Dollhouse has deliberately chosen a form of rape that is harder to handle non-exploitively, but seems to put less effort than an after-school special into making it non-exploitive and instead makes it as titillating as possible.
I understand the general rape-related arguments about the show, but I'm not sure how your post furthers them, Typo. Was there even a sex scene in the first episode? And in the second episode, while there was sex, I thought it was really brief. I won't say it wasn't shot to be titillating, but I see WAY more explicit and titillating stuff on network TV all the time. If anything, I thought it was restrained.
Emily, that's an interesting take I sure hadn't thought of.
Was there even a sex scene in the first episode?
Yes - during the mindwipe sequence there's a brief flashback to sex with her date/client.
(And just to be completely honest here, I found the first ep offensive enough that I did not watch it again when it aired nor have I seen the second ep. So it's possible that the sex was cut out of the broadcast version of the pilot.)
Let me clarify that the answer may well be yes, actually. There may be a victim of rape without an intentional act of rape, and indeed the Dollhouse clients know perfectly well what they're getting into. But the identity issue surely complicates it a little.
The sex was still there, Jessica. I thought I read in one of interviews that sex part was something he wanted to explore.
Was there even a sex scene in the first episode?
I think it was mentioned that she had slept with motorcycle race client, but I don't remember an actual sex scene. I was very distracted when I watched it, though.
but have others drawn the same rape connection that we have?
Quite a few people on LJ (which is the only place I've read) came to that conclusion right away.
I've read a couple reviews to that end.
Echo actually falls into lust or love or limerance with the client, and enjoys the sex.
I don't want to seem like a rape defender, but it's not Echo. It's a fully created personality outside of "Echo", and that personality has consensual sex.
I am in no way saying that this makes the rape issues go away, I'm just saying that I think identity is an important component.
