abuse Tagged Articles at Cinematical

We're used to seeing women in peril on the big screen every day; Mary Sues, damsels in distress, call it what you want -- but the sad truth is that for most women, being victimized isn't just limited to the box office. The recent events surrounding Rhianna and Chris Brown have brought the issue of domestic abuse into the spotlight once again, and the disturbing fact remains that most young girls still have some very strange ideas about what constitutes abuse. So while most celebrities don't like to be role models (because they need role models themselves), it's nice to see someone in 'Young Hollywoood' take a stand. Keira Knightley is now starring in a PSA that will be shown on TV and in theaters in the UK about domestic violence for the charity Women's Aid.

The ad has Knightley leaving the set to come home to a jealous and abusive boyfriend, as the abuse continues you see the camera pull away with the tag line, "Isn't it time someone called cut?" as you hear Knightley screaming in the background. The shocking (but highly effective) spot was directed by Joe Wright, who directed Atonement and Pride and Prejudice with Knightley and everyone involved devoted their time for free for the PSA. The ad will begin airing in the UK on April 6th, with an extended version shown in theaters in front of over 15 films.

Do Wright and Knightley take things too far here in depicting domestic violence, or do you feel it's necessary to take things to a very nasty place in order to get the message across?

Buddhist actor Keanu Reeves has women's groups up in arms over an interview with Playboy Magazine in which he discussed domestic violence. In the interview, Reeves was discussing the 2000 film The Gift, in which he starred opposite Hilary Swank as an abusive husband and said, "By the way, I also learned a bit of...well, some of the ladies don't mind it. A part of me was afraid of my violent side."

Great googly-mooglies. That, honestly, has to be one of the dumbest things a big-name Hollywood star has said in a long time. Geez, Keanu, with an attitude like that, perhaps you should just skip trying to date women and just start bopping them upside the head with your big club and dragging them off to your man-cave. The thing is, I can kinda-sorta see where he's coming from - perhaps he just meant that there are women who are in abusive relationships because they've been conditioned from low self-esteem and abusive childhoods to believe that abuse equals love. That's not really the same thing as not "minding" being hit, though, is it?  The quote is doubly perplexing given that Reeves is a Buddhist, and Buddhism is specifically a non-violent religion.