MFT: Todd Solodz - "Storytelling" Red Box Sex Scene

Censorship sucks. No two ways about it. The whole thing about "you can't show this and that because reasons" is ridiculous and utterly offensive. It limits the perspective and makes people sensitive the wrong way - it prevents them from dealing with a variety of subject they have to deal anyway. But our society can't get behind it. Mostly because it counters the interest of powers that be. Sometimes censorship can go so far that it will not only make a joke out of itself but also produce rather curious artistic device.

This is a screenshot of a scene from a "Fiction" segment of  Todd Solodz 2001 movie "Storytelling". It looks a bit weird. You can see a red box in a dimly lit room. It sure covers something. But why? Censorship. Actually, it is a sex scene. Rather graphic. A rape. This sex scene is not a needless attraction. It is culmination of a entire story. Something you can't just cut. Sure Solondz could've figured out another way around it - but it would've only lessened an impact.

Here's what happened: arrogant and frustrated student fed up with her life tries to go over the edge to the great beyond or something. She attends writing classes and tries to make something really transcending. One evening she hooks up her writing class teacher who turns out to have a taste in "little white girls". After short "prelude" he rapes her. Because he can and he will not be punished for that. She then writes a story about it and tries to expose him in front of a class but gets dismissed and criticized for overt ugliness of the characters and entire situation. Mainly because the account is poorly written. She tries to convince everybody that it actually happened but no one cares and she is left all alone with her pain. It is a very sad story of people full of themselves convinced of their invincibility.

Censorship showed up when "Storytelling" was about to be rated by MPAA. Todd Solondz and his distributors didn't wanted to obtain "kiss of death" rating NC-17 because of disturbing graphic depiction of sex. And so Todd Solondz decided to leave the scene intact but added aforementioned red box.

This addition makes the scene transforms a scene in an unexpected way. Red box makes it unintentionally funny. It turns entire episode into a piece of Baldessarian Pop-Art. It ridicules the entire concept of censorship. But it also takes it to another level. Instead of shying away from graphic content - it stresses the importance of an episode. Red Box forces your imagination to reconstruct this ugly scene from a set-up and sound effects. The result is as ugly as it is originally shown.

Curiously you can't actually find the Red Box censored version of a scene online. Mainly because there is no point in it except for gimmick. But it is nice storytelling device that can be used elsewhere.