary states that one in five women are sexually assaulted, it is clear that this issue that has seen a lack of address should be dealt with immediately.

“The Hunting Ground,” documentary film sparked awareness to the plague of sexual assault across American college campuses. The film displayed American

Although some might object that Binghamton is handling the issue of campus sexual assaults, with proper policy markers in place, a better environment can be sustained. The media is also responsible for misreporting and exploiting only certain parts of rape cases, as seen in the Hobart and William Smith article. The issue is that recently the focus has been on whether women could've prevented it or they asked for it. Instead, we should be aiming to educate men not to rape. Administrators should be held accountable for the verdict of letting these attackers get away with these crimes due to the fact that they are not willing to risk their reputation by handling the matter externally with local