Americans are spending increasingly greater portions of their leisure time consuming audiovisual forms of media, such as movies and television. Given the regularity of media consumption and the assumption of its influence on the perceptions of viewers, it is important to study the content of media programming. In this study, we conduct a content analysis of the 50 top-grossing films in 1996 to measure the prevalence and nature of sex and rape depictions. We find that movies present a rather patriarchal vision of sex and rape. Rapes in the movies are committed by sadistic, disturbed, lower-class individuals who prey on children and the vulnerable. This unidimensional movie picture of rape may help to perpetuate the real problem of rape and sexual abuse in our society by ignoring the reality of most real life rapes.

Americans spend one third of their leisure time watching television and, on average, are in front of television sets nearly 4 hours a day (Stossel, 1997; U.S. Department of Commerce, Bureau of the Census, 1997). In 1996, Americans spent approximately $22 billion renting or buying movies (Jeffery, 1997). Top-grossing films easily garner hundreds of millions of dollars each year from moviegoers (Box Office Statistics, 1997). What is everyone watching? The apparent consensus is that "sex, along with violence, constitutes the [media] industry's stable entertainment" (Wilson, 1994, p. 3). With the advent of video rentals, pay-per-view, and movie channels, concern with teen and child access to R-rated movies containing sex and violence has heightened (Yang & Linz, 1990). Discussion of the impact of the media on perceptions and behavior are highlighted after events such as the school shootings in Littleton, Colorado, and Conyers, Georgia. Teenagers rely more on the media than their parents for education on such sensitive topics. For example, a recent Kaiser Family Foundation (1999) study reports that 61% of teenagers between the ages of 13 and 15 depend on movies and television for information about sex, sexually transmitted diseases, drugs, alcohol, and violence. Given the media's influence on societal perceptions, it is important to analyze the content of these presentations. Using a content analysis, this article explores how sex and rape are portrayed in the 50 most profitable films of 1996. We investigate behavior patterns or themes that manifest themselves across several different films.

Particular attention is focused on how and if media images of rape mirror common rape myths found in society. Several researchers have found a relationship between the belief in rape myths and an inability to identify sexual victimization (Estrich, 1987; Varelas & Foley, 1998). These beliefs also coincide with a tendency to blame the victim for the assault. In addition, Epstein and Langenbaum (1994) found that jurors in rape cases often rely on popular conceptions of rape rather than legal definitions. These beliefs minimize the harm done to rape victims. Media images, especially if they are prevalent, may help audience members to construct definitions of rape. Studying these images and the nature of rape depictions in film will shed light on the problem of sexual violence in our society.

Currently, three major approaches dominate the study of media and its impact on the lives of consumers. Each approach is defined partially by the confidence placed in an individual's capacity to recognize departures from reality in media presentations. The first position, the dominant ideology model, contends that the media inundate audiences with a one-dimensional view of how the world works, and consumers passively incorporate this view into what they "know" about the world. The majority of viewers rarely question these viewpoints and, therefore, they help to reproduce the status quo (Gramsci, 1971). Through violence, the media produce a hegemonic view of reality that serves as a form of social control. By dramatically presenting images of powerful, successful people accompanied by their oppressed and frequently victimized counterparts, media depictions reproduce the political power structure (capitalism), the dominant family structure (patriarchy), and racial divisions (White dominance) (Gerbner & Gross, 1976; Gitlin, 1979; Hall, 1997; Meyers, 1997).

Although Gerbner and his associates with the Cultural Indicators project focused more on the transmission of "beliefs" (enculturation) than the transmission of underlying values in the dominant ideology approach, their work contributes both theoretically and empirically to this viewpoint.

Television violence is a dramatic demonstration of power which communicates much about social norms and relationships, about goals and means, about winners and losers, about the risks of life and the price for transgressions of society's rules. (Gerbner, Gross, Signorielli, & Morgan, 1980, p. 710)

Viewing the media as a hegemonic ideological tool provides thinkers with an image of the audience member with few or no avenues of escape from the screen's stultifying impact. This includes acceptance of status quodelineated problems and solutions, which cater to traditional forms of blame and correction centered on individual pathology and denial of social responsibility. The failure to translate private matters into public issues (Mills, 1977) subsequently restricts the possibility of collective resistance to social problems because audience members come to accept the portrayed version of ideas and ideals. The dominant ideology position posits that as the media become more pervasive in our society, the only means of resisting these powerful messages is to reject dominant ideology completely and avoid popular media information and entertainment.

In contrast, champions of interpretive reception research argue that audience members construct meaning from a given "polysemous text." These theorists assert that each individual is capable of decoding media messages for their own personal use, enjoyment, and even liberation from ideology. Among every audience there are several subgroups or "interpretive communities," individuals who interpret media presentations in a similar manner that is not necessarily consistent with the "dominant ideology structured" into the text (Jenson, 1991). "Members of subordinate classes can take the cultural products of dominance, turn them against the cultural producers and excorporate them into resisting discourses" (Fiske, 1986, p. 394). This argument relies on individual audience members' active participation in consuming media and questioning the prevailing assumptions encoded in the text. Fiske (1986) hypothesizes that decoding media messages is entertaining and empowering because audience members can potentially escape and resist hegemonic ideology and the dominant culture.

Using an analogy of funhouse mirrors perhaps best illustrates the difference between the two perspectives described thus far. The enculturation argument suggests that one walks into the funhouse (media projection) and unwittingly comes to accept the mirrored image as reality. Interpretive reception research, on the other hand, maintains that the distortion is both recognizable and enjoyable. Although the two models differ dramatically, they both maintain that the media generally present images that are consistent with hegemonic ideology.

The third theoretical position combines the arguments presented in the dominant ideology model with the interpretive reception model. This mixed approach recognizes the difficulties and work associated with decoding texts (Carragee, 1990; Condit, 1989). This viewpoint acknowledges that not all audience members are equally equipped to decode texts and find meanings in opposition to hegemonic ideology. Resistant decodings are more likely available to individuals who already possess knowledge of alternative forms of social action. "If the particular range of television's textual polysemy excludes marginal group messages, and if oppositional reading requires comparatively oppressive quantities of work, then minority groups are indeed silenced, even as audiences, and therefore discriminated against in important ways" (Condit, 1989, p. 111).

