Title: Daughter
Rating: R
Director: Sarah Jayne
Starring: Katherine Langford, Carolyn Rey, Tara Jakszewicz
Runtime: 28 min

What is it: A short film and awareness project exploring victim blaming and gendered violence in society, following three women out on a Friday night in St Kilda, whose lives become entwined and affected by an act of violence.

What we think: “For if you suffer your people to be ill-educated, and their manners to be corrupted from their infancy, and then punish them for those crimes to which their first education disposed them, what else is to be concluded from this, but that you first make thieves and then punish them.” This quote from Sixteenth Century British Author Sir Thomas More from his book Utopia was what came to mind when watching this film. Victim blaming and gendered violence may be at the forefront of this story however it’s subject matter shows much more than what was intended. The cinematography was well done as was the lighting, sound, costume design, and production design. The acting was also more than tolerable throughout the film. What I am absolutely impressed with is that not only is victim blaming and gendered violence indeed primarily focused on but that smaller issues are also covered. Everyday women (and men) are put into situations simply because “life” happened to them and they are forced into situations which they do not like. In the case of some women, sometimes that takes the form of using their bodies in ways which are looked down upon by many in society.  Instead of having compassion and treating these individuals with respect, the film is a prime example of how society chooses to punish something they themselves unknowingly created because of unfortunate circumstances.

Our grade: A, This showcases the struggles EVERY woman has faced at some point in their life like the fear of walking home by yourself alone and having to become Jason Bourne just to make sure you get home safely or the helpless feeling of an entitled man catcalling you or aggressively pressuring you to talk to him and then turning on you with verbal and sometimes physical violence when you turn them down. Or even the pressure we are faced with by our very own “friends” to act a certain way regardless of how it makes us feel. The only thing truly disappointing is that even with this film as a prime example of what women are constantly faced with, some men still will never understand how they make women feel even after watching this.