Raw Deal: A Question of Consent

I found this to be a very serious and deep piece. I did not find the material to be needlessly graphic but I admit it was hard to watch at times. This documentary shares a very introspective look at politics and law. I was most impressed to find audience members debating the films' themes as it played.

I'm disappointed that there are not many comments on this page, since this is a film which demands to be debated, whether it be the simple questions of "was it/wasn't it rape" or even just "should this film be shown?" Personally, after seeing the film I have no doubt that King was raped, and that Mike Yarhaus is a dangerous, disturbed man at large. And I've probably seen as much of the evidence as the State Attorney could be bothered to look at. What is shocking as that the film features interviews with people who, I think sincerely, believe that this was an act of consensual sex. While I am convinced this was rape, the film doesn't let me acquire that conviction easily - not one participant in this film gives a good account of themselves, and the differences of opinion serve to produce a worryingly reminder that the question of consent is a misleading one. Remember all that "no means no" stuff that was misinterpreted as suggesting that if she doesn't say "no", she means "yes"? Now we get situations like this. King did not say no, and though she (occasionally) puts up a fight, it is pretty lacklustre. She even goads her assailant and taunts him. She doesn't scream or cry, yet this is still rape, because it is based on a pre-meditated assumption that she is there to have sex with, that she is "a white trash crackwhore" as she is constantly called. It also illustrates that rape is a power struggle. King was too proud, and too wasted to put up an attorney-friendly struggle. The next time I give my wallet to someone with a gun, I expect the court to recognise that I did not willingly give up my cash - I was threatened, but recognised that resistance was not worth the risk. I could argue so much about this movie, but I just saw it and these are some initial responses. Its a powerful, enraging piece, and either not as impartial as it hopes to seem, or blessed with villainous assailants who don't mind revealing their unpleasantness on camera. By the way, the potentially exploitative inclusion of the footage taken by the frat house of the rape is fully justified. What was dismissed as proof of consenting sex and passed around as a harmless sex tape can now be seen as proof of the opposite, reclaimed and set in context. Be ashamed. Be very ashamed, frat boys...

I am not easily shocked, nor am I prone to anger. However, I just finished watching this film and feel disgusted and angry. The thing that disturbs me the most, is how people who saw the footage could possibly conceive the sequence of events as normal consentual sex. That includes some of the people who have posted comments on this site. Make no mistake, Lisa King was not wise to go back to that "party" she was not wise to continue drinking. However, this mistake and this recklessness does not mean that she deserved what happened to her. Shame on anyone who feels that the boys cant be blames for what they did, just because an intoxicated woman flirts with you, does not mean you have the green light to have sex with her. It is painfully painfully clear that Lisa did not want Mike to continue, she never kissed him, she fought him, she taunted him, the only time she ever conceeded was when he chocked her, bit her toe, or any of the other times when he stepped up his use of force to a point that hurt her or scared the hell out of her.

If this was consentual why did she never appear to be enjoying herself? I feel upset that these particulars even need to be explained, as it just so simply clear that this was an act of domination and and not one of consentual sex. The prosecuters, the judge, the boys at the party, and anyone who believes that this was not rape, really needs to look at their understanding of how to treat another human being. The level of acceptance of what happened that morning is truly a disturbing comment on the standards of humanity in society today.

I was attending UF when the event happened and I read about it in the newspapers. I didnt realize it was that big of a deal at the time though. It is really obvious that she was raped, and anyone who doesnt think so really needs help. It is also obvious that she was tired, kinda drugged up, but she somewhat knew what was going on and it wasnt what she wanted. I do feel sorry for the stripper, and Mike Yahraus is obviously guilty as sin. But although I dont want to say she got what she deserved, in life, if you put yourself in certain situations there is a higher probability that bad things will occur than other situations. A drunk female stripper with a bunch of frat boys is one of these situations where something bad can easily happen, and it did. Miss King is not the smartest person in the world, and to pick the profession of a stripper when she was married with kids indicates that she needed some counseling or some kind of help. But you have to feel somewhat bad for her. The frat boys in their interviews came across as the silly spoiled little boys that they are. I hope that the people involved really do feel the repercussions of the event, especially the Tony Marzullo character, who comes across as pure scum.

Firstly, I feel wrong adding a commentary to what is a depiction f someone's real life misfortune. It's not like this doco was some Hollywood production - it was real life. Grading something like this feels inappropriate. I'd also like to say that I find the thought very troubling that anyone could sit through the entire documentary and not feel as though they were witnessing something so deeply, deeply wrong. It is so clearly evident that you are witnessing a rape. I do wonder how others who can't see that in this movie would go about defining the act of engaging in sex.. I didn't know that it required the male to over-power and actually pin down the female. I didn't know that slapping and gouging at eyes was an acceptable part of having sex. I feel that the footage depicted in this documentary is disturbingly graphic. My assumption is that this documentary would have been a last ditch attempt available to the victim so as to seek some form of justice. I was left feeling such incredible sympathy for Lisa and a feeling of violently despising Tony Marzullo and his fello fratmates. Really, they should have a 300lb bloke do the same thing to them!