Advocates of this position claim that the lack of resources to produce alternative meanings from texts becomes increasingly problematic as the media play a larger role in both entertainment and education in our society and as media production becomes increasingly monopolized (Bagdikian, 1997). Returning to the funhouse mirror analogy, the ability to recognize distortion is privileged to those who are highly educated, motivated, and interested.

Implicit in each of these three arguments is the notion that the popular media present a relatively uniform picture of society and a division of power based on class, race, and sex. As such, the media serve as an important form of social control by informing individuals of the appropriate roles available to them (Hedley, 1994). As Gerbner et al. (1980) note, "It is important who scares whom, and who is 'trained' to be the victim" (p. 715). If the popular media presented several alternative depictions of power in society (among characters)) then the power of the media as a mechanism of social control would be minimal.

Whereas the dominant ideology, interpretive reception, and mixed models propose different views of audience participation, they all assume a manifest hegemonic message in media presentations. The purpose of this article is not to test the relative strength of any one of these theoretical models. Rather, we take the position that research must first assess the underlying hegemonic depictions implicit in all three perspectives. We explore the quantity and structure of the presentation of both sex and rape in a large sample of films during a specific time frame to assess the degree of uniformity in thematic depictions across this sample.

This study examines whether diverse--meaning nonhegemonic--depictions of sex and rape are available to viewers when they watch popular films. We focus on how power is situated in the presentation of sex and rape in the movies. Specific attention is devoted to locating patterns that might reinforce traditional power hierarchies and thereby enhance the power of the media to reproduce the status quo. Alternatively, each rape scene is examined individually to assess the degree to which it defies traditional rape myths and thereby offers audience members alternatives to patriarchal images of rape.

If sex in the movies serves an ideological function, then we would expect sexual scenes to replicate and dramatize sexual relations within the patriarchal household. As MacKinnon (1989) states,

Sexuality...is a form of power. Gender, as socially constructed, embodies it, not the reverse. Women and men are divided by gender, made into the sexes as we know them, by the social requirements of its dominant form, heterosexuality, which institutionalized male sexual dominance and female submission. (p. 113)

Accordingly, we would anticipate male-initiated intercourse in the heterosexually married or dating media couple. Procreation and pleasure, particularly for the man, would be the main motivations for participation in sexual activity. Female sexuality would be cornered into predominantly marital relations, and homosexual sexual activity would be taboo. Evidence indicates that these expectations may be faulty. Due to the sexual revolution in the 1960s and the relaxation of film-industry standards concerning sexually explicit material in the 1970s, media-projected females are having sex both more frequently and outside the prescribed boundaries of marriage (Rothman, Powers, & Rothman, 1993). Movies still rarely present homosexual sex, but the role of females and sex on the screen appears to be shifting to include more diverse experiences.

Whereas depictions of consensual sex have changed, the contention that rape victims stereotypically are cast as either "virgins" or "whores" persists (Benedict, 1992; Griffin, 1971; Madriz, 1997; Meyers, 1997). The media have been implicated in the propagation of rape myths in American society. Such myths minimize the damage caused by victimization and remove blame from typical offenders, while rejecting the position that rape is a learned behavior in patriarchal societies where male domination and female submission are culturally taught, materially demonstrated, and socially rewarded (Brownmiller, 1975; Scully, 1990). These myths perpetuate the viewpoint that rape is just another form of sex, not a crime of violence. Broadly defined, rape myths include the following: (a) a psychologically or biologically dysfunctional man who rapes because he cannot resist his strong impulses (Groth, 1979; Karpman, 1951; Littner, 1973); (b) a victim who brings the rape on herself; (c) a victim who lies about the rape; (d) a victim who really wanted to be raped; and (e) a victim who was not hurt by the attack (Amir, 1971; Burt & Albin, 1981; Estrich, 1987; Schur, 1984; Williams, 1981). Collectively, these myths suggest two rape scenarios: A crazed offender attacks an innocent victim who fails to protect herself, or there is no rape and the alleged victim is a "whore" who gets what she deserves (Benedict, 1992; Griffin, 1971; Madriz, 1997; Meyers, 1997). These projections of rape prime the viewing public to confuse all but the most brutal rapes with consensual sex, as well as accept common myths downplaying its occurrence (Linz, Wilson, & Donnerstein, 1992; Rhode, 1995; Yang & Linz, 1990).

Very few studies have systematically explored depictions of either sex or rape in the media. As Rothman et al. (1993) note, "One problem with studies of television and the movies is that, depending on the movies or programs one picks as representative-and without a publicly validated scheme for coding films--one can prove almost anything" (p. 66).

The most extensive research to date has occurred in the genre of afternoon soap operas, in which several projects have counted incidents of sexual intimacy and rape (Franzblau, Sprafkin, & Rubenstein, 1977; Greenberg, Abelman, & Neuendorf, 1981; Greenberg & Alessio, 1985; Greenberg & Busselle, 1996; Greenberg, Graef, Fernandez-Collado, Korzenny, & Atkin, 1980; Lowry, Love, & Kirby, 1981; Lowry & Towles, 1989; Olsen, 1994; Silverman, Sprafkin, & Rubenstein, 1979; Sprafkin & Silverman, 1981; Sutherland & Siniawsky, 1982; Wilson & Gutierrez, 1995).[sup1] Findings generally indicate that there are virtually no depictions of actual rape on soap operas, and sexually aggressive behavior also is rare. Viewers are more likely to hear a discussion about inappropriate sexual violence than they are to see such behaviors acted out by television characters. Intercourse also is infrequently depicted. In a 1994 study of soap operas on all three networks, there was "an average of 6.6 sexual incidents per hour-long episode" (Greenberg & Busselle, 1996, p. 156). When looking at only those programs that were included in both the 1994 and 1985 samples, the average sexual incidents increased from 3.67 to 4.96 in the 10-year period. The largest increase occurred in the category of unmarried intercourse, although the number of rapes also increased. In addition, Greenberg and Busselle report that soap viewers were being exposed to more discussions about AIDS and other sexually transmitted diseases and pregnancy in 1994 than in previous studies.

