HomeStudy days on cinematographic, televisual and artistic representations of domestic and sexual violence

Study days on cinematographic, televisual and artistic representations of domestic and sexual violence

Journées de réflexion sur les représentations cinématographiques, télévisuelles et artistiques des violences conjugales et sexuelles

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Published on Wednesday, February 05, 2025

Abstract

Français English

Study days on cinematographic, televisual and artistic representations of domestic and sexual violence will take place on 15 and 16 May 2025 at the Institut national de recherche scientifique (INRS), Montréal, as part of the Victims and Survivors of Crime Week. The aim of this event is to provide a space for reflection, exchange, and discussion on the representations of sexual and domestic violence on the screen and in works of art.

Announcement

Français English

15 and 16 May 2025 at the Institut national de recherche scientifique (INRS), Montréal, as part of the Victims and Survivors of Crime Week.

Argument

The aim of this event is to provide a space for reflection, exchange, and discussion on the representations of sexual and domestic violence on the screen and in works of art. The small number of such discussions, despite the omnipresence of these types of violence in these various visual and audiovisual media, has been denounced by several authors, particularly since the beginning of the #MeToo movement (Akiona, 2011; Bufkin and Escholz, 2000; Contogouris, 2021; Côté Vaillant, 2022; Cousineau, 2020; 2021; Frus, 2001; Green Fryd, 2019; Projansky, 2001; Shoos, 2017; 2020; Wolfthal, 1999; Zaccour, 2019). Iris Brey, for instance, argues that rape scenes in cinema are hardly ever discussed, and worse still, are “not even sometimes recognized as rape” (2020, 101-102). The same is true of art history, where scenes of sexual assault have been legion for centuries and, far from being condemned or questioned, have been aestheticized and glorified. When they have been questioned, representations of such violence have been criticized, particularly for the erroneous conceptions they convey, such as the myth of the monster (Frus, 2001); of “cruel optimism,” a view according to which victims of domestic violence can and must solve their problems on their own (Shoos, 2009); or so-called “heroic” rape, which is inscribed within narratives that praise it (Wolfthal, 1999). Still, much work remains to be done. We can ask, for instance:

  • How have representations of domestic and sexual violence changed over time?
  • What impacts have these different (audio)visual and forms have on conceptions of domestic and sexual violence?
  • How are representations of domestic and sexual violence approached in teaching? o What are possible futures for representations of domestic and sexual violence?
  • How might we consider the reception by survivors when creating these works?

We welcome proposals that question any geographical or temporal contexts, with the aim of painting a picture of the current state of the issue and providing a forum for joint discussions of the cinematographic, artistic, televisual, ethical, and political issues surrounding these representations.

Submission details

Presentations can be in French or English.

Proposals (250 words maximum) should be sent to the following addresses : joelle.rouleau@umontreal.ca ; ersy.contogouris@umontreal.ca. Please also include a short biography (100 words maximum)

by 28 February 2025.

There will be a possibility to reimburse speakers coming from outside Montréal for the event.

Organization committee

  • Ersy Contogouris, professeure agrégée au Département d’histoire de l’art, de cinéma et des médias audiovisuels, Université de Montréal
  • Sara Côté Vaillant, diplômée de la maîtrise au Département d’histoire de l’art, de cinéma et des médias audiovisuels de l’Université de Montréal
  • Amélie Cousineau, doctorante au programme d’études des populations, Institut national de la recherche scientifique (INRS)
  • Marie-Marthe Cousineau, professeure titulaire à l’École de criminologie de l’Université de Montréal et directrice universitaire du collectif de recherches et d’actions SAS-Femmes
  • Anne-Marie Nolet, candidate à la maîtrise au Département d’histoire de l’art, de cinéma et des médias audiovisuels de l’Université de Montréal et détentrice d’un doctorat en criminologie
  • Joëlle Rouleau, professeure agrégée au Département d’histoire de l’art, de cinéma et des médias audiovisuels, Université de Montréal
  • Alanna Thain, professeure agrégée au Département d’anglais et directrice de l’Institute for Gender, Sexuality, and Feminist Studies de l’Université McGill

References

Akiona, Jessica. 2015. « Dependant Women and the Male Gaze in Fictional Domestic Violence Films ». Hononu, 13 : 1-4.

Brey, Iris. 2020. Le regard féminin. Une révolution à l’écran. Paris : Éditions de l’Olivier. Bufkin, Jana et Sarah Eschholz. 2000. « Images of Sex and Rape : A Content Analysis of Popular Film ». Violence Against Women 6 (12) : 1317-1344.

Côté Vaillant, Sara. 2022. « Étude des stratégies formelles et narratives érotisantes et non- érotisantes des agressions sexuelles dans le cinéma de fiction québécois des années 1960 à aujourd’hui » [mémoire de maîtrise, Université de Montréal]. Papyrus. https://papyrus.bib.umontreal.ca/xmlui/handle/1866/27924

Cousineau, Amélie. 2021. « Les représentations des violences sexuelles contre les femmes dans les téléséries à grand public au Québec » [mémoire de maîtrise, Université du Québec à Montréal]. Archipel. https://archipel.uqam.ca/15435/

Cousineau, Amélie. 2020. « Représentations du viol dans la télésérie Fugueuse : une analyse de la recomposition des scripts sexuels traditionnels ». Captures 5 (1). Consulté le 26 avril 2022. https://revuecaptures.org/node/4290/.

Green Fryd, Vivian. 2019. Against Our Will. Sexual Trauma in American Art Since 1970. University Park, PA : Penn State University Press.

Kosofsky Sedgwick, Eve. 2000. A Dialogue on Love. Boston : Beacon Press.

Kristeva, Julia. 1980. Pouvoirs de l’horreur. Paris : Éditions Seuil.

Projansky, Sarah. 2001. Watching Rape : Film and Television in Postfeminist Culture. New York : NYU Press.

Shoos, Diane L. 2017. Domestic Violence in Hollywood Film. Gaslighting. Cham (Suisse) : Springer Nature.

Shoos, Diane L. 2020. « Watching with Feminist Vigilance: Media Genres of Male Partner Violence Against Women », dans Feminist Vigilance. Sous la direction de Patty Sotirin, Victoria L. Bergvall et Diane L. Shoos, 101-122. Cham (Suisse) : Springer Nature.

Wolfthal, Diane. 1999. Images of Rape. The ‘Heroic’ Tradition and Its Alternative. Cambridge : Cambridge University Press.

Zaccour, Suzanne. 2019. La Fabrique du viol. Coll. « Présent ». Montréal : Leméac Éditeur.

Places

  • 385 R. Sherbrooke Est
    Montreal, Canada (H2X 1E3)

Event attendance modalities

Hybrid event (on site and online)


Date(s)

  • Friday, February 28, 2025

Keywords

  • représentation visuelle, violence conjugale, violence sexuelle, cinéma, série, télévision, art visuel, violence contre les femmes

Contact(s)

  • Amélie Cousineau
    courriel : efg [at] inrs [dot] ca

Information source

  • Amélie Cousineau
    courriel : efg [at] inrs [dot] ca

License

CC0-1.0 This announcement is licensed under the terms of Creative Commons CC0 1.0 Universal.

To cite this announcement

« Study days on cinematographic, televisual and artistic representations of domestic and sexual violence », Call for papers, Calenda, Published on Wednesday, February 05, 2025, https://doi.org/10.58079/13907

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