Line #78 Main/GratuitousRape


1	->''"Take a good look at your story. Why do you think a rape is what you need for it to progress? Is there something else that could fill the same function? Unless you have a damn good reason to include rape in a story, you probably shouldn’t."''
2	-->-- '''Jay Edidin''', [[http://www.girl-wonder.org/insideout/ InsideOut]]
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4	Gratuitous Rape is ExactlyWhatItSaysOnTheTin - a pointless rape scene usually happening [[BigLippedAlligatorMoment for little to no reason]]. Did the BigBad defeat TheHero? Rape. Did a whole bunch of {{Mooks}} gang up on TheHero at once? Rape. Does the angsty [[TheLancer Lancer]] have childhood issues? [[RapeAsBackstory It was because he was raped.]] Is TheHero going up against a foe that has MindManipulation powers? MindRape THEN rape. Did TheHero defeat the BigBad? Rape - [[OutOfCharacter Wait,]] [[CanonDefilement WHAT]]?!
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6	There are many guesses as to why GratuitousRape is used so much. To name a few, rape makes for good [[RapeAsDrama drama]] or it can show a villain as [[RapeIsASpecialKindOfEvil very, very, evil]]. What some creators forget, however, is that rape is a sensitive subject and therefore rape scenes should be handled with care. When unskilled hands insist on shoehorning rape somewhere into their work, THIS happens. This is a common cliche in FanWorks, but professional works are no stranger to it, either.
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8	A good indicator as to whether or not rape is gratuitous is if:
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10	* The rape scene(s) can be taken out entirely and not affect the plot
11	* The plot actually makes ''more sense'' if the rape scene(s) is replaced by something else (e.g. torture, or just [[KillHimAlready Killing Him Already]]). This one is usually apparent from the FridgeLogic it causes.
12	* The rape scene(s) relies on [[WritingPitfallIndex writing pitfalls]] such as CharacterDerailment (the BigBad just forgets his usual ''modus operandi'' of killing quickly and efficiently and just rapes everything that has an orifice) or an IdiotPlot (the {{Mooks}} stop to rape a wounded hero as they are [[TooDumbToLive being shot at by the other heroes]]).
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14	This trope refers to the unnecessary rape scenes and the little (if any) bearing they have on the plot. Before posting an example, ask yourself if the scene was at all relevant to the plot, FridgeLogic would be fixed if it was replaced, or if it only exists due to lazy writing.
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16	This accusation often gets levied at works that go the AdaptationalConsent route and take an encounter that was consensual in its original format and turn it into a rape.
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18	Contrast SexStartsStoryStops, a pointless but consensual sex scene.
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20	[[noreallife]]
21	----
22	!!Examples:
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24	[[foldercontrol]]
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26	[[folder:Anime and Manga]]
27	* ''Manga/{{Berserk}}'' has been accused of this. Rape happens a ''lot'' in the CrapsackWorld of this series, and many of the major characters (particularly if they're female) have had to deal with at least one attempted -- or successful -- rape during their lives. It doesn't really help that the nastier villains, particularly many Apostles, are fond of the crime in general.
28	%%
29	%% NOTE: ''Hen'' was cut from the wiki under the content policy.
30	%% Do not re-pothole.
31	%%
32	* ''Hen'' has a rape subplot that's so gratuitous it falls into BigLippedAlligatorMoment territory. It comes out of nowhere, has no plot relevance, is never mentioned again, and the victim just blows it off and doesn't seem at all affected by the experience.
33	%%* ''Manga/OkaneGaNai'' has Ayase frequently subjected to this.
34	* ''Manga/{{Sanctuary}}'' tries to play with Tokai habit of raping random women as {{Fanservice}} or BlackComedyRape, but its always so pointless that makes you dislike the character even if you liked him before.
35	* In the ''Manga/{{Zeorymer}}'' manga Masaki could have explained his sinister plan to Miku without raping her, but he rapes her anyway. [[spoiler:[[{{Narm}} With an icicle]].]]