In terms of the prevalence of sexual content in television programming, the Kaiser Family Foundation (Kunkel, 1999) reports that sexual content is prevalent in two thirds of all network prime-time programs, with an average of more than five sex-inclusive scenes per hour Less than 10% of the programs with sexual content made any reference to safe sex or abstinence. These references were most notably missing in sex scenes, implied and explicit.

Brinson (1992) collected data using a purposive sample of drama programs in the 1980s to assess the prevalence of rape myths. Twenty-six rape storylines were analyzed. This study did not measure the frequency of rapes in popular drama programs because they appear too infrequently and would have required a larger sample size. An examination of verbal references to rape myths discovered their use 132 times, for an average of 5.08 rape myths per storyline.[sup2] These myths were voiced more frequently when the victim was raped by an acquaintance, and the most commonly referenced myth was that "the victim asked for it" (42% of the storylines). Male characters relied on rape myths to explain attacks more often than did women. The opposite was true when it came to opposing rape myths.

Studies of music videos (Galambos, Almeida, & Peterson, 1990; Katz & Walsh, 1991) paint a more disturbing picture. A recent content analysis of MTV programming (Sommers-Flanagan, Sommers-Flanagan, & Davis, 1993) found 292 implicit or explicit sex scenes (281 implicit and 11 explicit) in 313 30-second video segments, and 31% of those segments portrayed aggressive sex (24.6% implicit aggression and 6.4% explicit aggression). Females were significantly more likely than males to be portrayed as recipients of sex and aggression rather than initiators. Moreover, females were significantly more likely to act as though they enjoyed aggressive sex. No males appeared as sexual masochists.

In sum, evidence suggests that the amount of sex and sexually aggressive behavior available for television viewers is contingent on the type of program selected. Contrary to what was expected, most television programs rarely contain explicit sex scenes and even more infrequently show rape scenes. When one locates a program where these acts are more abundant, it is likely that females are depicted as sex objects who appear to enjoy rough, violent sex. Audience impact cannot be determined with any certainty, but it can be argued that a learning context is provided where viewers may come to believe that females are important only in a sexual sense and that aggressive sexual encounters are part of the standard female fantasy. This supports myths that suggest there is no injury to rape victims and that these individuals are not really victimized because they want to have sex.

Newspaper coverage of rape stories is disproportionately low compared to Uniform Crime Report and victimization survey figures (Fedler & Jordon, 1982; Heath, Gordon, & LeBailly, 1981; Potter & Ware, 1986). They tend to report on atypical rapes that neatly gel with consensually dominant rape myths. Rapes of the "Madonna" victim--White, middle-class, older women and young girls--who is attacked by a stranger predominate (Benedict, 1992; Brodt, 1987; Finn, 1989/1990; Gordon & Riger, 1989; Hirsch, 1994; Meyers, 1997), and few contextual details are provided. During the investigatory stage (Soothill & Walby, 1991), details, such as offender use of a weapon and obscure crime scene location, are coupled with the exclusion of other known facts, such as self-protection measures taken by the victim (Grover & Soothill, 1996a, 1996b; Heath et al., 1981; Schwengels & Lemert, 1986), leaving the impression that females are at the mercy of armed, delusional strangers. Other accounts suggest that rapists are underclass, ethnic minorities who prey on young White girls and older White women (Abbott & Calonico, 1974; Grover & Soothill, 1996a, 1996b).

When the case reaches the courtroom, the Madonna victim becomes a whore (Benedict, 1992; Griffin, 1971; Madriz, 1997; Meyers, 1997). News coverage focuses on the stereotypical disturbed offender until the suspect is caught, then the victim is essentially placed on trial in the courtroom. One example of the transformation is depicted in newspaper coverage of the New Bedford gang rape case in the mid-1980s. Actions of the perpetrators, as well as the lack of intervention by onlookers were the primary focus of early accounts. However, stories printed during the trial focused on why the victim was at a bar, whether she had been drinking, and why she would leave her children at home late at night to visit such an establishment (Bumiller, 1990; Chancer, 1987; Edelman, 1988).[sup3]

In sum, newspaper coverage of rape tends to support dominant rape myths. In the pre-trial state, victims are frequently depicted as Madonnas. When the trial begins, the victimization is legitimized by the presentation of the victim as a "bad girl" who brought on the attack by her own actions.

Two studies examining sex and rape in film came to contrasting conclusions. Adelman's (1989) content analysis of four popular movies reveals that women who were sexually assaulted played the role of a sexually promiscuous "vamp" who wanted the attack to occur.[sup4] In a study of 100 of the top-grossing films from the 1940s to 1990s, Rothman et al. (1993) argue that although films in the past portrayed women in stereotypical patriarchal roles, films since the 1970s reflect the positive influence of feminism. "Hollywood has endorsed a judgment-free approach to extramarital sex and the more recent a movie the more permissive it is likely to be" (Rothman et al., 1993, p. 69). Although the "obligatory sex scene" may trivialize sex in general, the authors argue that these images suggest that, in terms of sexuality, women are shown as possessing power equal to men in the movies. In addition, many women now are portrayed in the movies in nontraditional occupations and in extremely violent roles that were once reserved for male characters. This study does not mention rape, and it is unclear whether or not Rothman et al. included accounts of rape as sex in their analysis. Unlike Adelman, Rothman et al. do not find support for the contention that modern film reproduces patriarchically derived ideological positions. Instead, the authors assert that films reflect changes in society that empower women.

