This essay will explore exploitation films, the history of them and how exploitation is still used as a major tactic in modern day cinema. This essay will investigate the theme of rxxe and revenge exploitation films, and the boundaries they potentially cross to question an audiences morality and in turn get financial gain. Specifically, I will be looking at the controversial horror I Spit On Your Grave (Meir Zarchi, 1978) in which a young woman Jennifer Hills (Camille Keaton) escapes to the countryside to write her first novel. All is not as it seems as Jennifer catches the attention of Jonny (Eron Tabor) and his friends. They all in turn brutally sexually assault her. The film then follows Jennifer’s resurgence as she gets revenge on them one by one. This essay will investigate why the use of sexual brutality and exploitation especially with women in cinema draws in an audience, making us question not only the sexual boundaries for what we view in film but social and moral attitudes towards the use of rxxe and revenge exploitation for entertainment purposes.
Exploitation within film is something that has been happening since the early 1920’s. Exploitation is predominantly used within film for financial gain and wide spread amount of attention around the film. Some could argue that exploitation films always contain some kind of controversy whether that be, sex, drugs or murder as a tactic to exploit an audience and get them to watch it. This tends to attract a lot of attention and therefore a big audience resulting in not the best reviews or ratings but a large amount of money being spent streaming or going to see the film. The films are normally cheap to make and essentially not up to the best possible standard they could be aesthetically or content wise. However exploitation films only became sought after in the 1960’s/70’s because of a slackening in censorship rules within cinema in the United States and Europe. Lewis, E (2013) wrote ‘They speak directly to the basest desires of the audience whether these desires are for sex, murder, or giant sharks.’ In turn this could essentially sum up the attitudes towards exploitation films. They are cheap and some could say poor quality. However as humans they speak to our curiosities and weaknesses. We know we should not watch or be interested in things that should not ‘socially’ be exploited in extreme ways like violence, sex, drug use, religion etc. However, saying that we cannot help it and audiences will and always have continuously paid for these sorts of films purely of the basis of curiosity. Exploitation films not only make us question social and moral views but also reinforces them. Sometimes a extremely violent or sexual film can spark controversy and therefore questions. Should this be on the screen? Is it exploiting us as an audience? Is it okay if it’s only for entertainment? Is it somewhat empowering for women to watch even though it is crossing certain sexual boundaries?
I Spit On Your Grave is a rxxe and revenge film which comes under a sub genre within exploitation films. Rxxe and revenge films are obvious in terms of the title. Most rxxe and revenge films focus around one woman. The woman is often sexually assaulted at the start or mid way through the film narrative. For the most part the film then progresses on to the revenge. The audience will then see the woman take her revenge on the man/or men normally in quite explicit and/or gruesome manor. Out of all of the types of exploitation films rxxe and revenge films could potentially be seen as more questionable and contentious in terms of moral social standards. Eric Schaefer. (1999) once said ‘Exploitation films are usually thought of as ethically dubious, industrially marginal and aesthetically bankrupt’. The notion that exploitation films are ethically dubious sums up a lot of people’s attitude towards rxxe and revenge films, they make us feel uncertain before we watch them. Rxxe is quite a taboo subject. This film drew in a lot of controversy. It makes us question as an audience should the topic of rxxe be used for entertainment, whether the story line ending is positive or negative. It could be seen as something to never make light of. As a result of the extremities certain films may have gone to and the controversy it brought in, I would say this would be the one film that would not so much question but definitely re inforce peoples idea and perception of moral and ethical sexual boundaries.
The prime example and revenge film (as i have stated previously within the essay) is I Spit On Your Grave. Furthermore even for modern day standards this film could potentially be seen as crossing a line. You could argue that if the film got released now in 2018 that it would still be exploiting its audience. Julie Bindel said ‘It is still truly shocking. It shows, in detail and at length, the gang rxxe of Jennifer’ Bindel (2011). Therefore as an audience we have to take in to consideration that in 1978 the censorship rules in mainstream media and film would have been even more authoritarian. Thus forth a mainstream audience then would have never had its eyes opened to topics such as sexual assault within a horror film and the publicity surrounding the film would have drawn many people in. The film is the literal epitome of what a rxxe and revenge exploitation film is about. The film follows I Spit On Your Grave was proved to be that controversial and graphic it got banned altogether in many countries. It got banned in Ireland, Norway, Iceland and West Germany. This was mainly because of the censorship laws in those particular countries and the level of graphic sexual assault and violence within the film. In addition a lot of other countries banned I Spit On Your Grave until they got an edited version where it was not as graphic, thus giving it the rating in that country of the content reflected in the film.
