Family show may have just gone too far.

milkweed said:

This is what I was wondering.

If they are worried about prime time family shows showing two gay guys kissing then they've missed the boat and by a long shot! Even two and a half men when Alan and Waldon made out was behind the times, not that I consider that show family fare either.

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Yeah. Wake me when it's on Phinneas and Ferb.

I don't watch it, but obviously that's ridiculous of people!

ViridianChick said:

Can we add "the actual rape of female characters"? The most horrific moment for me was the scene where Beth is nearly raped. Or the scene where that young girl from Terminus is dragged out of the train-car to be gang-raped by bandits. EDIT: or heck, that time a female side character was raped, abused, and imprisoned until she committed suicide.

Carl's almost-rape was pretty shocking, too, since he's a kid and all. (And because that scene ended with Rick biting a guy's throat out. I mean, holy shit.) But it strikes me as funny that everyone refers to that scene as "the time Carl was almost gang-raped" instead of "the time Carl and Michonne were almost gang-raped."...

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Ouch. Really? That is horrible. Why does a show need that much rape anyway, particularly if it doesn't even register with people? My God.

OMG SPOILER WARNING PLEASE!!!!!!!

Anyway. I've seen A Serbian Film, so HAHAHAHAHA at the Walking Dead. I don't think that show could ever have counted as a family show though. Come on, all the head shots and gore...? Oh, and a trusted leader dude shooting a little girl through the brains in front of her mother, yeah, I don't care she was undead, it was absolutely horrifying.
This show gets away with it, even if just for all the previous brutalities. Hello? A young boy volunteers to kill his mother after she had had an unsedated c-section?? Putting a kid through that kind of ordeal, kind of marks the point of no return. No, wait, that was Sofia.

So yay for more brutality. Anyone want puppies and rainbows, go get a Teletubbies DVD. You don't get to enjoy shooting little girls' brains out, and then complain that people get eaten or raped. There's even hope after rape, there ain't no hope after getting eaten, so duh?

backslashbaby said:

Ouch. Really? That is horrible. Why does a show need that much rape anyway, particularly if it doesn't even register with people? My God.

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I dunno. I actually didn't realize how often the female characters were threatened with rape until I typed it out here. There was Lori, Maggie, Beth (twice), and Michonne (twice). I guess the violence of the show makes the rape threats mild by comparison. And the threats are spread out over five seasons, so that's... what, about one rape threat per season?

I'm glad none of them were actually raped. That might be the breaking point for me.

So far only side characters and unnamed characters have been raped, and nothing has been shown on-screen. So that's a blessing.

I have to confess Zombies kissing does give me the heebies - are they Zombies? (I have the same thing with vampires unless they are Angel and Spike). It;s the whole necrophilia thing.

The rape thing gets me differently than getting my brains eaten by zombies. I hope for obvious reasons, lol.

Wiley Coyote falling off a cliff doesn't bother me much, either



If it was all spread out over many apocalyptic seasons, fair enough on rape situations (imho). I still would hope people wouldn't remember just the boy being threatened with it. That part remains crazy!

regdog said:

Wow, am I glad I never watched that show. I am so tired of rape being a form of entertainment. I won't be going back to Game of Thrones, when it comes back on.

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It's not nearly as bad as it sounds, trust me. Generally the threats are brief. The female characters are abundant, impressive, and unbound by gender roles. Honestly -- it's one of my favorite shows for having such a diverse and complex set of characters. It's not perfect, but fuck. This is what happens when writers choose not to use racial stereotypes or gender stereotypes: fascinating and unique characters.

The most power warrior on the team is a black woman. I adore her, and as long as she's still alive, I'll keep watching.

I wouldn't consider it nearly in the same territory of Game of Thrones. In The Walking Dead, it's more like... sexual violence is occasionally threatened in appropriate contexts. And so far, every main character is unraped, and every rapist has been violently murdered. So that takes the sting out, a little.

Usher said:

I have to confess Zombies kissing does give me the heebies - are they Zombies? (I have the same thing with vampires unless they are Angel and Spike). It;s the whole necrophilia thing.

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Haha. No, they're not. The zombies in this show are your typical mindless flesh-eating undead.

"Hey kids, go grab your pillow pets and let's all snuggle on the couch and count how many different ways the walkers die tonight! If we are lucky, maybe we will see a human beheading and a rape too!"

Seriously, FAMILY SHOW? In what universe is it a family show. Okay, I will admit, we DO pile on the couch and watch this together as a family, but my child is 18. If love shown between two people ruins The Walking Dead for you, you seriously need to find a new "family" show.

All that being said, has anyone seen any actual posts from real Walking Dead fans who were upset about the kiss or is it just the media sensationalizing as usual.

Ellesi said:

All that being said, has anyone seen any actual posts from real Walking Dead fans who were upset about the kiss or is it just the media sensationalizing as usual.

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Yes. On Twitter. But yes, the media is sensationalizing it a little. I've seen dozens and dozens of posts supporting the kiss and only a few criticizing it.

On Reddit, there were a few people whining. "I'm not homophobic, but I'm so sick of TV shows and movies shoehorning in gay characters." That kind of thing. But again, the positive response has been greater than the negative.

I really wish this weren't a big deal at all. The point of the kiss was throughout the episode, the main character, Rick, is extremely suspicious of newcomer named Aaron. Aaron claims he comes from a safe community, but Rick is convinced Aaron is leading them into a trap. He punches Aaron, ties him up, interrogates him, and threatens to kill him multiple times.

Finally, Aaron leads them to safety, where they meet *drumroll* his husband. The kiss is this big moment where Rick realizes that Aaron is a human being, just like anyone else. It's a moment of connection, and seeing Aaron kiss his husband makes Rick soften up. It's just another part of the story. It should have never caused any kind of outcry.