36	[[/folder]]
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38	[[folder:Comics]]
39	* Sleez forcing a mind-controlled Big Barda to star in porn movies in ''ComicBook/ActionComics'' #593. He almost did it to Superman, too. (How creepy was Sleeze and this story? Sleeze was kicked out of [[PollutedWasteland Apokalips]] by [[GodOfEvil Darkseid]] [[EvenEvilHasStandards for being too creepy]].)
40	** When it was featured on ''WebVideo/AtopTheFourthWall'', Linkara cited the page quote.
41	* Infamously, ''ComicBook/IdentityCrisis2004'' created the RetCon of Dr. Light raping Sue Dibny in The Watchtower, and worse, we only found out about it ''after'' Sue had been murdered and its only purpose was to motivate the heroes into crossing into very questionable territory. And worse, the entire rape plot turns out to be [[spoiler:a RedHerring]] when it comes to the central murder mystery.
42	[[/folder]]
43
44	[[folder:Fanfics]]
45	* In ''Fanfic/InThisWorldAndTheNext'', Harry and Hermione kill RonTheDeathEater because he raped her. Any number of other things could have (to paraphrase the page quote) filled the same function, and might not have opened the enormous PlotHole that this did.
46	* The titular character is (very briefly) raped by orcs in ''FanFic/LegolasByLaura''. At the end of the story, Legolas reveals that [[RapeAsBackstory was he was, too]].
47	* [[RougeAnglesOfSatin Snap-I mean-Snoop-I mean-Snake-I mean-Snape's]] wacky attempts to rap-I mean-rape Draco in ''FanFic/MyImmortal''.
48	[[/folder]]
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50	[[folder:Film]]
51	* ''Film/TheCavern'': The film ends ''during'' a rape scene, which is simply there to shock the viewer.
52	* ''Film/TheCondemned2007'' contains a scene where one of the characters is {{forced to watch}} as his wife gets raped and then murdered. This adds nothing to the plot whatsoever, and is just needless ugliness.
53	* ''Franchise/EvilDead'':
54	** In ''Film/TheEvilDead1981'', the infamous "tree rape" scene was so completely unneeded in the movie, and added so much to its controversy, that director Creator/SamRaimi deeply, deeply regrets including it.
55	** In ''Film/EvilDead2'', which recreates many of the same situations as the first movie, it's averted altogether as the evil trees simply ''kill'' their victim instead.
56	* After the remaining cast is mugged in ''Film/FridayThe13thPartVIIIJasonTakesManhattan'', the perpetrators decide to take the FinalGirl with them as well and attempt to rape her at their hideout. Fortunately, Jason shows up to dispatch the duo.
57	* In ''Film/TheHillsHaveEyes2006'', there is an unnecessary rape scene where Lizard forces Lynn to breastfeed him. The directors tried to justify this by saying he was hungry, although it could clearly be seen that there is milk in the van's fridge.
58	* ''Film/JackFrost1997'': The infamous "snowman rape scene". Jack brutally kills everybody else but stops to rape the teenage girl taking a bath.
59	* ''Film/MeatballMachine'': The alien parasite sexually assaulting the female heroine with an appendage in the theatrical version. This scene was not in the original independent film.
60	%%* The random AttemptedRape in the Creator/SarahMichelleGellar film ''The Return''.
61	* In ''Film/{{Showgirls}}'', Molly is beaten and raped by her client...''just before she was about to have consensual sex with him''! It came right out of nowhere.
62	[[/folder]]
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64	[[folder:Literature]]
65	* Many people think that ''Literature/ASongOfIceAndFire'' suffers from this. It's definitely part of what makes Westeros such a CrapsackWorld. Specifically, in the mediaeval fantasy setting, rape during times of war is treated as [[RapePillageAndBurn an expected occurrence]], there is no objection to use of the MaritalRapeLicense, and some lords are tyrannical enough to invoke [[DroitDuSeigneur "First Night"]] despite the practice officially being outlawed.
