The Documentary The Hunting Ground By Kirby Dick

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The documentary The Hunting Ground by Kirby Dick was created specifically to spread awareness of the vast problem of sexual assault on college campuses and to try to show that the problem needs to be solved. The creator wanted those struggling with their sexual assault and the unfair treatment they were exposed to, as well as anyone who may have to go through sexual assault in the future, to know that the problem of sexual assault that universities tried to hide in the dark is finally being given the spotlight they deserve. The spark of this idea of the documentary was the many stories of survivors across the nation from many different universities, specifically the story of Annie and Andrea who helped other survivors get the justice they deserve. …show more content…

Different percentages, numbers and facts are used throughout the documentary for this reason. Some of these percentage logos appeals include 16% of all college women are sexually assaulted (9:04), 88% of sexual assaults are not reported (12:23), only 2-8% of reports are false allegations (19:01), 8% of men in college commit 90% of sexual assaults (26:15), and 4% of college men are student-athletes and they commit 19% of college sexual assaults. Some numbers and facts that relate to logos include the number of reports colleges receive compared to the number of expulsions or suspensions related to sexual assault (20:25-21:15) and punishments that men accused of sexual assault dealt with (34:55-36:35). All of these numbers support the accusation that many schools cover the problem or do not give the credit the problem deserves. By showing punishments for being caught for sexual assault was being suspended over summer vacation or being given a warning (34:55-36:35), the film creates anger in the viewer and shows how seriously the colleges take this problem, which is to say they barely register it as a problem at all. By showing the fact that the University of Virginia had 205 reports of sexual assault, but 0 expulsions for the same problem, yet 138 expulsions for cheating (20:25-21:15), it shows the unjust and unfair system the …show more content…

This story is the backbone of the documentary, all other survivor experiences, and facts that are given branch off originally from the story of Annie and Andrea, a continuous story that is meant to connect to pathos. Annie and Andrea’s story is the main example of this tactic, the film begins with their story, then later tells parts of it at various times in the middle of the documentary and ends the entire production by revealing the end of their story. At first Annie and Andrea both share their stories of surviving sexual assault as well as their experiences of victim blaming (5:15-8:22), then goes on later in the film to talk about how they filed a Title 9 complaint against the school and the struggles they went through dealing with that (44:09-45:20), then shows the two girls listening to case after case of sexual assault, mapping them out on a map to show the size of the epidemic (52:27-57:41). Finally, the film is ended with how Annie and Andrea went across the country teaching survivors at different schools how to file a Title 9 complaint, ending on a hopeful note both figuratively and literally, since hopeful music was playing during this time (1:31:05-1:40:40). The purpose of showing Annie and Andrea’s story was to give a structured direction of the information given in the documentary and to give hope in a solution. By showing that there was a