The Hunting Ground

Kirby Dick's incendiary follow-up to The Invisible War (VL-11/12) unfortunately premiered during a press scandal in which Rolling Stone magazine retracted a story about on-campus rape at the University of Virginia when it was discovered that the principal victim turned out to be lying. Regardless, this documentary—co-directed by Amy Ziering—offers a blistering exposé of how sexual violence has always been part of the college experience. But today there is a chilling addendum: universities are so money-hungry that they resist expelling known sex predators—especially if the violators are student athletes crucial to sports success/largesse, or members of powerful fraternities. Meanwhile, rape victims (including males) find themselves facing both unsympathetic campus law enforcement and open hostility from peers (particularly when a BMOC football hero is accused here). And the pathology even extends to liberal bastions such as Harvard and Berkeley (whose current faculty refused interviews). The Hunting Ground names names in breathtaking fashion, and if any flagrantly false note appears here, it is—sadly—the stated hope that this situation will change anytime soon. Featuring interviews with writers including Danielle Dirks and Caitlin Flanagan, this is an eye-opening documentary that makes a fine companion to Jon Krakauer's recent bestselling book Missoula: Rape and the Justice System in a College Town. Highly recommended. Aud: C, P. (C. Cassady)