We draw several conclusions about the portrayals of both sex and rape in the media. First, both phenomena are alluded to more often than they are actually shown. Second, it appears that the inclusion of sexual themes is increasing slightly on television soap operas, general television programming, music videos, and movies. This increase is in large part the result of frequent portrayals of unmarried partners engaging in intercourse. Third, newspapers report on the less typical stranger and/or interracial attacks rather than more common rapes.

More important, this review reveals the paucity of research that empirically explores portrayal patterns within and across several different types of media outlets. Indeed, only two studies in the last 20 years explored sex or rape in the movies, and neither included data from the 1990s. Furthermore, these studies suffer from a number of flaws. Adelman (1989) examines only rape portrayals in film. She draws her conclusions from a purposive sample of four movies. The study conducted by Rothman et al. (1993) used a larger sample (100 movies) but did not explore rape portrayals. Neither study clearly operationalized sex or rape. Finally, notably lacking from these studies are theoretical explanations that highlight the importance of the media to public perceptions. In sum, studies with systematic samples that detail both the quantity and nature of film portrayals, and which are couched in a sound theoretical context, are needed to assess the contention that media coverage of sex and rape is hegemonic and helps to perpetuate common patriarchal myths.

Although exploratory in nature, our analysis attempts to test the proposition found in all three theoretical models (enculturation, reception research, and mixed) of the media that film depictions of sex and rape represent hegemonic ideology. This research is the first attempt to explore the quantity and nature of sex and rape scenes in a large sample of films during a specific time frame. Our sample consists of the 50 top-grossing films in the United States in 1996 (Box Office Statistics, 1997). A complete list of these films and their proceeds as of June 1997 is reported in the appendix. Sampling films in 1996 rather than earlier films with more complete gross information is appropriate given our effort to examine current depictions of sex and rape in film? Because hegemony is not a static concept, it is critical to examine films from one time period.

Each of the 50 films was watched by three individual coders. Training for each coder consisted of an introduction to the survey instrument, including definitions of sex and rape, and watching sample movies collectively and discussing the results. Training was conducted in the 2 weeks prior to the beginning of the actual content analysis, which occurred between September 1997 and January 1998. Each coder watched the films alone in a room and watched every film in its entirety. The coders also used rewind on the tapes to review any scene they found difficult to code on first viewing. The first coder was a White female professional, the second coder an African American female graduate student, and the third a White male graduate student. A fourth coder, a White female professional, reviewed all movies in which a rape scene was coded by even one of the coders. Both graduate student coders were in their early 20s and were studying criminal justice. Likewise, the professionals both worked in the field of criminal justice and were in their early 30s.

Two separate units of analysis are included--movie and sex scene. For each movie, coders identified the genre of the film, the type of audience to which the film was directed, and whether the movie contained any sex scenes. Film genre and audience type were subjective measures based on the coder's overall impressions of the film. For individual sex scenes, coders identified the type of sex that was occurring (heterosexual or homosexual, con-sensual or rape), who initiated the act, use of birth control, and use of drugs and/or alcohol. If the sex scene was classified as a rape, several other variables were measured, including time of occurrence, type of rape, and whether the offender was punished for the crime. Interrater reliability was high, ranging from 85% agreement for whether the movie was directed at a male or female audience to alpha = .98 for the occurrence of rape. For variables that were measured at the interval level, the mean was used when there was a discrepancy between coders. Likewise, when variables were measured at the nominal level, the mode was used to resolve differences.

We employed a liberal definition of sex in our study, including not only graphically portrayed sex, but also sexual intercourse that was implied by characters retreating behind closed doors with the obvious intention of having sex, or viewers seeing the characters in bed or dressing after the act (Lowry & Towles, 1989). Expanding the definition of sex allowed us to include many films that contained no actual intercourse, or in many cases even nudity, but that included material and scenarios explicitly related to sex. Ignoring these films would leave us with an extremely small sample size and an inability to assess the possible hegemonic nature of sex portrayals in film. Sex scenes were further divided into the following categories: Married sex included any sex act performed by two individuals married to each other; dating sex consisted of sex between individuals who were shown in the context of either a long-term relationship or in the course of going out together more than one time; an affair involved at least one married individual having sex with an individual who was not their spouse; and casual sex consisted of two individuals, usually strangers, who were not dating or married, having consensual sex. Rape was considered a completely separate category and was defined as forced vaginal or anal penetration or forced oral sex. Force included both physical and verbal threats of force or the inability on the part of the victim to give consent because of alcohol or drug intoxication, unconsciousness, sleep, or youth. Our definition was purposely broad so as to include images of rape that do not represent the rape myths previously described. Furthermore, a rape scene, once identified, was then categorized as date rape, stranger rape, acquaintance rape, or gang rape based on the relationship between victim and offender and the number of perpetrators involved in the crime.

Forty-two percent of the 50 movies were rated R, 32% were rated PG-13, 18% PG, and 8% were rated G. Films were almost equally divided into typical genres with 28% rated as action adventure, 32% comedy, and 26% drama. Another 11% were rated other, which included musicals, horror, and the fantastic. Coders were asked to give their subjective opinion of whether each movie would appeal more to men or women. Surprisingly, given the subjective interpretation possible in measuring this variable, there was 85% agreement between all three coders. Sixty-four percent of the movies appear to be directed primarily at male audiences, whereas 36% were considered movies for women. Although women make up more than 50% of the viewing market, significantly fewer movies are targeted for them by the film industry.

Thirty sex scenes occurred in the 50 analyzed movies. The majority of movies in this sample (60%) did not show a single sex scene. This finding was somewhat surprising given the presumption of obligatory sex scenes (Rothman et al., 1993), conventional wisdom, and our liberal definition of sex. Only 35% of the movies that appealed to a primarily male audience contained sex scenes, compared to half of the movies for women. Five (17%) of the 30 sex scenes were rapes. Although there is no comparable ratio available for the number of consensual sex acts that occur in reality compared to the number of rapes, it is fair to assume that rape is overrepresented in the movies.

