'Hounddog' Release Rekindles Debates Over Child Rape Scene
The hotly debated movie that drew protest from conservative critics for its inclusion of a child rape scene will hit 22 theaters nationwide this weekend after a two-month delay.
Hounddog, starring child actress Dakota Fanning, was originally set for a July 18 release in 500 theaters but was later pushed back to Sept. 5 and scaled down to around 100 before its latest change.
Despite the dramatic drop, some conservatives have continued to rally against the movie, calling on concerned citizens to take action to stop the film's distribution.
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"Our goal is to bring awareness of the mainstreaming of child pornography that is being achieved through the release of this movie," stated Donna Miller, a Prayer/Action Chapter Leader for Concerned Women for America in the Fayetteville area and director of the "No More Child Porn" campaign.
"Our concern is that this film would say to other children that this behavior is acceptable," Miller added in a CWA news release.
Notorious as "the Dakota Fanning rape movie," Hounddog is the story of 12-year-old Lewellen (Fanning) and her struggle to rise above the repression that surrounds her.
Set in rural Alabama in the late 1950s, the film centers around deeply talented Lewellen, who finds comfort and safety, as well as a place to put her hurt and rage, in the music of Elvis Presley.
After a local teenager attacks Lewellen and "steals her innocence," however, the once young spirited girl is left feeling alone and hopeless.
But with the help of the caretaker, who teaches Lewellen to use The Blues to turn her tragedy into a gift, she ultimately gains the strength and courage to walk away from her past and into her future.
While the film's director, Deborah Kampmeier, said she "did not set out to make a controversial film or a social commentary," the scene in which actress Dakota Fanning is raped by a much older boy was enough to garner strong objections from such conservative groups as the Christian Film & Television Commission and the Catholic League for Religious and Civil Rights.
"People were petitioning to have me arrested for child pornography," Kampmeier told the Los Angeles Times.
Since then, Empire Film Group, Inc., which purchased the film with a $1 million advance, has built up a coalition of support from top film critics, major media organizations and women's and children's support groups, including the New York City Alliance Against Sexual Assault and First Star, a children's advocacy group in Washington.
Supporters say films such as Hounddog present the film industry with an opportunity to effect positive change by focusing on social issues from behind the camera.
"More than 5,500,000 children are involved in reports of abuse and neglect each year in America, many of them the victims of sexual abuse. These are the children the critics should be paying attention to ... [n]ot the people who are trying to raise public awareness through this important film," said Peter Samuelson, founder and President of First Star, in a response to last year's criticisms.
According to Eric Parkinson, CEO of Distribution for Empire Film Group, Inc., the company has been "pleasantly overwhelmed" by the support being generated for Hounddog.
"This is truly one of the most important films of the year, and it's encouraging to see the momentum building so powerfully," he stated in a public announcement.
Following the film's initial drive in New York, Los Angeles, Chicago and other selected markets, two major waves of expanded release will launch on Oct. 3 and Oct. 10. Ultimately, Empire plans to reach all of the top 100 markets in the United States, with more than 400 total play dates.