I Spit On Your Grave has drawn in a lot of attention especially for the way it represents females. Some would argue that it is a feminist film, in the sense that it follows the woman throughout and sees her triumph against all of the men. Furthermore especially at the time in 1978, even though it was not too long ago women were suppressed more. This will have drawn in a crowd to see not only a female lead but a female lead who takes power. We could argue that it is one of the only films that sees a power shift from the male to the female in the narrative. Others could say that it is derogatory, degrading and glorifies violence against women. Anne Billson (2018) said “On the one hand, what could be more empowering than watching a woman wreaking violent vengeance on her abusers? I’m not aware of this being something that happens in real life, but what’s wrong with a little fantasy wish fulfilment?” From this quote we can deduce that people may see it as a win for women in film in the sense that, it revolves around Jennifer, we follow her story and see her successfully get her revenge upon the men that assaulted her. However it also acknowledges that the revenge part of the narrative is not necessarily something that would happen in real life however, it could be a fantasy for someone who was actually been in Jennifers position. Therefore as an audience because we sympathize with Jennifers character after the assault we almost take pride in seeing her get her revenge.Another quote that backs up the statement that this film exploited its audience at the time with the use of a female lead is Carol Clover saying : Clover. (1992) said ‘I spit on your grave is a roughly made, low budget production. Like a number of revenge horror films, it owes a clear debt to deliverance (the retarded country man, the harmonica playing sequence, and so on). Although there are a couple of men-only sequences, the film is framed from beginning to end as Jennifer’s story. Most of the action is registered from her vantage, and there is no doubt that its sympathies lie with her’. This again re enforces the fact that even though the film is extremely graphic and violent, it draws in a new kind of attention because the violence is for one, targeted at the woman sexually but most importantly she does not finish the film a victim and that is why it could be seen as a win for the feminist movement.
However some could have an opposing view on it being a feminist film and all it purely is, is an exploitative rxxe-revenge film The pure length and graphic nature of the sexual assault scenes could be seen as not needed, the audience are aware of what is happening in the scene, there might not necessarily be a need to depict in detail the sexual assault and for that amount of time. I Spit On Your Grave could be seen to be not only glorifying and exploiting violence against women but exploiting violence in general. It glorifies the act that if someone is violent towards you or wrongs you, the only way you can get closure or not be a victim is to be violent back to the people who did it to you. Furthermore even though at the end of the film we do not see Jennifer as a victim, for the large majority of the film she is. She still was a victim in that moment. People could argue that, why does a horror film always have to have a woman being a victim in the first place?. On the topic of glorification and exploitation of violence in film, sexual assault may be seen by certain audiences as crossing the line within film. It may be seen as something that should not be made light off in any situation especially when it comes to film and being seen by audiences for entertainment purposes.
In conclusion within this essay i planned to explore exploitation films, the history of them and how exploitation is still used as a major tactic in modern day cinema. Specifically this essay explored the themes of rxxe and revenge films in the film I Spit On Your Grave. This essay looked in to the history of exploitation films and found that even though there is said to be set dates of when they first came around, they have always been here and the lengths that exploitation films use against an audience for financial gain has always been around especially now within mainstream cinema. Film makers, whether that be directors or producers are aware of what makes an audience pay to watch there film and put these tactics in to play when it comes to distributing their film. In addition this essay explored the theory that because the primary reason for exploitation films is for financial gain, filmmakers do not necessarily care about critic and audience reviews and ratings and just about the economic gain. This essay investigated the exploitation of rxxe and revenge films in I Spit On Your Grave and whether it is morally and ethically correct that the use of sexual assault within cinema is used to exploit an audience for entertainment. This essay determined that the controversy around the rxxe scenes was big and mostly negative at the time of its release in the late seventies, however as time has progressed different attitudes have looked at the film differently. It is now looked at from a feminists point of view as almost a win for women in films, that even when the worst situation can happen to a woman she does not have to be seen as a victim and the film I Spit On Your Grave shows this perfectly.