does abortion belong in popular films? a response

January 26, 2011 Written by Popular Culture , Women

Recently, Jaime Keiles (of the Seventeen Magazine Project) asked some great questions about films and abortion: why do so few films depict abortions? Should we see them in films more often? Jaime had just finished watching Enter the Void, which includes a pretty realistic abortion scene. She noted that the scene made her uncomfortable, but wasn’t sure why—maybe because of its graphic nature, or because it challenged her pro-choice beliefs.

I haven’t seen Enter the Void, but I have had a few similar experiences myself lately. One of the comments on the post mentioned the film Blue Valentine, which also features an abortion scene. I saw the film last week and was surprised at the way it handled that moment. The scene wasn’t graphic, but it showed a doctor beginning the procedure and describing what he was about to do. I thought the hospital staff seemed supportive (another poster disagreed), but it did contain more of the medical details than one typically sees. As Jaime says, one more often sees “a character suddenly finds herself undesirably pregnant, spends time considering her options, and then is shown on the couch in sweatpants eating ice cream.”

I also attended a NARAL event this weekend that screened the film The Coat Hanger Project, a documentary exploring the current state of the reproductive justice movement. The filmmakers spoke to those involved in the movement, including some abortion providers. Interviewees discussed the importance of the coat hanger, which of course has its own horrifying history. They also showed some of the equipment used in modern-day abortions, including a hand-powered vacuum tube. Like Jaime, I spent more time than usual last week thinking about the details of abortion—an emotionally difficult task.

Comments on her post showed a range of reactions. Some readers thought that demystifying the process would help women ascertain all the facts about abortion and force them to take the procedure seriously. Others didn’t think that knowing all the gory details should play a significant factor in a decision essentially based on ideology. A third group fell in the middle—they thought that film exposure might prove helpful, but they didn’t think that this belonged in a film one watched for entertainment.

Predictably, I fell into the middle group. I don’t particularly want to see an abortion on film. However, I could say the same for any other medical procedure— some that are much less serious than abortion. While I think there might be a place for such films, I’m not sure it belongs in the entertainment industry. True, many films are informative, thought-provoking, depressing, or even horrifying. But I’m not sure that showing the graphic procedure adds anything to what less explicit films provide, particularly some that deal heavily with the concept of abortion.

That being said, pro-choice activists should be aware of the details of the procedure. Increasing knowledge adds strength to our position. At the very least, this will allow us to counter any false claims made by pro-life advocates. And finally, we should be wary of willful ignorance. Refusing to study a topic in-depth, or to learn more about an opposing position, suggests that we doubt the morality of our own belief. Might watching Enter the Void challenge our pro-choice views? Maybe, but that doesn’t mean we shouldn’t see it. Learning the graphic details might encourage one to avoid abortion, but that doesn’t require taking away the choice from everyone else. Having all the available information helps individuals make the most informed decision, one that is appropriate for them—and that, not being “pro-abortion,” is the essence of the pro-choice movement.

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  • Katie

    Have you seen Revolutionary Road? There’s a long build up to the (spoiler alert) self-induced abortion scene towards the end — it wasn’t graphic, unless you count some blood. But it was incredibly emotional — Kate Winslet’s character was desperate for a way out and for the ability to make her own choice in the matter, and it was by no means an easy decision. It’s similar to how MTV has lots of shows about teen pregnancy and birth and experiences with their babies, but had one special on abortion shown late at night without much fanfare. Offering up varying types of these scenes that can show just how hard it is both to continue and to end a pregnancy are important in order to keep perspectives balanced. It’s just as you said — it’s about having access to all available information to make a personal choice.

    We shouldn’t only learn about details of the procedures but also reasons why women make these choices. Media is storytelling — sharing human experience — and the physical AND the emotional impact are important parts of character development (says the English major…). We need complete narratives so women know they’re not alone.

  • http://masurskyland.blogspot.com Danielle Masursky

    I totally agree with Katie. I feel like abortion is very hidden in popular media (TV and movies) even though women all over the world choose that option every day. Unintended pregnancies in TV shows and movies are frequently dealt with by miscarriage – an example off the top of my head in the first season of Grey’s Anatomy – Christina Yang chooses abortion, but has a (very dramatic) miscarriage before she can go through with it. I was frustrated at the time that the show wimped out regarding the character’s “right to choose.” I don’t know that audiences need to SEE the procedure (I haven’t seen Blue Valentine or Entering the Void), but I also don’t think we need to watch women giving birth as much as we do – why is that considered so entertaining??? But I sure do wish women were shown a lot more often making that choice – in order to reflect reality.

