Rape is not funny. There are no exceptions. There are no loopholes. Rape is not, and never will be, funny. It is a vile, detestable and shameful occurrence in the world we live in, which horribly affects its victims for a lifetime. Therefore, it should never be taken as comedy, as University of Connecticut TV's (UCTV) program Shenanigans did Jan. 30, and Gawker reports they also did a similar bit Nov. 10.
The show depicts a woman trying to reach a campus security phone, while a possible rapist is trying to attack her. The voice from the phone instead of helping, belays a variety of horrible insults unfit to be published by community standards. The sketch ends with the attacker strangling the woman on the ground.
Cindy Luo's op-ed in the Courant best described the video as "perpetuating myths about the legitimacy of rape claims, denigrating those who have been subjected to sexual violence. There is nothing humorous or redeeming about the video."
Rape jokes and victim blaming are increasingly misinterpreted as acceptable in the U.S., because of television entities like Seth MacFarlane and Daniel Tosh making them commonplace with their popular and influencing programs. Repetition of a poor idea does not make it any more acceptable, just easily accessible.
Yet, UCTV members thought it was a good idea to make a comedy sketch about rape. It is mystifying how not one person stepped up and said the sketch was a bad idea. Even worse, the general manager for UCTV, Entertainment and Production Manager Mateo Gonzalez, did not view the clip before it went to air. In other interviews, Gonzalez said the video, "slipped through the cracks," when it came to being screened for airing. Every television board in the US knows every show must be screened before being aired. It is a basic rule taught at the lowest levels.
It is a gross failure of leadership, by all 10 of the board members of UCTV, to be so negligent as to not view this clip or even have been informed a possible controversial clip was in the works and react accordingly. While the station may have the First Amendment right to air the video, societal standards need to be upheld, and if those standards were upheld, that show would have never been approved, let alone allowed for public viewing.
Heads need to roll, metaphorically speaking. People need to be fired or forced to resign, immediately. Accountability needs to take place. The general manager Gonzalez, other board members and the creators of Shenanigans need to be examined by the student body and determined if they're still fit to serve the University of Connecticut. The station is run and paid for by students, and while in the input of the faculty should be received and welcomed, it is ultimately up to the students to decide which people are accountable for this debacle and their punishment.
Creators of the sketch are disgusting individuals for having come up with the idea. The station's board is incompetent for letting it go to air without viewing it or even knowing it was in the works. The students of the University of Connecticut should correct failures by both parties in order to change the atmosphere and culture to emphatically state, "Rape, sexual abuse and rape jokes are not a wanted part of the community."
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