MovieChat Forums > Switch (1991) Discussion > Er... date rape?

Er... date rape?

posted 13 years ago by kantorka_nov
16 replies | jump to latest

I'm surprised no one mentioned it yet - that the little girl basically seems to have been conceived during a date rape of a completely drunk woman/ former man, who even told Walter she/ he couldn't sleep with him and felt rightly violated the next morning.

It kind of ruined the "fun" for me - will daddy ever tell his little girl? "I impregnated mom when mommy was passed out from drinking with me, it was the only time we ever slept together, and then she died givin birth to you?"

Cue the "It's a comedy, it was fun, no one takes this *beep* serious!" - calls.

After all, tis was a movie were someone was murdered and we're supposed to find it funny. But the thing is - murder doesn't happen because people aren't correctly identifying it as murder or at leas manslaughter while they're doing it - or playing it down. Besides that, I don't know anybody who has been killed by their three mistreated ex girlfriends. I know plenty of aussault vivtims, and be aware or not, so do you.

Sexual violence does happen because many date rapists tell themselves drunk people are fair game, or it hasn't been really rape - because the victim slept with them before, went home with them, is a slut or whatever, and play it down. Maybe that's why it comes across differently when it's "supposed to be funny".

Also, it's lazy writing - they had this cop out idea with a female baby, and didn't know any other plausible way to make him/ her give birth to one. Not creative.

[–] red_rackham_77 13 years ago

Walter said she was consenting to the whole thing and plus, Amanda didn't have to share a bed with Walter, would She have done that when she was Steve?

[–] kantorka_nov 12 years ago

Just pointing out, we don't know they didn't, as buddies, and he carried her off when she was too drunk to walk, after she told him, earlier, that she didn't want to have sex with him. That's basically incapable of giving consent (the wasted to the point of not being able to walk and talk). If I remember correctly, she drank like Steve, but the body of AManda was wasted much more quickly. Plus, does anybody really believe Stan was into it? Then they should have alluded how living in a woman's body changed Steve's sexuality (from uber-hetero uber-macho to, well, more fluent). That wasn't there, though.

They way it was shown, it was just, "Dude, and she was so drunk she didn't even notice what happened, and only realized what had happened when he woke up next to her and had no pants on! Haha! That's funny!"
Well, no, that's not so funny.

[–] red_rackham_77 12 years ago

For whatever reason, Steve needed to have the baby, it was this girl that truly loved him and he got his ticket to Heaven.

[–] lotuslilly 13 years ago

As soon as the end came near, I totally predicted that the girl who would love "her" unconditionally would be

her baby

[–] Charlie Goose 12 years ago

Well, they were BOTH drunk. And Walter said that "Amanda" was into it, so he didn't think he was violating her. From his intoxicated viewpoint, she had given full consent.

I have a new philosophy. I'm only going to dread one day at a time.

[–] kantorka_nov 12 years ago

Then they should have shown it. But they didn't - because it makes no sense. She said she didn't want to, when she was sober, plus, the Steve in her certainly didn't, being the uber hetero guy he was.
I'm not going to open up a huge legal debate over an old comedy, but it's still... well. He said she was into it, but we have good reason to think she was just too drunk to get it, and she pointed out herself it was her -technical- first time and that she felt violated.

[–] twinsana 12 years ago

From a legal standpoint they were both drunk and therefore neither one was legally capable of giving consent.They both raped each other.

[–] HarveyManfredSinJohn 11 years ago

Rape involves penetration. Therefore, regardless of whether you think it is right or wrong, a woman can't legally rape a man, unless she penetrates one with some type of phallic object (sorry for the crudity/inelegance of the language). Rape is a particular crime which for the most part can only be committed by a man. Thus it is up to the man to ensure that his sexual partner has given consent before penetration.

[–] kstenbch 9 years ago

Rape is a crime that involves nonconsensual intercourse and CAN in fact be committed by a woman. When Mary Kay Letnourno had sexual intercourse with her 13 year old student, it was called legally and technically accurately, rape of a minor male child [who was by definition, incapable of giving consent]. So there goes your entire bull crap argument that women cannot commit rape unless they penetrate the man with something. It's just not true.

[–] Overthinker 12 years ago

The key to this scene is that Steve is no longer thinking purely as a man. He's becoming a woman inside as well as out, and while I agreed they should have shown the scene of Amanda consenting, what we can take away from this is that deep down, Steve has in fact already fully become Amanda: he just can't bring himself to admit it to himself. Which is why when he was drunk she was able to consent...

[–] Lee1179 11 years ago

You are over-analyzing the sh*t out of this. It's a comedy, it was fun, no one takes this *beep* serious.

[–] Oleoay 11 years ago

It was date rape, but it was also a different era where concepts like that weren't considered as much as they are today. Remember, it's a period where The Accused was considered groundbreaking.

[–] HarveyManfredSinJohn 11 years ago

Admittedly, the law has recently moved on, in the period since the film was released, to clarify that inebriated consent is not really consent. However, even when I was a kid, around the period this film was released, I understood that non-consensual sex, regardless of aggravating circumstances like particular violence or force, constituted rape.

Then again, perhaps I'm looking at things with rose-tinted spectacles because forced sex within marriage was still technically legal in the UK until 1991, the year this film was released, which now strikes me as amazing (I can't believe that adults were so backwards in their thinking when it was clear to me as a ten-year-old that non-consensual sex = rape, whatever the relationship between the parties involved).

[–] Kencrogers300 10 years ago

I am watching the film now. Yes, I have seen it multiple times, but it has been a while. You make a VERY valid point. Now, you and others on this site may agree, or disagree with what I am about to say. Amanda is STEVE. Steve is straight. Amanda(Steve) and Walter are best friends. They both drank too much that. Many friends (gay or straight) have gotten drunk and did things they regret the next morning. This is a movie (not giving them a free pass on rape), but, Steve(Amanda) truly loves Walter. Not in a sexual way, but, I think what the director was trying to show us is the bond friends have. Yes, I am sure the director also wanted the little girl baby to be the one girl who loves Amanda(Steve).

Your viewpoint has MERIT! It truly does. But, in my view I do not think that was he directors intention. Especially in regards to rape. Rape should not be something downplayed, or made into comedy.

Amanda(Steve) and Walter created something special, a child. Now, Amanda(Steve) earlier in the film shows he can hold his/her alcohol. So, maybe Amanda/Steve knew what was going to happen that night when Walter and Amanda consummated?

These are my thoughts, and you may disagree, but I do respect your comment and I hope you can see how I viewed that part of the film. I truly do not think the director would ever intentionally portray any type of date rape sex.

Thank you for allowing me to answer and have a nice day.

[–] moosefeathers 10 years ago

OP is just stating the obvious and feels the need to be heard.

There was a whole scene about how she thought he raped her when the gun was hidden in the couch.

were you not paying attention?

Swing away, Merrill....Merrill, swing away...

[–] MooseNugget 9 years ago

They did they to get a few laughs but they were not trying to make rape funny. The only thing I remember being funny is when Margo spit her drink when Amanda claimed she was a virgin. What happened didn't seem out of character for anyone.

I don't think anything suggested it was the right thing for Walter to do. But it did work in Amanda's advantage in the end.

It does sound messed up reading it lol but no one is watching this and becoming pro rape because of this movie.