  • Christina

    Katie, I will definitely have to see Revolutionary Road–this is the second time that has been mentioned to me.

    And Danielle, I agree with your point about women giving birth. I find that uncomfortable to watch on screen and pretty off-putting–seeing that in a film makes me much less interested in ever being pregnant. And from an aesthetic perspective, I don’t think it adds anything to the film in most cases.

    I’ve also noticed this in plotlines relating to another women’s issue–rape. Most shows refuse to deal with it at all, and those that do often take the easy way out. I was impressed when one of my favorite shows featured a character who had been raped, but then later it turned out that it had been consensual (sort of–alcohol had been involved with both parties), but she hadn’t remembered it. I felt like they were taking the easy way out there, too.

  • http://madamaambi.blogspot.com MadamaAmbi

    On January 22 of this year (38th anniversary of Roe v. Wade), the NY Times ran an article about what we used to call “abortion mills.” I’ve excerpted from that article, below. This is not the 1960s or the 1970s pre-Roe. This is today, 38 years after the legalization of abortion (and if you’ve read the opinion, you will learn that the Supreme Court, while finding this right in the 14th Amendment, left it open to states to regulate safety, licensure AND potential life). The squalid abortion mill in the NY Times article is a very real portrait of abortion and one that we’ll see much more of if Republicans are successful in gutting abortion coverage from insurance plans, even those offered by private employers. This is a scary time for all women but the richest, who can always afford to travel to find a specialist and get a quality abortion. I agree that, as feminists, we have a duty to know everything about abortion, legally, medically, politically, psychologically, etc. Where I live, the “pro-lifers” marched on the anniversary of Roe and one woman interviewed said a “holocaust” is being perpetrated on unsuspecting women, the horrible psychological aftermath of having an abortion, as if women are being railroaded into having abortions. When you read the original opinion (hint hint: I read the whole thing aloud on my podcast), you understand why the so-called “pro-lifers” are using this tactic. This morning, NPR reported on a study published in the New England Journal of Medicine which found that mental health distress following abortion is no greater than what many women experience after giving birth.

    The issue, for me, isn’t whether abortion should be included in “entertainment.” Like anything else, how abortion is pictured depends on the biases and/or the ignorance of the people making the film. But, I do think that we must look at realities that upset us, not only to educate ourselves, but also, as has been suggested, in order to counter the lies, hypocrisy and hysterical fear-mongering of the know-nothing “pro-lifers.”

    Squalid Abortion Clinic Escaped State Oversight
    By SABRINA TAVERNISE
    January 22, 2011

    She chose Dr. Gosnell’s clinic because that was where women she knew went. But when she was led into a waiting room, she started having second thoughts.

    “It was like walking into a nightmare,” she said. “Everyone was sedated, no one was making sense. People were slumped over and waiting in line like they were going into a soup kitchen.”

    The clinic was smelly, in part from a dirty turtle tank in the lobby, but also from generally squalid conditions. The grand jury report said the clinic had blood on the floor, a stench of urine in the air and cat feces on the stairs when agents raided it.

    “Semiconscious women scheduled for abortions were moaning in the waiting room or the recovery room, where they sat on dirty recliners covered with blood-stained blankets,” the report said.

    Confusion was a standard reaction to the conditions, women said in interviews last week, but many of the patients were young and lacked confidence and simply sat in silence.

    “It was the first time for me, and I didn’t know if that’s how women usually are,” said a young woman who had an abortion at the clinic in 1999 shortly after graduating from college.

  • Christina

    It’s definitely going to be a huge issue this year–not sure the pro-choice movement has really acknowledged that yet.

    I see what you’re saying about portrayal in the media. From that perspective, it does seem to have become slightly more acceptable, as more mainstream programs (Friday Night Lights, the recent MTV special) actually deal with the issue in a constructive way. Obviously, that diverges sharply from what the Right is doing and saying–perhaps showing that they are not in touch with the American public.