Dakota Fanning’s Disturbing Houndog Scene
I can’t think of anything sadder, more shameful or more disturbing in our society than child abuse.
And even though Ms. Fanning is an actress and is “just playing a character”, in her upcoming movie Hounddog, if I were her mother or any other responsible adult involved with the film, would NOT have let her play that role.
This whole topic upsets me…but I thought it was important to bring up.
I’m sure if it were 30 years ago, and I was referencing Brooke Sheilds in the movie Pretty Baby, in which she plays a prostitute, I’d be saying the same thing.
There must be thousands of roles out there for 12-year-olds that are poignant, socially significant and beautiful, without having to go down this road.
joanna,ur a stupid person,how dare u talk bout my favorite actress like that.SSSSSHAMEEE
It should be impossible to make a comment about this movie when it has not been released yet. The thing is that nobody can tell nothing about the rape scene, nobody has seen it.
I agree Sam. My abuse started when I was 3 and went until I was 12. In this day and age, if people don’t think that Dakota Fanning has been exposed to the subject of rape, I think that they are ignorant of the facts of our society. I’m sure that Dakota, from a young age, has probably been quite aware of the abuse inflicted on children. Her portrayal will help others who feel that they are the only one. When I was trying to heal from abuse when I was younger, I had such a hard time finding books or movies that would help me relate and not feel so alone.
If the people who object (who have or have not seen the scene) were to see pornography of real children being raped, victims of the child sex trade, I doubt that they would be making such a fuss about this movie.
In addition, this movie was not made for “entertainment.” It was made to tell a story and make a statement. And yes, most often, a child does not say anything about the abuse after it happens (I didn’t until I was an adult). The abuser is most often not caught (mine weren’t). What this movie is about is survival.
On the other hand, I will say that there is a chance of her being emotionally hurt by this film. There is a chance of children being emotionally hurt by a lot of things. Some of the blogs I’ve seen on the net about this movie are from some really disgusting individuals who seem to thing that rape is a good thing. I’ll spare you all their horrifying and degradading comments.
I can tell you one thing. I wish that my abuse was just acting. I wish that mine was a few clips (that are said to not be graphic at all) on a movie screen that weren’t real. And I bet so would 1 in 4 girls and 1 in 7 boys in our nation that have gone and still go through the real thing.
I wish the abuse I suffered was just acting too, Amy. I also agree that she may be hurt in the filming of this movie, but has probably already been hurt by many things in her life already, IE not being able to have a real childhood because of acting in all the movies that she has done already. From the way I have heard her talk about her role in this movie, she seems to have her own views already on what this scene means to her and all the children that she is representing in playing this part. Amy also made a good point in saying that this movie is about a young girl finding a way to survive in her world, and compared to alot of different ways that young girls find a way to cope after abuse, I think she has found a pretty darn good way by just listening to elvis. Which as I gather is how she copes throughout her neglegted & abused childhood. I wished I had found a better way to cope with mine. I’ll spare you on how I actually did cope. Well anyway, just wanted to say thank you to Amy and good luck.
if every child knows what abuse is, they can be protected, but if everybody wants to hide the reality, all will be the same as now, i don’t think is bad to show how cruel can be the world, and if the parents of the girl speak with her about abuse and about hers role on the picture a don’t think she may be hurt for the filming, closed minds cause the abuse child to grown faster. hide the reallity cause our children don’t know how to defend them selfs
I think your crazy. Her mother is not selling her, she is simiply letting her daughter follow her dreams. I agree the subject is a little harsh but it’s RAPE. Whats not harsh about it? The fact is I’m proud to see a movie like this come out where the open the public’s eye to a subject that is commonly sweep under the rug!
Sam, Amy, I applaud you two for having the courage to tell us your stories and giving real insight into the subject of this scene.
The fact of the matter is that child rape happens all the time and there needs to be movies that address taboos like this. And limited-release movies like this are never made for money or entertainment. Just as Amy said, they are made to send a message mainstream big-budget movies are afraid to send.
In my opinion, Dakota Fanning was probably the best option to play this role. She’s not like most 12 year olds. She’s more mature that most adults in her business and has a good grasp of reality around her. I believe she can handle doing this role and be alright.
Speaking of which, just to put it out there…there HAVE been other movies in the past that have had child rape scenes worse than what this sounds like. Yet there was no uproar then. otto at the top may have had a point.
