It Happened Here: Documentary Analysis

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Dark images play on a constant loop, reminding them of the attack. Slowly, they withdraw from their surroundings, while depression brews within them. They watch in horror as their perpetrator is left free and unpunished. What started as an optimistic future for five young women turns into a terrible nightmare when they are sexually assaulted on their college campuses.
Sexual assault occurs frequently among college campuses. Approximately 1 in 5 women are sexually assaulted on campus. While colleges are cognizant of these high rates, they are often slow to deal with the aftermath of the attacks. Documentaries, such as It Happened Here (2014), highlight the prevalence rate of sexual assault as well as the mishandling of these cases by universities. It Happened Here (2014) uses anecdotes, interviews, and headlines to explain the ongoing double standards and rape culture that plagues numerous educational facilities. Although the film brings awareness to this issue, its only weakness is that it excludes a subgroup that could be affected by sexual assault. Nonetheless, it does a great job of bringing insight …show more content…

The director focuses on violence against women; she does not mention sexual assault or violence against men. This is one of the flaws in the documentary. The purpose of this documentary was to raise awareness about sexual assault, advocacy, and rights for sexual assault victims in college. Although violence against females is highly prevalent, sexual violence against males and other genders exist on campus as well. Since the director intended for sexual assault on campus to be the main focus of the documentary, she should have included or mentioned evidence of both genders being assaulted on campus. Her exclusion of the other genders, races, and sexual orientations places the entire blame on heterosexual males and portrays to the audience that most college males are predators against

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