Not surprisingly, and implied in the definition of ratings, movies with an R rating were significantly (tau-b = -.292, p = .05) more likely to show sex scenes than movies with less restrictive ratings. None of the G-rated movies contained any sex scenes, approximately one third of movies rated both PG and PG-13 contained sex scenes, and 57% of the R-rated films had sex scenes. Dramas (see Table 1) were the most likely to contain sex scenes (69%), whereas only 14% of action adventure films included such portrayals. These differences were statistically significant (X[sup2] = 14.65, 5df, p = .05). Sex scenes were equally distributed across comedy films, with as many containing this element of programming as not. All five of the rape scenes occurred in drama films.[sup6]

Twenty-eight of the 30 sex scenes were heterosexual in nature and the remaining two were homosexual. The latter were rapes in which older men raped teenage boys. Whereas presenting homosexual rape does bring publicity to a severe problem that is most likely even more underreported than heterosexual rape (Hunter, 1990), it also serves to reinforce dominant forms of masculinity that typify all homosexual sex as deviant (Messerschmidt, 1997). Table 2 reveals that 50% of the sex scenes depicted in the movies occurred between husbands and wives or boyfriends and girlfriends. Thirteen percent of the sex scenes involved an affair, whereas 20% were classified as casual sex between consenting partners.

In addition to the categorization of sex scene, we also explored who initiated the act. Only 10% (3) of the sex scenes were initiated by women, compared to 23% (7) initiated by men. The remaining 66% were classified as being mutually initiated. Men are almost two and a half times more likely to initiate sex in a movie than women. This pattern suggests that men are the dominant partner in sex and reinforces the idea that it is unfeminine for women to initiate sex (Wolf, 1998). That two thirds of sexual acts are mutually initiated, however, leads us to believe that the roles given to women in sex scenes are changing to support more egalitarian relationships in the bedroom.

Only one sex scene in all 50 movies acknowledged, either verbally or visually, the use of protection or birth control, and this scene was a rape in "Eye for An Eye," in which the offender used a condom so that the police would be unable to retrieve a semen sample. This omission presents a problematic vision of sexual intercourse that minimizes the possibility of pregnancy and the likelihood of contracting sexually transmitted diseases. Presently, movies fare worse than both soap operas (Greenberg & Busselle, 1996) and evening television programming in their references to "the possible risks or responsibilities of sexual activity" (Kunkel, 1999, p. 1).

Because there were only five rape scenes in all 50 movies, it is problematic to generalize about the portrayal of rape beyond the sample of our study. Given this consideration, there is still value in examining how rape is depicted in the most popular movies in 1996, especially in a qualitative manner, as a preliminary test of the theoretical assertion that media depictions of rape reinforce myths that support patriarchy.

All of the rapes were violent and three of the five rapes resulted in severe physical injuries or death. The fact that each of the five rapes was extremely brutal exemplifies the myth of the sadistic, psychologically disturbed rapist who preys on innocent victims for "sick" enjoyment. In a similar manner, all but one of the victims were portrayed as completely innocent and blameless for the crimes committed against them. Tables 3 and 4 compare the characteristics of "ideal" (in a hegemonic sense) offenders and victims with the offenders and victims shown in the movies. The five rapes matched, almost perfectly, the schema for ideal victims and ideal offenders developed by Madriz (1997). One prominent exception is that every rapist depicted in 1996 films was White. In addition, two of the five rapes occurred in what normally would be considered a safe place (home), and two of the victims were boys.

Despite these slight departures from ideal hegemonic characteristics, the rapes generally support the myth of the psychologically disturbed rapist. The male rapists were all depicted as disturbed individuals who took pleasure in the cruelty and violence of their offenses. In stark contrast, the victims of these offenses were imbued with the qualities of innocence and an inability to fight off their attackers because of both their youth and their size.

Not only do the numbers indicate a hegemonic portrayal, textual analysis of each of the rapes further demonstrates this as well. One rape occurred in "A Time to Kill," whereas two rapes were depicted in both "Eye for an Eye" and "Sleepers." The following descriptions provide insight into the nature of all of the rapes from this sample of films.

In "A Time to Kill," the stereotypical image of interracial rape is turned on its head. Two long-haired, filthy, drunk, White males in their mid-20s drive recklessly through Canton, Mississippi, in a dinged and rusted pick-up truck decorated with the confederate flag. While driving, they throw beer bottles at several African American boys playing basketball on an outdoor dirt court and at the dilapidated home of an African American family. When they spot Tanya, a 10-year-old African American child with pig-tails carrying a grocery sack home for her mother, they throw a beer bottle at her head while riling themselves up with racial slurs. One of the men comments about the age of Tanya stating, "If they are old enough to crawl then they're in the right position." The following scene shows Tanya's legs tied in the air as we hear the beating and the little girl screaming for her father. The offenders' racist attitudes, intoxication, and disheveled appearance in conjunction with the absolute innocence of the brutally raped Tanya dramatize the battle between good and evil that constitutes the plot of the movie and justifies the killing of the offenders in a courthouse by Tanya's father.

Although the rapist in "Eye for an Eye" is portrayed as a pathologically disturbed serial rapist rather than a racially motivated criminal, the plot from the initial rape of a child to the justified murder of the rapist, this time by the mother, is strikingly similar. The first victim, Julie, a 17-year-old, petite, White girl, is home alone preparing for her little sister's birthday party. Julie is waiting for the arrival of her sister's cake when her mother calls from a cell-phone stuck in traffic. While still on the phone, the doorbell rings and the mother hears choking sounds and screams for help, which are interrupted by the offender hanging up the phone. The next scene shows Julie's legs in the air and we hear pounding and more screaming. The scene ends with an ice sculpture being smashed on Julie's head. The unkempt, deranged rapist later finds his next victim while delivering groceries. The unsuspecting victim, a young Hispanic woman who speaks very little English, makes the mistake of letting the perpetrator in her home after she has been warned by Julie's mother (in English) about this man. For this mistake she must die. She is grabbed by the rapist, smashed against a cabinet and raped on her kitchen table. The viewer last sees her in a pool of blood with her legs dangling over the table.

