Angelina Jolie has confirmed that a scene in her recent movie Maleficent, which has been called controversial and has sparked debate about how suitable it is for a Disney film, IS actually an analogy for rape.
During an interview on BBC Radio last week, Jolie spoke about a scene in the film that was seen to be a metaphor for sexual assault. In the scene, title character Maleficent is drugged by a man she’s in love with, who then removes her wings and robs her of the ability to fly.
“We were very conscious, the writer and I, that [the scene in question] was a metaphor for rape. The core of [“Maleficent”] is abuse, and how the abused have a choice of abusing others or overcoming and remaining loving, open people.”
In the film, Maleficent takes revenge against her former lover’s daughter, Aurora, by cursing her as an infant to prick her finger on a spinning wheel and sending her into a magical sleep. The film is a retelling of the classic Sleeping Beauty fairytale. Jolie told BBC Radio during her interview that the original betrayal and assault were what catalyzed Maleficent’s vengeful behavior, marking her change from a benevolent fairy into a villainous character.
“The question was asked, ‘What could make a woman become so dark? To lose all sense of her maternity, her womanhood, and her softness?'”
The film’s writer, Linda Woolverton, maintains that the scene is critical in making Maleficent’s actions understandable to the audience and is unapologetic about it’s inclusion in the movie.
“The biggest challenge [making the film] was how to make a villain into a protagonist. How on earth was I going to justify that this woman would curse a baby?”
(Images and source – Huffpost, BBC Radio)
I saw the movie with my 2 nieces and I have to say I found the scene in question very harrowing, I won’t say much about it as I don’t want to spoil it for others but it made an impact.