Romanticisation of Non-consensual Sex: Reevaluating Cinema’s Responsibility in Rape Culture in the Case of 365 Days

Abstract

365 Days was directed by Polish directors Barbara Bialowas and Tomasz Mandes in 2020. It describes how a woman, Laura, was abducted by mafia boss Massimo when on a trip to Sicily. More specifically, films such as 365 Days include scenes where the existence of mutual consent is either ambiguous or lacking. We aim to criticize this construction of a problematic fantasy where the lack of sexual autonomy is romanticized because of its social implications, especially for spectators lacking sexual education. In doing so, we start with an analysis of scenes in the movie 365 Days and an exploration of the extent to which romanticisation of ambiguous sexual consent exists in the scenes. A literature review of topics surrounding our debate precludes our discussion. We scaffold our argument by exploring topics including legal consent, fantasies, sublimation, and social science experiments on the implications of fantasies. This paper shows awareness of the argument on the accountability of fantasies and thoughts by exploring relevant literature and, ultimately, a discussion surrounding the topic. In our discussion, there is not only an exploration of the responsibility of cinema and fantasies, as previously stated, but also how the romanticisation of ambiguous or non-consensual sex is problematic in the context of 365 Days and the industrialization of sex in cinema, media, and culture. This paper uses cinematic techniques to analyze sex scenes in the film, feminist ideals, psychodynamic theories, legal definitions, and social science experiments to construct an argument condemning the romanticisation of non-consensual and vague sex in cinema and the perpetuation of rape culture.