Vigilante justice after a brutal rape is also a theme in "Sleepers." Whereas the parents of the victims in "A Time to Kill" and "Eye for an Eye" avenged their children's rapes, in "Sleepers" it was the victims themselves who killed their offender(s). This distinction is most notable because the victims in "Sleepers" were boys, and revenge symbolizes a reaffirmation of their masculinity. Michael, Tommy, Shakes, and John were average, although somewhat devious, working-class teenagers until a prank gone awry landed them in reformatory school. Once incarcerated, we meet their sadistic guards: Nokes, Ferguson, Styler, and Addison. The story implied repeated sexual abuse, but only two scenes were actually shown. Nokes, a White married man, who smokes and drinks on the job, leads all four boys to the basement of the reformatory school. Nokes forces Shakes to perform oral sex (we only hear the sound of a zipper) in front of the other boys who are beaten by the other guards. All of the guards are drinking. In another scene, we see a drunk Ferguson sauntering down the dorm hallway with his shirt unbuttoned and his tie hanging loose around his neck. He is swinging a nightstick with a crazed look in his eyes and he enters John's room. The other boys hear the muffled cries down the hall. The shame is reinforced both by the guards threatening the kids not to tell and the boys themselves making a pact to keep silent. Years later, two of the boys who have become professional mobsters meet and kill Nokes in a restaurant/bar. The men (John and Tommy) manage to escape a murder conviction with the help of their two friends (Michael and Shakes) and a very elaborate legal scheme that ultimately rests on a Catholic priest perjuring himself.

Whereas the overwhelming majority of films in 1996 did not contain rape scenes, those that did presented a hegemonic picture of rape. The offenders were portrayed as antisocial "monsters" who preyed on innocent children. As noted in the textual analysis, the female children both resisted rape by screaming for protection from their parents, and the boys were unable to resist given their size and the force, and threatened force against their friends, of the guards. The only nonchild victim, the Hispanic female, arguably displayed child-like qualities including naive trust and rudimentary English speaking skills. She also resisted with screams only to be overpowered by a much larger and stronger male.

These types of rapes do happen, yet they do not represent more prevalent forms of rape in society, such as date rape and incest. No instances of date rape, acquaintance rape, or incest were found in the 50 films that were analyzed. In the media, rape is highly selective and promotes a "stranger-danger" perception of crime (Kersten, 1996). This may explain why women fear strangers, but it does nothing to confront the reality of, or notify the public concerning, the frequency with which women are battered, abused, raped, and killed by their lovers, spouses, male relatives, or friends. Instead, these films reinforce the myth of the psychological or biological dysfunctional rapist who cannot resist his own impulses. In addition, these portrayals deny any social responsibility for producing and reducing the problem of rape.

Movies in 1996 presented a rather homogeneous picture of both sex and rape in the United States. Although sex was a common occurrence in these films, 60% of the movies did not contain any sex scenes.[sup7] The overwhelming majority of sex in the movies is heterosexual sex between consenting partners. The only depictions of homosexual sex in 1996 were depictions of rape. These depictions reify the patriarchal notion that homosexual sex is deviant and only sick child molesters participate in such actions. Sex was more frequently shown in movies that appealed to female audiences and similarly movies categorized as dramas. The majority of the sex scenes (66%) were mutually initiated by both partners, but male characters initiated sex more than twice as often as female characters.

The only mention of birth control or protection from sexually transmitted diseases appeared in a rape scene. The juxtaposition of safe sex with rape and death would appear to horrify audience members rather than educate them. The lack of positive messages concerning birth control and protection from STDs trivializes sexual activity and its consequences.

The movies in 1996 presented a monolithic vision of the reality of rape. Rape in the movies is committed by sadistic, disturbed, lower class individuals who prey on children and the vulnerable. It is very clear in all of these films that these types of rape are wrong and that offenders deserve to be punished. All of these films also attest to the inadequacy of criminal courts in dealing with rape. Justice for rape is death for the offender at the hands of the victim(s) or some proxy for the victim. In these instances murder is justified. None of the individuals resorting to vigilante violence was punished by the justice system for their actions. And in the case of the boys in "Sleepers," revenge was a reaffirmation of their lost masculinity.

Unfortunately the type of rape coverage provided in films may lend itself to vigilante justice or no justice at all. Studies suggest that rape myths affect legal remediation in several ways, one of which is the impact they have on both juries and judges (Burt, 1980; Caringella-MacDonald & Humphries, 1991; Check & Malamuth, 1983; Schur, 1984). These individuals must resolve questions about rape cases brought before them in the best way they know how. If they have little or no personal or sociological knowledge of sexual assault and abuse, this may entail referencing media images where rape myths portraying typical victims and offenders flourish. If the victim fits the bad girl media image and the offender is an average patriarchal male rather than the media favorite "weirdo, psycho schizophrenic beset by timidity, sexual deprivation, and a domineering wife or mother" (Brown-miller, 1975, p. 191), courtroom justice may not be served.

This unidimensional movie picture of rape and its consequences may help to perpetuate the real problem of rape and sexual abuse in our society in other ways as well. Victims of a typical rape may be less likely to report the rape to authorities because they do not see their reflection in the media image of the ideal victim or because their attackers appear rather normal in comparison to television/film perpetrators. Likewise, men may minimize the criminal nature of their actions because media constructed rape does not match their own patterns of behavior. Brownmiller (1975) and others recognize that rape is common in patriarchal societies where male control and female subordination are the heralded standard. Media depictions of rape veer strongly from this reality and may play into the view that it is acceptable to rape and be raped in certain circumstances, especially when the victims and offenders fail to fit mythical profiles.

Although our data provide insight into the presentation of sex and rape in films according to hegemonic patterns, we have no way of assessing how audiences receive these messages. Further research is needed to gauge the degree to which ideology is passively consumed and incorporated into audience members' worldviews and, conversely, the degree to which consumers actively decode media messages for their own entertainment and empowerment. Future research also should be directed at charting changes in media depictions of sex, rape, and violence within and across various media outlets over time. It is as important to note what we do not find in media coverage (images of date rape and acquaintance rape) as what we do find.

