Friday, February 22, 2013

Victimization in Lolita (1962 & 1997)

Lolita is known throughout the Western world as being a tale of nefarious activities and depravities. In the films Lolita, directed by Stanley Kubrick in 1962, and the second film directed by Adrian Lyne in 1997, Nabokov’s nymphet is introduced as being a highly flirtatious girl who has just developed an interest in boys, as well as her stepfather Humbert Humbert. Humbert reciprocates the sexual tension felt by Lolita, for he spends the majority of the beginning of the film discussing his passion and interest. While both films feature similar incidents, both films are entirely their own. The sexual subject matter of Kubrick’s film is toned down to appease the censors of the 60’s (such as Lolita’s age being augmented from 12 to 14), while the later rendition of Lolita was able to include a more faithful rendition to Nabokov’s novel.
            While I have seen both films, my reactions to each film were quite different. While Kubrick mixes the element of dark humor throughout his film and merely alludes to the sexual relationship shared between Lolita and Humbert, Lyne’s adaptation includes more sexual tension and creates a mood similar to Romanticism. Due to the display of sexual acts occurring in Lyne’s film, I found myself to be increasingly agitated and uncomfortable watching a younger girl seducing, and being seduced, by a much older man. After leaving the screening last Sunday, I had a discussion with a classmate about our reactions to the film. As we found out, our reactions to watching a twelve year-old girl having sex were different degrees of tension. We later concluded that this may have been due to the fact that, me being a male and remembering my awkwardness of being 12, found it incredibly disturbing to watch a young girl moan and gyrate on top of an older man. Our classmate, being female, made the point that at the stage of female puberty, development of the body, and its sexual attraction, either reach their climax or are close to finishing development. She felt that, while the viewing of a young girl having sex with a much older man is not necessarily normal, she did not find it as uncomfortable as her male peers (one chap sitting next to her couldn’t stop squirming at the sexual scenes).
            After reading the articles for this week, I am curious to find out how and why there is a separation of anxiety between males and females in regards to the pedophilia displayed in Lolita. In Butler’s article we are introduced to the notion that gender is a kind of performance that all citizens participate in in our society. Is it due to the awkward situation of viewing pedophilia that makes most men uncomfortable? Is it due to the fact that in our society, we learn from a young age that having consensual sex with a minor, much less a young girl is inherently wrong? I would like to think so, but as it has been pointed out, if I were to watch a young boy, say 12-15 having sexual relations with a much older woman (films like Notes On A Scandal, Y Tu Mama Tambien, and The Reader come to mind) I would find it much more comfortable to watch.
            What is interesting is to say that, while the older woman would be known as a cradle-robber, the male has a kind of badge, a token of sorts. They are rewarded for being “man enough” to attract an older female, or a cougar, as they are known. However, when the roles are reversed, and it is a young girl being seduced by an older man, the scenes seem uncomfortable, awkward, and just morally wrong. I know that MacKinnon would associate this with me (us?) being a product of an almost universal patriarchal society in which male dominance suppresses the female dominance. For a young boy to sleep with an older woman is an “accomplishment” of sorts, like it is a way of conquering. For a girl to initiate sex with an older man, she is criticized as naïve, a victim who was corrupted by the male.
            Bringing this back to Lolita, is the relationship between Lolita and Humbert one of exploitation? Is Lolita a victim? Or does she reverse the role and turn Humbert into the victim? In Kubrick’s version the latter appears to be the case, for the audience is led to sympathize with Humbert rather than the mischievous and unpredictable girl. However, in Lyne’s version of the film, I am not so certain. Knowing Humbert’s past and his current fascination with nymphets, is he being the one who we should abhor? Or should we abhor Lolita herself? 

3 comments:

  1. I think these are some good questions. I have not seen Kubrick's version, though I would agree that the difference in gender is apparent. I also see a younger male who has attracted an older female as more "acceptable" than a younger female infatuating an older man. As if the former warrants a fist bump and the latter a lawsuit. But I think the fact that the audience knows Humbert's (or any individual - male or female) past and current fascination with much younger children warrants him little sympathy. We would have the same issue with a woman going only for younger boys, I would think. The point is, we care about age. In the beginning, I disliked Humbert, but I came to be so annoyed with Lolita's childish (babyish really) actions and gross behavior. That's a different issue however - one that has to do with a director's and actor's ability to instill these sorts of emotions in an audience. It worked.

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  2. I think the movie plays with the viewers opinion of Lolita's exploitation throughout the movie. The first sexual encounters between her and Humbert are very clearly portrayed as her choice. She appears to be the conquerer, and Humbert ends up the victim, powerless to her desires. However, as the movie progresses, her consent becomes increasingly dubious. She uses sex to gain both money and power in the film, suggesting that she feels a lack of power in their relationship. In addition to this is the filmmaker's choice to include several more violent scenes between the two, casting further doubt on Lolita's ability to to consent to this relationship. By the end of the movie, as much as one may be able to feel sympathetic towards Humbert, it is very clear that Lolita felt exploited by Humbert.

    I think is an interesting progression of how one might understand the dynamic in a sexual relationship between an young girl and a much older man. There may be the appearance of consent and the ability of the young girl to make her own decisions regarding her sexual life, but the power disparity between the two parties is so great that exploitation is inevitable.

    However I'd like to point out, that not too long ago 12-14 used to be perfectly acceptable marriagable age. In addition, I doubt many people felt that Humbert's relationship with his childhood love was wrong, since they were both the same age. The problem with Humbert and Lolita's specific relationship lies in the power disparity between the two. Consent becomes ambiguous when one party relies on the other for food and shelter, and the threat of violence that underlies their relationship calls the question of consent into even greater question.

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  3. Madeline makes an excellent point; it is relatively recently in history that the marriage of pre-teen aged girls to fully grown if not middle-aged men. Furthermore, I feel that the characterization of Lolita suggests sexual or psychological trauma existed before Humbert ever came in to her life. Yes, she is a young lady coming into her sexuality, but her sexual advances on Humbert early in the film (sitting on his lap, kissing him with her legs wrapped around him, asking for him to kiss her) are beyond average. She displays erratic emotions (also not abnormal for teenage girls, but Lo is really out of hand). I'm certainly not saying the Humbert didn't fantasize about her and consent when the relationship began, only that Lo's behavior features markers of psycho-trauma and psychological instability. Perhaps there is no victim, or more likely they are victims of each other.

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