In this thesis, I will analyze five films that have a rape-revenge narrative: Ms. 45 (1981), M.F.A. (2017), I Spit on Your Grave (1978), I Spit on Your Grave (2010), and The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo (2011). I will argue that the violent actions taken by the female protagonist during her revenge against her rapist(s) serve to allow her to reclaim her agency that was stolen from her during the rape(s). I will show that the rape-revenge narrative is more diverse than it might seem, as the five films I analyze deal with rape, and responses to rape, in very different ways. I will analyze female protagonists who act as social avengers and reclaim their agency by taking on society as a whole, female protagonists that confront the phenomenon of gang rape, and female protagonists who challenge the institutionalized system of male power.
","abstract_html":"<p>In this thesis, I will analyze five films that have a rape-revenge narrative: Ms. 45 (1981), M.F.A. (2017), I Spit on Your Grave (1978), I Spit on Your Grave (2010), and The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo (2011). I will argue that the violent actions taken by the female protagonist during her revenge against her rapist(s) serve to allow her to reclaim her agency that was stolen from her during the rape(s). I will show that the rape-revenge narrative is more diverse than it might seem, as the five films I analyze deal with rape, and responses to rape, in very different ways. I will analyze female protagonists who act as social avengers and reclaim their agency by taking on society as a whole, female protagonists that confront the phenomenon of gang rape, and female protagonists who challenge the institutionalized system of male power.</p>","abstract_has_math":false,"creators":["Connell, Marissa"],"institution":null,"degree_name":"Master of Arts (MA)","degree_level":"Open Access Thesis","degree_discipline":"Women's and Gender Studies","degree_department":null,"school":null,"contributors":["Deron Overpeck, Ph.D,","Abby Coykendall, Ph.D.","Melissa Jones, Ph.D."],"advisors":[],"committee_chairs":[],"committee_members":[],"year":2018,"date_issued":"2018-01-01T08:00:00Z","date_published":"2018-01-01T08:00:00Z","updated_at":"2026-07-24T02:17:27Z","subjects":["agency","female agency","rape","rape-revenge","rape-revenge films","Film and Media Studies","Women's Studies"],"languages":[],"rights":[],"rights_urls":[],"identifier_entries":[]},"links":{"outbound_url":"https://commons.emich.edu/theses/923","outbound_label":"Repository record","outbound_source":"dc:identifier"},"metadata_groups":[{"id":"people","label":"People","entries":[{"key":"dc:contributor","label":"Contributor","values":["Deron Overpeck, Ph.D,","Abby Coykendall, Ph.D.","Melissa Jones, Ph.D."]},{"key":"dc:creator","label":"Author","values":["Connell, Marissa"]}]},{"id":"academic_context","label":"Academic Context","entries":[{"key":"dc:date.available","label":"Dc Date Available","values":["2018-10-03T07:00:00Z"]},{"key":"thesis:degree_discipline","label":"Discipline","values":["Women's and Gender Studies"]},{"key":"thesis:degree_level","label":"Degree Level","values":["Open Access Thesis"]},{"key":"thesis:degree_name","label":"Degree Name","values":["Master of Arts (MA)"]}]},{"id":"subjects_keywords","label":"Subjects and Keywords","entries":[{"key":"dc:subject","label":"Dc Subject","values":["agency","female agency","rape","rape-revenge","rape-revenge films","Film and Media Studies","Women's Studies"]}]},{"id":"identifiers","label":"Identifiers","entries":[{"key":"dc:identifier","label":"Identifier","values":["https://commons.emich.edu/theses/923"]}]},{"id":"additional","label":"Additional Metadata","entries":[{"key":"dc:description.abstract","label":"Abstract","values":["In this thesis, I will analyze five films that have a rape-revenge narrative: Ms. 45 (1981), M.F.A. (2017), I Spit on Your Grave (1978), I Spit on Your Grave (2010), and The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo (2011). I will argue that the violent actions taken by the female protagonist during her revenge against her rapist(s) serve to allow her to reclaim her agency that was stolen from her during the rape(s). I will show that the rape-revenge narrative is more diverse than it might seem, as the five films I analyze deal with rape, and responses to rape, in very different ways. I will analyze female protagonists who act as social avengers and reclaim their agency by taking on society as a whole, female protagonists that confront the phenomenon of gang rape, and female protagonists who challenge the institutionalized system of male power.
"]},{"key":"dc:title","label":"Title","values":["Rape, revenge, reclamation: An analysis of female agency in American rape-revenge films"]}]}],"canonical_facts":{"dc:contributor":["Deron Overpeck, Ph.D,","Abby Coykendall, Ph.D.","Melissa Jones, Ph.D."],"dc:creator":["Connell, Marissa"],"dc:date.available":["2018-10-03T07:00:00Z"],"dc:description.abstract":["In this thesis, I will analyze five films that have a rape-revenge narrative: Ms. 45 (1981), M.F.A. (2017), I Spit on Your Grave (1978), I Spit on Your Grave (2010), and The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo (2011). I will argue that the violent actions taken by the female protagonist during her revenge against her rapist(s) serve to allow her to reclaim her agency that was stolen from her during the rape(s). I will show that the rape-revenge narrative is more diverse than it might seem, as the five films I analyze deal with rape, and responses to rape, in very different ways. I will analyze female protagonists who act as social avengers and reclaim their agency by taking on society as a whole, female protagonists that confront the phenomenon of gang rape, and female protagonists who challenge the institutionalized system of male power.
"],"dc:identifier":["https://commons.emich.edu/theses/923"],"dc:subject":["agency","female agency","rape","rape-revenge","rape-revenge films","Film and Media Studies","Women's Studies"],"dc:title":["Rape, revenge, reclamation: An analysis of female agency in American rape-revenge films"],"thesis:degree_discipline":["Women's and Gender Studies"],"thesis:degree_level":["Open Access Thesis"],"thesis:degree_name":["Master of Arts (MA)"]},"updated_at":"2026-07-24T02:17:27Z"}