I cannot believe I missed this episode; I’m ridiculous, lol. So, everyone was buzzing about an upcoming Law & Order: SVU episode that appeared to be very closely based on Rihanna and Chris Brown‘s… um… relationship. The episode finally aired Wednesday night and yeah. It was def about RiRi and Chris. I didn’t catch it, but they’ve just released a clip. I’m sure it’ll be re-running soon, so I’m gonna try to watch the full episode when it airs again. There’s some discussion about whether or not such an episode should have been made, but I can’t comment until I watch the whole thing. I love SVU, and I actually don’t take issue with them taking on the story. Peep the video for more!
I haven’t watched a single episode of SVU this season (had to cut back; toooo manyyyy showssss) but I somehow managed to catch this. I had no idea what this week’s show was even supposed to be about. It was simultaneously good and awful and hilarious. SVU is always over the top when it comes to certain characters, and this was no exception. It was obvious immediately that it was based on Chris Brown and Rihanna. They even used them as a comparison early on in the show.
I have no issue with the episode being made. SVU has been doing that for years. I never really comment on CB and RiRi posts, becuse frankly, I just don’t care. I think she is an idiot, but it’s not worth my time. That said, I couldn’t pass this one up.
Definitely let us know your thoughts, Shannon. Can’t wait to hear your persepctive.
Also, #beefcookie.
I would say you definitely should watch it! It is hilarious that they didn’t even try and make it subtle that it was about Chris Brown and Rihanna! The character’s name in the show has the initials C.B. I’ve loved Law and Order SVU for years and they touch on every subject, so I am glad they took on this domestic violence issue in order to show the vicious cycle and dangers. Let us know what you think!
I watched this on my DVR last night.. I mean it was good.. but it was also a little tasteless.. Everyone is so up in arms she is taking this guy back and yatta yatta but its ok to exploit the domestic violence for tv ratings? I dunno, it just didnt sit well with me completely lol on one side i loved it, that would be the side that loves seeing a new lilo mugshot, but my moral side def thinks it was a lil too much.. if you didnt hate chris brown before you DEFINATELY will despise him by the time the episode is over.
PS: #beefcookie
@marcus_em
Is it exploitative to re-tell the story and get people to think about this issue of domestic violence again? I haven’t seen the episode so I don’t know how they treated it, but based on other SVU episodes I’ve seen they are going for the opposite effect.
Unfortunately, research has shown that about half of women who leave abusive relationships eventually return to the batterer. There are a variety of reasons including the continued emotional attachment (love can be a hard thing to battle), the batterer promising to seek counseling, the batterer expressing his remorse, and economic need.
The other finding has been that women are more likely to think OTHER women will return but that THEY will not. It’s called optimism bias.
So maybe instead of saying how dumb Rihanna is and judging the shit out of her, it is time to target our efforts towards figuring how to prevent 50% of women from going back to their abuser. It’s more common than you think.
Thank goodness the House passed the Violence Against Women Act this week to include ALL women in the U.S.
Refer to:
Griffing, S. (2002). Domestic Violence Survivors’ Self-Identified Reasons for Returning to Abusive Relationships. Journal of Interpersonal Violence. (17)3, 306-319
Chris Brown and Rihanna’s whole deal is annoying, but as annoying as they both are. Keeping silent and saying “I’m over it” is worse than talking it to death. This culture of silence over important issues needs to stop. When we stop talking about it and shrugging out shoulders, what does that say to young women? The consensus is that Rihanna is stupid, but how does that help? How does ending it with Rihanna is dumb impact the thousands of young women who idolize her regardless? We all have a responsibility to keep the dialogue going.
As for SVU, I say good for them. I haven’t seen the episode, but as long as they treated the topic properly instead of simply for ratings I’m all for it. They have done ‘ripped from the headlines’ episodes before and they are good about discussing the issues within an episode from multiple angles.