Sexual Violence, Rape Culture, and the Ethics of Care in Promising Young Woman (2020), Blink Twice (2024), and Women Talking (2022)

Author

• Naomi H. Fredgant, Chapman UniversityFollow

Date of Award

Spring 5-2026

Document Type

Thesis

Degree Name

Master of Arts (MA)

Department

Film Studies

First Advisor

Nam Lee, Ph.D.

Second Advisor

Emily Carman, Ph.D.

Third Advisor

CK Magliola, ABD.

Abstract

Evolving public discourse on rape and rape culture is reflected in contemporary cinema. This thesis analyzes Promising Young Woman (2020), Blink Twice (2024), and Women Talking (2022)—all directed by women—through the theoretical framework of the ethics of care, highlighting how these films expose the persistence of rape culture and the systemic failure of institutions to support victims of sexual violence. Drawing on scholarship about rape culture, this analysis shows how the rape myths and institutional gaslighting depicted in these films function to dismiss victims’ testimonies, mirroring broader patterns of invalidation. The films explore both individual and collective responses to sexual violence, examining the consequences of isolation, the ethical dimensions of violent and non-violent resistance, and the importance of care-based solidarity among women. This thesis argues that the resistance depicted in these films is not merely reactive, but an ethical response to institutional failure.

Creative Commons License

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works 4.0 License.

Recommended Citation

Fredgant, Naomi H. Sexual Violence, Rape Culture, and the Ethics of Care in Promising Young Woman (2020), Blink Twice (2024), and Women Talking (2022). 2026. Chapman University, MA Thesis. Chapman University Digital Commons,https://doi.org/10.36837/chapman.000732