Date Rape and Last Night's 'Louie' | ThinkProgress


-Zack Handlen:  I'm not sure I agree that Lori's rage at Louie is as justified as you're arguing--to me, Louie is put in the position of being coerced into doing something he isn't comfortable with by someone who tries to convince him of his complicity in an unspoken arrangement. Sure, there's some spoiled, white-guys-expect-blowjobs-from-the-sky in his response to her offer, but until that moment, there was no talk about sex (that we saw), and there was no indication that he believed the BJ was his right. Lori's "You owe me" line didn't seem much different from the asshole guy who expects a girl to put out because he bought her dinner, and the vignette was interesting because it reversed our expectations of gender in this scene (in shows and movies, the woman is always hesitant, uncomfortable, and more interested in emotional intimacy; the man is the one who talks about deals, who browbeats, insults, and then tries to use force) while still allowing both characters to make sense as characters. As you say, the ambiguity of the scene is striking and powerful, and I think Louie's willingness to see her again helps contextualize the aftermath, and turn it into a subtle critique of privilege. He doesn't seem uncomfortable or frightened by her, and because of that, it's clear that he never _really_ saw her as a threat. To him, it isn't rape. It's just something that happened, and he gets to feel that way because he's a dude. You swap the genders around, and it becomes a lot uglier. (And what I love about this show is that while all this stuff is fascinating, the basic arc of the episode, "I love my daughter's jokes because they're new to me" translating to "I value people who are unexpected," works wonderfully on its own. huh. The Gender Studies part is just icing.)

-The scene in question was posted by Louis to youtube. What a great episode. Like he said in a recent podcast with Bill Simmons, "If you're sparking discussion amongst people, that's exciting. That's what any art or culture should do. Just make people yell at each other, get mad, and polarize -- that means you did something really compelling."


 

 Was Louie date-raped? - Salon.com: 

-earling: It is simply taboo for a raped woman not to be destroyed and outraged by being raped, but at this point in the gender wars it's apparently okay for a man to take it in stride. So the double standard is that feminism insists "frailty thy name is woman," whereas, men (dot dot dot) whatever. The lack of outrage here around men's sexual self-determination is actually pretty empowering of men, which ought to be annoying to some thoughtful feminist blogger somewhere .



Louie - TWoP Forums - Page 53

-huahaha: Wow, Louis packed so many layers into that plot line that it’s hard to untangle. He starts by challenging expectations about who’s an appropriate date for him. As an audience, we’re conditioned to believe that pouchy, middle-aged men deserve the hot 20- or 30-something of their dreams. Instead, we’re faced with a woman who is actually Louis’ equal -- she owns multiple businesses, is in his general age wheelhouse, is brash and funny, and isn't conventionally attractive, much like Louis.
They mutually seem to agree they aren't interested; then they have a fun time out as friends. Then... the car pulls over into an alley. So many women have been in this situation -- everything is fine, fine, fine, and friendly, until the other person escalates and there’s no graceful escape.
Louis takes the opportunity to play with the nasty stereotype that women giving oral sex isn't that intimate of an act, but for men to do it is very intimate (read: gross). He also explores the idea of women raping men. When she offers oral sex, he can’t really refuse, but we don’t read it as rape yet. Many people believe that men can’t be raped by women because the act can’t take place without an erection. Her demand for him to reciprocate oral sex knocks that barrier down though.
The physical violence is so important to the scene because without it, we can just keep laughing along with the gender role reversal. Once she punches him, it's clear that he's in a dangerous, scary place and can't really say no. Women are often in that situation whether violence takes place or not -- the physical threat is still there.
Even after he's given her what she wants, she makes him say that he'll see her again. I thought it made sense that Louis agreed, and not just because he’s a passive character. Often victims continue to see their attackers because they want to prove to themselves that they're in control of the situation and don't need to feel traumatized. But it's really a sign of just how bad the coercion was. 

-milburn stone: huahaha, really thoughtful and interesting post that gets at what was going on there.

p52
-ganesh: I still can't believe she punched him in the face and shattered the window. I can honestly say I don't think I've seen anything like that on television.