‘The Nightingale’ Director Jennifer Kent Calls Out ‘Unconscious Bias’ Over Violent Rape Scenes

In an interview with TheWrap, Jennifer Kent wonders whether the violent imagery and rape scenes in her film “The Nightingale” would receive the same level of scrutiny if it was directed by a man. Following “The Nightingale’s” Australian premiere in Sydney this June, The Telegraph and Australia’s News.com.au reported that several moviegoers walked out of the theater, quoting one woman as saying, “She’s already been raped, we don’t need to see it again.” Kent told TheWrap reports of mass walkouts were “exaggerated,” and she said that shortly after such reports surfaced, she watched a string of recent films all directed by men, all of them more violent than “The Nightingale,” but none that received backlash. “And so I thought, hang on, what is this? What’s going on? I can’t help but think there is some unconscious bias in regards to what a woman should be writing about and what a woman’s story should be,” Kent said. “It’s very expected for men to deal in the realm of violence, and it’s not expected for women to have these stories to tell. Which makes me sad, but also very proud that I pushed through and made it.” Also Read: Venice Festival Juror...