by Susan Brinkmann, OCDS
Staff Writer
A new movie to be released Sept. 19 is causing outrage among pro-family groups because it features a nine year old girl being raped, a scene which the film’s director describes as an innocent experience.
Hounddog stars child actress Dakota Fanning who portrays a nine-year-old girl who is raped by a man in his late teens after he tricks her into dancing naked for Elvis Presley concert tickets.
In the film’s press kit, writer and director Deborah Kampmeier says: “… she [Fanning’s character] is simply and innocently experiencing and relishing the aliveness of her being, the life force pulsing through her body, celebrating the power and creative force of her sexuality that is her birthright.”
Could this be true?
Yes, says the National Coalition for the Protection of Children and Families, a pro-family organization that has committed itself to raising awareness among moviegoers and taking action to stop the distribution of the movie.
“While I have not personally viewed Hounddog, reliable news sources have indicated the movie is inappropriate and portrays graphic sexual scenes between a young child and older teen,” said Rick Schatz, president and CEO of the National Coalition.
“Once again, Hollywood is irresponsibly promoting sexual encounters with minors that not only influences our culture but actually normalizes this egregious behavior in our society.”
According to Leslie Smith of Concerned Women for America (CWA), the North Carolina chapter of CWA has been engaged in stopping the distribution of the film since July when they learned that the North Carolina Department of Commerce gave $387,000 in taxpayer money to producers to shoot the film in North Carolina.
“Our goal is to bring awareness of the mainstreaming of child pornography that is being achieved through the release of this movie,” said Donna Miller, CWA Prayer/Action Chapter Leader in North Carolina and the campaign director for “No More Child Porn,” which was launched to raise public awareness of the contents of the film.
“This movie is about a nine-year-old girl, not an adult woman,” Miller said. “She should be outside skipping rope or riding her bike, not ‘celebrating the power and creative force of her sexuality.'”
CWA of North Carolina has called for an investigation by the North Carolina General Assembly to determine why the North Carolina Film Office approved the making of the film and whether law officials were consulted.
They also requested that the Assembly provide information from the North Carolina Department of Commerce (which oversees the North Carolina Film office) as to how three movies dealing with the subject of adults having sexual encounters with minors (Hounddog, Bastard Out of Carolina, and Lolita) were filmed in North Carolina.
Hounddog was so controversial that it did not receive distributorship until very recently.
Thus far, “the reaction from North Carolina officials has been nothing short of baffling,” says Leslie Smith of CWA.
“Though he acknowledged the public outcry surrounding this film, the District Attorney of Bolivia, North Carolina, where most of the film was shot, told World Net Daily that the movie was saved by its ‘artistic value.’
“North Carolina Attorney General Roy Cooper has been silent on the issue and has offered no explanation as to why his state allowed a 12-year-old child to endure simulated pedophilic rape.”
Miller and other pro-family groups are worried about the impression this film, which has received an R rating, will have on young people. “Our concern is that this film would say to other children that this behavior is acceptable,” Miller said.
Pro-family groups are asking concerned citizens to contact their local theaters and respectfully request that they not show the film. They are also being asked to contact the United States Attorney General’s office and ask him to review the film to determine whether or not federal child exploitation laws have been violated.
Concerns should be addressed to: Attorney General Michael B. Mukasey, U.S. Department of Justice, 950 Pennsylvania Avenue NW, Washington, DC, 20530-0001; 202-353-1555.
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