ABSTRACT
The rise of the Hollywood feature film a century ago raised new dread with its moving, often racist tales of young white women subject to raping and pimping by men. Marginal groups of consumers have complained of exclusion from the ranks of actors who play heroes and figures of respect, demeaned by menial roles and barred from stardom in the video age. Producers of infamous video sometimes rise to defend their work, as at least harmless if not as morally sound. Filmmakers accused of exploiting misogynist violence have lauded their work as art beyond the realm of ideological critique. Gendered and racial controversies over casting are matters of video stardom. Sociologically, star cults, or fandoms, breed excitement over the fact of shared focus and delight. Filmmakers defend their uses of rape in video entertainment by dwelling on its consequences for victims and linking that to a history worth documenting.
