On the one hand, rape is what the Reavers do, that is established from the outset. In that context, it makes sense. Is this more horrifying than what they did to the only survivor in the episode "Bushwacked", who was forced to see his friends and loved ones tortured to death in front of him until it drove him insane? Arguably no.
On the other hand the very point of that episode is that no human being can come back from that sort of horror. In order to deal with this properly it would take months for Inara to recover from that kind of trauma and I don't see the show doing that. So it is likely the whole seriousness of rape, and especially this kind of systematic abuse, is going to be downplayed.
But while I understand that people are angry that this episode is pitched more about Mal than Inara, the reality is also that Mal is also a victim in this scenario. Husbands who have wives who have been raped also suffer. We see this shown the other way around in which men are shown to have suffered torture or abuse, and their wives also live with the consequences. While I have no proof that this episode and those after would have dealt with the problem meaningfully and intelligently it is worth noting that male partners are also affected when women they love are raped. Their need to deal with that pain is also very real, confusing, and important.
Finally, we know Mal doesn't call Inara a whore because she has many sexual partners. Mal literally met Kaylee while she was on her back with her legs in the air under his then mechanic, but he never faults her for that. His attitude, good or bad, towards Inara stems in large part because she supported unification ("I don't suppose you're the only whore that did"). So the last scene written here where he kisses her hand is not about his legitimizing her - it is rather his way of saying (I believe) that she has always been a lady and nothing has happened to change that. Having something that horrible happen to her does not either lower or raise her status - she is what she is because of who she is inside, not what was done to her by others.
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timeasmymeasure
no subject
Date: 2014-04-06 09:08 am (UTC)On the one hand, rape is what the Reavers do, that is established from the outset. In that context, it makes sense. Is this more horrifying than what they did to the only survivor in the episode "Bushwacked", who was forced to see his friends and loved ones tortured to death in front of him until it drove him insane? Arguably no.
On the other hand the very point of that episode is that no human being can come back from that sort of horror. In order to deal with this properly it would take months for Inara to recover from that kind of trauma and I don't see the show doing that. So it is likely the whole seriousness of rape, and especially this kind of systematic abuse, is going to be downplayed.
But while I understand that people are angry that this episode is pitched more about Mal than Inara, the reality is also that Mal is also a victim in this scenario. Husbands who have wives who have been raped also suffer. We see this shown the other way around in which men are shown to have suffered torture or abuse, and their wives also live with the consequences. While I have no proof that this episode and those after would have dealt with the problem meaningfully and intelligently it is worth noting that male partners are also affected when women they love are raped. Their need to deal with that pain is also very real, confusing, and important.
Finally, we know Mal doesn't call Inara a whore because she has many sexual partners. Mal literally met Kaylee while she was on her back with her legs in the air under his then mechanic, but he never faults her for that. His attitude, good or bad, towards Inara stems in large part because she supported unification ("I don't suppose you're the only whore that did"). So the last scene written here where he kisses her hand is not about his legitimizing her - it is rather his way of saying (I believe) that she has always been a lady and nothing has happened to change that. Having something that horrible happen to her does not either lower or raise her status - she is what she is because of who she is inside, not what was done to her by others.
That's my opinions at first glance, anyway.