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Gratuitous Rape: Difference between revisions
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{{trope}}
{{quote| ''
Gratuitous Rape is [[Exactly What It Says On the Tin]] - a pointless rape scene usually happening [[Big Lipped Alligator Moment|for little to no reason]]. Did the [[Big Bad]] defeat [[The Hero]]? Rape. Did a whole bunch of [[Mooks]] gang up on [[The Hero]] at once? Rape. Does the angsty [[The Lancer|Lancer]] have childhood issues? [[Rape As Backstory|It was because he was raped.]] Is [[The Hero]] going up against a foe that has [[Mind Manipulation]] powers?
[[Mind Rape]] THEN rape. Did [[The Hero]] defeat the [[Big Bad]]? Rape - [[Out of Character|Wait,]] [[Canon Defilement|WHAT]]?!
There are many guesses as to why [[Gratuitous Rape]] is used so much. To name a few, rape makes for good [[Rape As Drama|drama]], it can show a villain as [[Rape Is a Special Kind of Evil|very, very, evil]], or it can be used for just plain ol' [[Fan Service]]. What some creators forget, however, is that rape is a sensitive subject and therefore rape scenes should be handled with care. When unskilled hands insist on shoehorning rape somewhere into their work, THIS happens. This is a common cliche in [[Fan Works]], but professional works are no stranger to it, either.
A good indicator as to whether or not rape is gratuitous is if:
* The rape scene(s) can be taken out entirely and not affect the plot
* The plot actually makes ''more sense'' if the rape scene(s) is replaced by something else (e.g. torture, or just [[Kill Him Already|Killing Him Already]]). This one is usually apparent from the [[Fridge Logic]] it causes.
* The rape scene(s) relies on [[Bad Writing Index|bad writing tropes]] such as [[Character Derailment]] (the [[Big Bad]] just forgets his usual ''modus operandi'' of killing quickly and efficiently and just rapes everything that has an orifice) or an [[Idiot Plot]] (the [[Mooks]] stop to rape a wounded hero as they are [[[[Too Dumb to Live]] being shot at by the other
heroes]]).
Note that this trope is NOT complaining about the use of rape in a work, just the unnecessary rape scenes ([[[[Tropes Are Tools]] and we're not always complaining either]] in the case of parodies). Before posting an example, ask yourself if the scene was at all relevant to the plot, [[Fridge Logic]] would be fixed if it was replaced, or if it only exists due to lazy writing. As usual, [[Your Mileage May Vary]].
Contrast [[Coitus Ensues]], a pointless but consensual sex scene.
'''[[No Real Life Examples, Please]]'''
{{examples|Examples}}
== Anime and Manga ==
* Generally a common staple in [[Hentai]], particularly of the "tentacle porn" variety.
* ''[[Berserk]]'' has been accused of this. Rape happens a ''lot'' in the [[Crapsack World]] of this series, and many of the major characters (particularly if they're female) have had to deal with at least one attempted -- or successful -- rape during their lives. It doesn't really
help that the nastier villains, particularly many Apostles, are fond of the crime in general.
* ''[[Okane ga Nai]]'' has Ayase frequently subjected to this.
* ''[[Hen]]'' has a rape subplot that's so gratuitous it falls into [[Big Lipped Alligator Moment]] territory. It comes out of nowhere, has no plot relevance, is never mentioned again, and the victim just blows it off and doesn't seem at all affected by the experience.
* In the ''[[Zeorymer]]'' manga Masaki could have explained his sinister plan to Miku without raping her, but he rapes her anyway. {{spoiler|[[Narm|With an icicle]].}}
* ''[[Sanctuary (Manga)|Sanctuary]]'' tries to play with Tokai habit of raping random women as [[Fan Service]] or [[Black Comedy Rape]], but its always so pointless that makes you dislike the character even if you liked him before.
== Comics ==
* Sleez forcing a mind-controlled Big Barda to star in porn movies in ''[[Action Comics]]'' #593. He almost did it to Superman, too. (How creepy was Sleeze and this story? Sleeze was kicked out of [[[[Polluted Wasteland]] Apokalips]] by [[God of Evil|Darkseid]] [[[[Even Evil Has Standards]] for being too creepy]].)
