In the 2009 cinematic adaptation of Stieg Larsson’s novel The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo, hacker heroine Lisbeth Salander is handcuffed to a bed, gagged, and savagely raped by her legal guardian. The scene is hard to watch, and it is not the only sexually violent scene in the movie. I enjoyed this film, yet walking out of theater, I couldn’t help but feel guilty for finding pleasure in a movie that featured such horrible violence. By paying for my ticket, was I encouraging sexual brutality?