Having just spent an hour reading the comments about Dakota Fanning doing a rape scene in a movie, I am thoroughly convinced that there are a lot of people who know how to write, but put little or no thought into their writing: Rape exists. It’s not a pretty thing and I might rank it among the most ugly things that I know of: Child rape is even less pretty, but it, too, exists. To the victim, it may be worse than being beaten with a club, but not as bad as starving to death. It seems to me that the majority of the above comments are opposed to an idea rather than to a truth. Many appear to believe they can authoritatively discuss nasty things like “rape” and “child abuse” from the sanctity of their own personal home…and take the position that because they “think” something is bad and say so, that they can assume a “holier than thou” position. Because it exists, many books, or films talk about child sexuality. Dakota Fannning, for all her tender years, has lived among show-people all of her life. My guess is that she has sufficient knowledge about sex, rape and survival…or she would not have been able to portray the role she selected. It is highly doubtful that she was mentally affected by playing a role that contains these things. I’m more saddened about those who, without even having seen the film “Houndog”, are willing to condemn it on hearsay. They are the ones who will need psychological help, not Miss Fanning.
Here’s what bothers me..1.) she is twelve years old. She should be playing roles that are suitable for a twelve year old. Her mother is just wanting her to win an oscar. To me she is selling her out. Let your kids be kids! 2.) This movie is going to appeal to all the sick bastards that prey on children. this is like porn to them, but legal because it stars a famous child actor..blah..blah..blah. We feed sick peoples fantasies with crap like this. I have a five year old little girl and no way in hell would I allow my child to ever perform in a movie like this. Its vial and disgusting. I cringe every time I see a child actor swear in a movie role. Why do we sit back and allow this? I don’t care if you see anything or not. What about the children that really are raped and abused. They are having their trauma thrown up on a big screen and this little girl is making money off of it. Our nation is so upside down when it comes to stuff like this. We have commercials for anti animal abuse and how we should go green and not wear fur..but i dont see anyone standing up for all the abused, raped, or murdered children. Im tired of it being ignored except when it comes to making a movie.
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well how about real life situations where little 9 and 10 year old children face this rape scene only they are not pretending
Has anyone mentioned Jodi Foster in Taxi Driver? She was 12 and she played a prostitute who gets raped?
What about those two girls from the movie Thirteen? That whole movie is filled with drinking drugs and sex?
What about all the other movies that have unknown actors playing children that are abused? No one has kicked up a fuss about that.
I am sure Ms Fanning had on set counciling/therapy available to her.
I won’t see the film – because that sort of thing is not entertaining to me…. but we live in America where freedom of speech is fundamental. If someone wants to make a movie about this sort of thing… they will be able to find someone to play the part and we have no right to say they shouldn’t…. we can just NOT go and see it… speak with our dollars.
Why is it that everyone stops to think of the trauma of a child being in a rape movie versus children being in movies where there are other violent acts? Is it more okay to have children included in scenes where there’s drug use going on? Or what about the scenes where the child witnesses the rape or murder of a family member? The film makers can easily manipulate filming to get their point across without actually doing any of these things. If this girl is mature enough to be part of a movie that’s getting people talking about a very real issue then give her credit where it’s due. What would you rather have? Should no taboo subjects ever be broached? You don’t have to like it but try looking from a different angle.
Sadly, in real life 12 year olds are raped. This is a horrific truth in life.
I am very sure that in prep for the role.. for the scene even… her mother, he guardian, the director.. whoever… discussed with her in full details to be sure She understood what was going on.
I highly doubt there was any foul play on the set.
I think it is time for the puritanical stuffed shirts to shut up and let the rest of us enjoy the movie. Dakota Fanning is a wonderful actress and she is certainly mature enough to play this roll. Plus she brings to light some very real problems that society should be dealing with. Leave her alone for God’s sake; there are many really bad things you should be focusing your attention on. Fred
I think you can still achieve to make a poignant movie still talk about sexual abuse of a young girl without having to have the scene itself. I am not a stuff shirt but I do believe that movies often exaggerate with sexually or violently explicit scenes and one becomes so horrified they miss the point. The story of sexual abuse must be told but it can be done responsibly, I do not want to see Dakota Fanning’s shoulder or torso in the name of art and I do think that her mother should have thought it over, but we all can make mistakes.
It was all technical no realism to it. I mean the Dakota Fanning rape scene was technical. Actually they had her trip and look like she was falling. Then they had this guy do opposite of her. Put it all togeather and you have a rape scene. It was all pretend. Get over it. They feel punished enough by the memories.
poor poor Dakota. What about tha male actor? For the rest of his career this will be the scene he is most recognized by. I’ll bet he dosnt get nominated