AUTHORS' NOTE: This is a revised version of a paper presented at the Annual Meetings of the Academy of Criminal Justice Sciences, Albuquerque, New Mexico, March 1998. The authors thank Theresa Guillory and Matt Seaton of Video Works for videos, Vertanuka Gaines and Brian Mumfrey for their assistance in coding the films in this project, and Brenda Sims Blackwell and Rick Eschholz for helpful comments on earlier drafts of this article.

[sup1]. Most physical intimacy research directly uses or slightly modifies the format for content analysis created by Franzblau et al. (1977), which includes the following: kissing; embracing; heterosexual intercourse; homosexual behavior; rape and other sex crimes; aggressive touching; nonaggressive touching, flirting, and seductiveness; innuendo (with canned laughter); innuendo (no canned laughter); total innuendos; atypical sex roles; and partner seeking.

[sup2]. Brinson's typology of rape myths did not include the rapist as psychologically or biologically dysfunctional, but the other four myths listed at the outset of this essay were used in her analysis.

[sup3]. See Voumvakis and Ericson (1984) for further analysis of the persistence of victim blaming in news coverage of rape. In their study of three major Toronto newspapers, police and criminal justice system agents suggested victim responsibility for rape in more than three fourths of the cases in which they were cited.

[sup4]. The movies analyzed were "Psycho," "Looking for Mr. Goodbar," "Dressed to Kill," and "The Photographer."

[sup5]. Although this limited time frame does not allow us to assess the overall film popularity longitudinally as measured by total film grosses, it does measure a film's popularity in the year in which it was released. Furthermore, it is possible that other less popular types of films depict an entirely different picture of sex and rape in film. Our intention in this project is to measure the most frequently watched films. If there is a hegemonic view of sexual violence that is perpetuated in film, we would expect it to be modeled in popular film, not just in pornographic or other less popular films.

[sup6]. There was one sex scene in a comedy that was coded as a rape by one of the three coders. This scene depicted a young African American woman refusing drinks at a party several times because they "make her crazy." After much convincing, the woman consumed several alcoholic drinks and verbally consented to sex. During the actual sex scene, the woman was shown on top of the man when she literally turned into a monster and consumed the head of the man. Although this scene contained many characteristics of a date rape, the fantastic nature of the woman's transformation during sex made this scene impossible to code.

[sup7]. Four of the movies included in this analysis were rated G. By definition, these movies do not include extensive sexual content. If we exclude these movies from the analysis, 57% of the movies contain no sex scenes.

                           Action    Comedy    Drama     Other
Was there a sex scene
 in the movie?
   Yes                    14% (2)    50% (8)   69% (9)   14% (1)
   No                     86% (12)   50% (8)   31% (4)   86% (6)
NOTE: N = 50. Numbers in parentheses are n size for individual
cells.
p = .012.

                             f            %
Heterosexual marriage        6            20
Heterosexual dating          9            30
Heterosexual affair          4            13
Heterosexual casual          6            20
Heterosexual rape            3            10
Homosexual rape 2            7
Total                       30           100

Legend for chart:

A1=Gender
A2=Race
A3=Occupation
A4=Physical attributes
A5=Relation to offender Stranger
A6=Crime setting
A7=Crime character
A8=Moral attributes
A9=Male
A0=Black or Latino
B1=Poor, welfare, lazy
B2=Dirty, big, tall, weird
F7=Stranger
B3=Streets
B4=Violent, predatory, unexpected
B5=Bad, immoral, cruel, animal, insane, violent, alcoholic
B6=Males (2)
B7=White
B8=Labor/farm
B9=Dirty, long hair, drunk
B0=Stranger
C1=Side of the road
C2=Violent, murderous, unexpected
C3=Crazy, cruel, drunk, racist, out of control
C4=Males (2)
C5=White
C6=Prison guard
C7=Mean, uniform, drunk
C8=Stranger--authority figure
C9=Detention facility
C0=Violent, forced oral sex, unexpected
D1=Cruel, calculated, drunk, evil
D2=Males (2)
D3=White
D4=Prison guard
D5=Mean, uniform, drunk
D6=Stranger--authority figure
D7=Detention facility
D8=Violent, sodomy, expected, repeated
D9=Cruel, calculated, drunk, evil
D0=Male
E1=White
E2=Delivery man
E3=Tall, crazed stare
E4=Stranger
E5=Child's home
E6=Violent, murderous, unexpected
E7=Animal, inhuman, cruel, out of control
E8=Male
E9=White
E0=Delivery man
F1=Tall, crazed stare
F2=Acquaintance--grocery man
F3=Woman's home
F4=Violent, murderous
F5=Animal, inhuman, cruel, out of control
F6=Eye for an Eye
F8=Ideal
F9=A Time to Kill
F0=Sleepers
G1=Sleepers
G2=Eye for an Eye
        F8     F9      F0      G1      G2     F6
A1    A9     B6      C4      D2      D0     E8
A2    A0     B7      C5      D3      E1     E9
A3    B1     B8      C6      D4      E2     E0
A4    B2     B9      C7      D5      E3     F1
A5    F7     B0      C8      D6      E4     F2
A6    B3     C1      C9      D7      E5     F3
A7    B4     C2      C0      D8      E6     F4
A8    B5     C3      D1      D9      E7     F5

Legend for chart:

