Controversy Over New Film And Child Rape Scene

A new film opened on friday September 18th in L.A. called "Hounddog" and the controversy that has followed it from its initial premiere at the Sundance film festival opened with it as well. It has been 18 months since it opened at Sundance where it received the cold shoulder from movie distributors and some audiences. The controversy stems from one scene in the film that depicts the rape of a 12 year old girl. The film tells the story of a young girl named Lewellen who one night runs into trouble with a teenage boy and is raped. The story deals with how the young girl copes with what has happened to her and her struggle to overcome it and return to a normal life. The character is played by the young and talented actress Dakota Fanning who has given excellent performances in such films as "War of the Worlds" in which she played Tom Cruise's daughter and "I Am Sam" in which she starred with Sean Penn.
Religious and conservative groups have objected to the use of the 12 year old actress to depict the rape scene and have protested the movie for that reason as well as some other objections. The scene itself is not a very explicit one. it was mostly shot in total darkness and it is mostly the sounds of the victim of the rape shouting at her attacker to "Stop it!" in a loud and horrified tone. Despite this the controversy still continues and now some theater owners are caving in too. There have been to date over 5000 movie theaters that have pulled the film and are no longer showing it due to complaints about the films rape scene.