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Review: 'The Hunting Ground' a devastating look at rape on campus (w/video)

 
The documentary identifies four reasons why sexual abuse is so prevalent on college campuses.
The documentary identifies four reasons why sexual abuse is so prevalent on college campuses.
Published March 31, 2015

The Hunting Ground (R) (90 min.) — Kirby Dick's documentary begins with a montage of jubilant high school seniors, learning they're accepted to the college of their dreams and, in some cases, nightmares. Nearly one in five female students will be sexually assaulted before graduating, and practically all their attackers will get away with it, in a campus culture of indulgence, entitlement and unconscionable neglect.

The Hunting Ground examines this sorry state of affairs with the chilling precision of Dick's earlier works, forming an unofficial trilogy of institutionalized sexual abuse in the military (The Invisible War) and the Catholic church (Twist of Faith). He lays out shocking statistics and harrowing accounts of victims violated twice, first by fellow students, then by administrators not pressing the issue in order to maintain a marketable image. Nobody pays tuition to attend a college known for its rapes.

Two victims who refused to be ignored are placed center stage, Andrea Pino and Annie Clark, who create End Rape on Campus, an organization using Title IX complaints about unfair treatment of women. Typically used to enforce athletic equality, Title IX violations can lead to colleges losing federal funds, making the women's effort part of a solution. Dick digs deeper, though, identifying four reasons why sexual abuse is so prevalent on campuses.

One is a relatively unchecked fraternity culture, which goes hand-in-hand with drug and alcohol abuses. What shocks is the anecdotal evidence of universities sweeping rape allegations under the rug, and campus police dragging their feet.

Which brings us to the film's fourth identified cause: star athletes and their boosters accusing victims of lying to cash in, when in fact only about 11 percent of all cases are proven to be made up. Dick's prime example involves Jameis Winston, Florida State University's Heisman Trophy winner and the possible No. 1 draft pick of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. The filmmaker snagged the first public statements from Winston's accuser, Erica Kinsman of Zephyrhills, who describes a violent 2012 encounter with the football star, whom she later recognized as a classmate.

That claim's subsequent investigation is questioned by Dick for its completeness. As in most of its examples, The Hunting Ground is squarely on the side of victims, which might be considered unfair except the deck has been stacked against them for so long. This is a story to make blood boil and change demanded, so future waves of incoming freshmen — even that term is male-centric — won't have their dreams ruined. A- (Opens Sunday at Tampa Theatre only.)

Steve Persall, Times movie critic