A1=Gender
A2=Race
A3=Age
A4=Occupation
A5=Physical attributes
A6=Relation to offender
A7=Crime setting
A8=Crime character
A9=Moral attributes
A0=Female
B1=White
B2=Child, young
B3=Middle class
B4=Normal, small, tiny, dressed properly
B5=Stranger
B6=Streets
B7=Unexpected, tor-tured, killed
B8=Good, innocent, passive
B9=Female
B0=African American
C1=Child (10)
C2=Father--farmer
C3=Normal, tiny, pig-tails, dressed properly
C4=Stranger
C5=Side of the road
C6=Violent, murderous, unexpected
C7=Innocent, naive
C8=Male
C9=White
C0=Child (14)
D1=Father--laborer
D2=Normal, small, dressed properly
D3=Stranger--guard
D4=Detention facility
D5=Violent, unexpect-ed, oral sex
D6=Helpless, innocent
D7=Male
D8=White
D9=Child (14)
D0=Father--laborer
E1=Normal, small, dressed properly
E2=Stranger--guard
E3=Detention facility
E4=Violent, expected, sodomy, repeated
E5=Helpless, innocent
E6=Female
E7=White
E8=Child (17)
E9=Mother--magazine publisher
E0=Normal, petite, dressed properly
F1=Stranger
F2=Child's home
F3=Violent, murderous
F4=Innocent, unexpected
F5=Female
F6=Hispanic
F7=Young woman (20s)
F8=Housewife
F9=Pretty, snug clothes
F0=Delivery man
G1=Woman's home
G2=Let offender in de-spite warning, violent, murderous
G3=Naive, low intelligence
G4=Ideal
G5=A Time to Kill
G6=Sleepers
G7=Sleepers
G8=Eye for an Eye
G9=Eye for an Eye
         G4       G5       G6       G7       G8       G9
A1     A0       B9       C8       D7       E6       F5
A2     B1       B0       C9       D8       E7       F6
A3     B2       C1       C0       D9       E8       F7
A4     B3       C2       D1       E0       E9       F8
A5     B4       C3       D2       E1       E0       F9
A6     B5       C4       D3       E2       F1       F0
A7     B6       C5       D4       E3       F2       G1
A8     B7       C6       D5       E4       F3       G2
A9     B8       C7       D6       E5       F4       G3

Legend for chart:

A1=20th Century Fox
A2=Warner Brothers
A3=Paramount
A4=Tristar
A5=Touchstone
A6=Wait Disney
A7=Hollywood
A8=Imagine Entertainment
A9=United Artists
A0=Warner Brothers
B1=Paramount
B2=Touchstone
B3=Warner Brothers
B4=Woods Entertainment
B5=Wait Disney
B6=Turner
B7=Paramount
B8=Warner Brothers
B9=Miramax
B0=20th Century Fox
C1=Paramount
C2=20th Century Fox
C3=Columbia
C4=20th Century Fox
C5=Warner Brothers
C6=20th Century Fox
C7=Paramount
C8=Warner Brothers
C9=Warner Brothers
C0=Paramount
D1=Universal
D2=Touchstone
D3=Hollywood
D4=Wait Disney
D5=Touchstone
D6=20th Century Fox
D7=20th Century Fox
D8=Columbia
D9=Tristar
D0=Miramax
E1=Universal
E2=Constellation
E3=New Line
E4=Warner Brothers
E5=New Line
E6=Fine Line
E7=New Line/Savoy
E8=20th Century Fox
E9=Wait Disney
E0=New Line
F1=Produced By
Rank  $$$                  Film                    Rating    F1
1     306.1  Independence Day                      PG-13     A1
2     241.7  Twister                               PG-13     A2
3     181.0  Mission Impossible                    PG-13     A3
4     152.3  Jerry Maguire                         R         A4
5     136.4  Ransom                                R         A5
6     136.2  101 Dalmatians                        G         A6
7     134.0  The Rock                              R         A7
8     128.8  The Nutty Professor                   PG-13     A8
9     124.0  The Birdcage                          R         A9
+10   108.7  A Time To Kill                        R         A0
11    105.4  First Wives Club                      PG        B1
12    104.6  Phenomenon                            PG        B2
13    101.1  Eraser                                R         B3
14    100.2  Scream                                R         B4
15    100.1  The Hunchback of Notre Dame           G         B5
16    95.3   Michael                               PG        B6
17    92.0   Star Trek: First Contact              PG-13     B7
18    90.4   Space Jam                             PG        B8
19    77.1   The English Patient                   R         B9
20    70.5   Broken Arrow                          R         B0
21    63.1   Beavis and Butthead Do America        PG-13     C1
22    60.6   Jingle All the Way                    PG        C2
23    60.2   The Cable Guy                         PG-13     C3
24    58.9   Courage Under Fire                    R         C4
25    58.6   Jack                                  PG-13     C5
26    56.7   Executive Decision                    R         C6
27    56.1   Primal Fear                           R         C7
28    53.9   Tm Cup                                R         C8
+29   53.3   Sleepers                              R         C9
+30   53.1   Eye for an Eye                        R         C0
31    51.3   Dragonheart                           PG-13     D1
32    51.1   Up Close and Personal                 PG-13     D2
33    50.0   Evita                                 PG        D3
34    49.1   Homeward Bound II                     G         D4
35    48.1   The Preacher's Wife                   PG        D5
36    46.3   Romeo and Juliet                      PG-13     D6
37    46.1   One Fine Day                          PG        D7
38    44.8   The Juror                             R         D8
39    41.3   The Mirror Has Two Faces              PG-13     D9
40    39.3   Don't Be a Menace in South Central    R         D0
41    38.6   Happy Gilmore                         PG-13     E1
42    38.6   The Ghost and the Darkness            R         E2
43    37.9   Bed of Roses                          PG        E3
44    37.8   Mars Attacks                          PG-13     E4
45    36.0   Set It Off                            R         E5
46    35.8   Shine                                 PG-13     E6
47    34.7   A Thin Line Between Love and Hate     R         E7
48    34.1   The Truth About Cats and Dogs         PG-13     E8
49    33.6   The Muppet Treasure Island            G         E9
50    33.4   The Long Kiss Goodnight               R         E0
a. Dollars include domestic grosses as of June 1997.
+Indicates movie with at least one rape scene.
Source: Box Office Statistics in Millions of U.S. Dollars, June 8,
1997.

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By Jana Bufkin, Drury University

Jana Bufkin is an assistant professor at Drury University

Sarah Eschholz is an assistant professor at Georgia State University.