My dear Onir,
When I think of child abuse, I tend to think more about various kinds of desires of the child and the implicated anxiety and pleasure therein, rather than the trauma involved. Freud identifies an interesting phenomenon in this regard which he designates as Nachtraglichkeit, in which an experience, not traumatic at the time it occurred, is retroactively experienced as traumatic by a later, similar experience. Thus earlier neutral or pleasurable experience turns out to become molestation. Experience of “abuse” to a child and as adult thus are different and pretty much complex experiential processes in reality. However, I am not implying this as a truth for all instances and forms child abuses. I am not thus taking about rape per-se, but about those mutually consensual (not in the eyes of authority or legally) sexual experiences between children and adults. I see this existing in the expressions of various artists and cultural expressions – such as the in the representations of child Christ (by Giovanni Bellini) some works by Caravaggio or say that the erotic relation between child Krishna and the women in Brindavan. In the recent times some of the photographs of Robert Mapplethorpe has really complicated the perceptions of the straightforward - shall I say urban activist’s views, and also those held by rightwing.
Well, it is a well accepted fact that children are not quite so sexually innocent, although idealized conceptions of childhood would like us to believe so. However, what child is unaware of is about exploitative adult sexuality, so also the fact that children can not use the adult in the way an adult can use children.
Having made my preliminary apprehensions about the theme you propose to handle in the film Abhimanyu, I would like to read this story you are handling & if possible your approach to it.
With love – Shivaji.
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Dear Shivji
ReplyDeletethank you for your note. I believe that films can be different.... and a film dealing with CSA does not necessarily need to follow one line of belief and thought. Ina country like India where child sexual abuse is rampant with the use of violence and power my approach to the film is not the erotic consensual angle... that could be another film.... but not something I am making. While my child at some point enjoys the process and uses the adult to his advantage...i believe mostly adults use the excuse of children having fun to exploit them sexually.... I suppose that's another debate. my film does not claim to or attempt to cover all aspects of CAS... its the story of one person ... who happens to not have enjoyed being forced into a sex by an adult and how it shapes his life.... I would love you to read my script but as it is a film under production i will not be able to release the script...however if u are ever in mumbai i would love to provide you the script for your reactions..
Thanks
--
Onir
www.mybrothernikhil.com
www.basekpal.com
www.sorrybhaithefilm.com
http://passionforcinema.com/author/onir/
Dear Aryan,
ReplyDeleteThank you for responding to my note on “child abuse” and I am glad that you are in agreement to my argument. My own experience as a child is that I use to greatly enjoy the sexual advances made upon me by one of my teachers and several other adults in this regard. I never felt an iota of guilt although most of the time I was not ready to comply with the adult’s sexual acts – since it was not as yet agreeable to my likings. There was however fear of being discovered and punished.
It was only in the early adulthood I started feeling shame, guilt and anger. How I dealt with them is another long story. As you rightly point out “Victim-hood is also a construct”. Anyway, a sense of wanting-to-be-loved was a central aspect of my gay life.
Yes, indeed I would love to participate in your study group.
Love – Shivaji.