66	* Frequently seen in the books of Creator/DanielleSteel, mostly done in the style of BreakTheCutie or KickTheDog. However, at least one example was a perfect demonstration of the first scenario--the [[MarySue heroine]] was already grappling with her daughter's near-fatal car accident, her husband's infidelity, and her [[MyBelovedSmother overbearing mother]]. So of course, it turns out that she was sexually abused by her father.
67	* The ''[[Literature/HeraldsOfValdemar Last-Herald Mage]]'' trilogy has a lengthy sequence near the finale where the hero is captured and gang-raped by some {{mook}}s. It affects the plot not at all.
68	* One especially grotesque example can be found in the third book of Gloria Tesch's Literature/MaradoniaSaga. Quote: "The false monk Larivier had drugged Krimhilda. He now used his manhood and took advantage of her as darkness fell over Notali, the city of evil." (page 349)
69	%%* Creator/SidneySheldon liked to throw this in too.
70	* Terry Goodkind's ''Literature/SwordOfTruth'' series contains ''colossal'' amounts of rape and AttemptedRape, very little of it necessary to the plot. At one point, one of the female characters is even thrown to a pit full of rapists, where the expected happens.
71	[[/folder]]
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73	[[folder:Live Action TV]]
74	* The fifth season of ''Series/{{Engrenages}}'' has a graphic rape scene where a minor member of Oz's female GangBanger crew is raped by a security guard at an office that she was stealing information from. The two characters are extremely minor (the man's literal sole purpose is to appear, commit the rape, and then only appear in one more scene in the season, being questioned by the cops), the rape has absolutely no impact on the plot, and it seems to have been put in solely to dial up the CrapsackWorld atmosphere.
75	* ''Series/GameOfThrones'' has a scene where Khal Drogo rapes Danaerys on their wedding night, in a completely different turn from what happened in the book.
76	* Within one calendar year (2005), so many characters on the soap opera ''Series/{{Passions}}'' were raped that it was known as "The Year of the Rapes". Adding insult to injury, only one of these stories was handled even remotely seriously or realistically (the victim dressed shabbily and could not bear to be touched). All other victims went on with their lives as though nothing had happened.
77	* ''Series/{{Rome}}'' has a few. Marc Antony memorably pauses his army's march back to Rome so he could stop and rape a shepherd girl by the side of the road. Mark Antony being Mark Antony, this was probably TruthInTelevision.
78	* David Morse's saintly doctor on ''Series/StElsewhere'' was a victim of Gratuitous Gay Rape.
79	* The ''Series/{{Titanic 1996}}'' miniseries includes a scene where a third-class girl is raped in the shower by [[Creator/TimCurry an evil steward.]]
80	* In his final scene in ''Series/PennyDreadful'', Roper graphically announces that he's going to rape and kill Vanessa even if she lets him take Ethan away, seemingly for no in-universe reason at all and out-of-universe only to make him pure evil and make them killing him seem more justified.
81	[[/folder]]
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83	[[folder:Video Games]]
84	* In the [[NotSafeForWork DX version]] of ''VideoGame/{{IMGCM}}'', the enemy demons unnecessarily rape the magical heroines (with their "extra" tails) in some of the main story episodes, and even in limited time event episodes, the Demon's Tower monthly dungeon, and possibly the dress stories. Thankfully, the regular version has all the {{NSFW}} scenes, including the rape ones, [[AvertedTrope removed without affecting the plot of the game]].
85	[[/folder]]
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87	[[folder:Web Comics]]
88	* {{Discussed\|Trope}} in ''Webcomic/SomethingPositive''. Davan sends a rejection letter to the writer of a bad play which reads "A better title for your play would be ''Rape-Rape: A Tale of Rapening''. Also, your next play should have a little less rape in it."
89	[[/folder]]
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91	%% No real life examples on rape tropes. Seriously.

Context Main / GratuitousRape