Home Pop Culture Gossip Girl: Violence as romance. Welcome to the latest twist in serial...

Gossip Girl: Violence as romance. Welcome to the latest twist in serial TV.

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Safran: The way we viewed it, I think it’s very clear that Blair is not afraid in those moments, for herself. They have a volatile relationship, they always have, but I do not believe-or I should say we do not believe-that it is abuse when it’s the two of them. Chuck does not try to hurt Blair. He punches the glass because he has rage, but he has never, and will never, hurt Blair. He knows it and she knows it, and I feel it’s very important to know that she is not scared-if anything, she is scared for Chuck-and what he might do to himself, but she is never afraid of what he might do to her. Leighton and I were very clear about that.

I like how Safran confirms that Chuck will never hurt Blair.  Maybe that’s because he’s a fictional character whose actions depend solely on what writers decide for him.  In real life, you should never think that a man would never hurt you.  It just doesn’t work that way.  And what about mental and emotional abuse?  That can be just as damaging and these two star-crossed lovers have more baggage than I do for a two- week vacation.  If viewers are meant to view Chuck’s rage as a sexy act of love I’m then left to wonder how many girls will start wishing their nice boyfriends would rough them up a bit more.

Gossip Girl is not the first to suggest violence as an aphrodisiac. It’s pretty much common knowledge that many women fantasize about being dominated by a man.  I guess this means they like dreaming about consensual rape where there is no risk of a real injury and the attacker is not an ugly stranger but an attractive partner.

Even with this said, I would hope that television shows glorifying young adults lacking in everything but looks, would not include scenes that require producers to publically vouch for his writers on a national interview.  Then again, isn’t all press good press?

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