** When it was featured on ''[[Atop the Fourth Wall (Web Video)|Atop the Fourth Wall]]'', Linkara cited the page quote.
* Infamously, ''[[Identity Crisis]]'' created the [[Retcon]] of Dr. Light raping Sue Dibny in The Watchtower, and worse, we only found out about it ''after'' Sue had been murdered and its only purpose was to motivate the heroes into crossing into [[[[Moral Dissonance]] very questionable territory]]. And worse, the entire rape plot turns out to be [[spoiler:a [[Red Herring]] when it comes to the central murder mystery.
== Fanfics ==
* The infamous ''[[Power Rangers]]'' fanfic ''Agony In Pink'' mainly focused on [[Gorn]], but this eventually happened, too.
* In the [[Old Shame|old version]] of ''A Sorceror, a Demon, and Emeralds'', a corrupted [[Sonic the Hedgehog]] rapes anything that's not nailed down. Including [[Squick|Robotnik.]]
* The sex scenes in the ''[[Naruto]]'' fanfic ''For Your Eyes Only'' are mostly this or of very dubious consent. To add insult to injury, it's all portrayed as "cute."
* The titular character is (very briefly) raped by orcs in ''[[Legolas By Laura (Fanfic)|Legolas By Laura]]''. At the end of the story, Legolas reveals that [[Rape As Backstory|was he was, too]].
* [[Rouge Angles of Satin|Snap-I mean-Snoop-I mean-Snake-I mean-Snape's]] wacky attempts to rap-I mean-rape Draco in ''[[My Immortal]]''.
* Most of the fics by the infamous [[So Bad It's Good]] ''[[Gundam Wing]]'' author Sephiroth. Her most famous one is about a panther raping Duo and him [[Mister Seahorse|giving birth]] to [[Petting Zoo People|catgirls]].
* Pretty much everything by PRED. But one would expect this from a guy who likes to call himself "The World's Biggest Misogynist."
* Some [[Fan Fics]] pretty much ARE this trope:
** ''Celebrian''
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** ''Naga Eyes''. Vore Ensues too.
** ''New Beginnings''
** ''[[Sailor Moon]]: The Coming of Munihausen''. Then again, being a crossover with ''Urotsukidouji'', one would expect this to happen.
** ''Rectified Anonymity'' (aka "The Pokemon Story")
* ''[[Naruto Veangance Revelaitons]]'' mostly focuses on [[Coitus Ensues]], but sometimes (like when Sakura gets knocked out) this happened.
* ''Hogwarts Exposed'' has [[Gratuitous Rape]], Gratuitous [[Attempted Rape]] and [[Rule of Three|Gratuitous]] [[[[Easy Amnesia]] "I Can't Remember What Happened; What If I Was Raped?"]] in the course of the first fic.
* In ''[[In This World and The Next (Fanfic)|In This World and The Next]]'', Harry and Hermione kill [[Ron the Death Eater]] because he raped her. Any number of other things could
have (to paraphrase the page quote) filled the same function, and might not have opened the enormous [[Plot Hole]] that this did.
* A lot, and we do mean ''a lot'' of [[Hetalia]] fanfics are all about this trope. The [[Kink Meme]] is a goldmine for these, and the basis for a majority of the [[Ron the Death Eater]] characterizations the characters are subjected to.
== Film ==
* As one might expect, this is a common staple in porn and [[Exploitation Film]]s
* The alien parasite showing a drill/tentacle-like appendage up the heroine's vagina in the theatrical version of ''Meatball Machine''. This scene was not in the original independent film.
* In ''[[Showgirls]]'', Molly is beaten and raped by her client...''just before she was about to have consensual sex with him''! One ''could'' guess that raping was his kink, but it still came right out of nowhere.
* The infamous "snowman rape scene" from the [[Slasher Movie]] ''[[Jack Frost 1997 (Film)|Jack Frost 1997]]''. Jack brutally kills everybody else but stops to rape the teenage girl taking a bath.
** With a likely dose of [[Old Shame]] for Shannon Elizabeth, the actress who played the girl in question.
* The rape scenes in ''[[The Hills Have Eyes]]'', though the sequel to the remake tries to justify it by explaining the mutant numbers are low, and they needed normal people for breeding purposes.
* The random attempted rape in ''[[Friday the 13th (Film)|Friday the 13th]] Part VIII: Jason Takes Manhattan''... fortunately, Jason shows up to dispatch the would-be attacker.
* The random [[Attempted Rape]] in the [[Sarah Michelle Gellar]] film ''The Return''.
* In ''[[Evil Dead]]'', the infamous "tree rape" scene was so completely unneeded in the movie, and added so much to its controversy, that director Sam Raimi deeply, deeply regrets including it. In ''Evil Dead 2'', which recreates many of the same situations as the first movie, the evil trees simply ''kill'' their victim instead.
* A triple rape occurs in ''Naked Weapon'', with only the [[[[Excuse Plot]] weakest of excuses]] that the perpetrators are teaching the girls an "important" life lesson.
* ''The Condemned'' contains a scene where one of the characters is [[Forced to Watch]] as his wife gets raped and then murdered. This adds nothing to the plot whatsoever, and is just needless ugliness.
== Literature ==
* One especially grotesque example can be found in the third book of Gloria Tesch's [[Maradonia Saga]]. Quote: "The false monk Larivier had drugged Krimhilda. He now used his manhood and took advantage of her as darkness fell over Notali, the city of evil." (page 349)
* Frequently seen in the books of [[Danielle Steel]], mostly done in the style of [[Break the Cutie]] or [[Kick the Dog]]. However, at least one example was a perfect demonstration of the first scenario--the [[Mary Sue|heroine]] was already grappling with her daughter's near-fatal car accident, her husband's infidelity, and her [[My Beloved Smother|overbearing mother]]. So of course, it turns out that she was sexually abused by her father.
* [[Sidney Sheldon]] liked to throw this in too.
* Many people think that ''[[A Song of Ice and Fire]]'' suffers from this. It's definitely part of what makes Westeros such a [[Crapsack World]].
* The ''[[Heralds of Valdemar|Last-Herald Mage]]'' trilogy has a lengthy sequence near the finale where the hero is captured and gang-raped by some [[Mook|mooks]]. It affects the plot not at all.
* Terry Goodkind's [[Sword of Truth]] series contains ''colossal'' amounts of rape and [[Attempted Rape]], very little of it necessary to the plot. At one point, one of the female characters is even thrown to a pit full of rapists, where the expected happens.
== Live Action TV ==
* [[Game of Thrones]] has a scene where Khal Drogo rapes Danaerys on their wedding night, in a completely different turn from what happened in the book.
* David Morse's saintly doctor on ''[[St Elsewhere]]'' was a victim of Gratuitous Gay Rape.
* The ''[[Titanic (TV)|Titanic]]'' miniseries includes a scene where a third-class girl is raped in the shower by [[Tim Curry|an evil steward.]]
* Within one calendar year (2005), so many characters on the soap opera ''[[Passions]]'' were raped that it was known as "The Year of the Rapes". Adding insult to injury, only one of these stories was handled even remotely seriously or realistically (the victim dressed shabbily
and could not bear to be touched). All other victims went on with their lives as though nothing had happened.
* ''[[Rome]]'' has a few. Marc Antony memorably pauses his army's march back to Rome so he could stop and rape a shepherd girl by the side of the road.
** Mark Antony [[Anything That Moves|being Mark Antony]], this was probably [[Truth in Television]].
== Tabletop Games ==
* ''[[FATAL (Tabletop Game)|FATAL]]'' gives players plenty of opportunities to engage in this, since rape is usually not even considered a crime in its universe.
* A common criticism of ''[[Cthulhu Tech]]'' is that there's just a teeeeensy bit too much rape in the fluff. At least one of the writers appeared on rpgnet and spent quite some time explaining that there really wasn't ''that'' much rape in it given its reputation, but fans will be fans.
== Web Comics ==
* [[Discussed Trope|Discussed]] in ''[[Something Positive]]''. Davan sends a rejection letter to the writer of a bad play which reads "A better title for your play would be ''Rape-Rape: A Tale of Rapening''. Also, your next play should have a little less rape in it."
== Video Games ==
* Obviously a staple of [[H-game|H-Games]].
** Often, visual novel creators turn their works into
* ''Custer's Revenge'' is one big #3 with Custer attempting to rape a woman while [[Too Dumb to Live|arrows are raining down on him]]!
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[[Category:Bad Writing Index]]
[[Category:Porn Tropes]]
[[Category:Gratuitous Rape
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