Celebrity, Scriptedness and Alleged Sexual Violence in Ghost-Written Autobiographies by Julian Assange and Samantha Geimer
This article explores issues relating to the way scripts of sexual violence are employed or rejected in auto/biographical writing. It addresses ghost-written autobiographical responses to two famously unresolved cases of alleged male–female rape: those of Julian Assange and Roman Polanski. In both c...
Main Author: | |
---|---|
Format: | Article |
Language: | English |
Published: |
University of Groningen Press
2015-05-01
|
Series: | European Journal of Life Writing |
Subjects: | |
Online Access: | https://ejlw.eu/article/view/31450 |
id |
doaj-f8499b60c0cd44f6abd02327604816cc |
---|---|
record_format |
Article |
spelling |
doaj-f8499b60c0cd44f6abd02327604816cc2020-11-25T02:46:58ZengUniversity of Groningen PressEuropean Journal of Life Writing2211-243X2015-05-014VC85VC10710.5463/ejlw.4.15931450Celebrity, Scriptedness and Alleged Sexual Violence in Ghost-Written Autobiographies by Julian Assange and Samantha GeimerEdward Saunders0Ludwig Boltzmann Institute for the History and Theory of Biography, ViennaThis article explores issues relating to the way scripts of sexual violence are employed or rejected in auto/biographical writing. It addresses ghost-written autobiographical responses to two famously unresolved cases of alleged male–female rape: those of Julian Assange and Roman Polanski. In both cases, the alleged perpetrator was a famous man and the allegation of rape has not conclusively been proven in court. The article looks at rape as a narratological problem beyond the definition or symbolic meaning of the crime, and contrasts the narration from the perspective of an alleged perpetrator (Assange) with that of a victim (Samantha Geimer), addressing the way the act of sexual violence becomes a point of orientation in the lives of both – perhaps disproportionately so. In both cases, the management of the autobiographical account through the use of ghost-writers focuses attention on the constructed nature of the life narrative. In cases relating to famous men, reflecting the impact of media reporting is a necessary counterpart to the consideration of the auto/biographical text.https://ejlw.eu/article/view/31450sexual violencecelebrityscriptedness |
collection |
DOAJ |
language |
English |
format |
Article |
sources |
DOAJ |
author |
Edward Saunders |
spellingShingle |
Edward Saunders Celebrity, Scriptedness and Alleged Sexual Violence in Ghost-Written Autobiographies by Julian Assange and Samantha Geimer European Journal of Life Writing sexual violence celebrity scriptedness |
author_facet |
Edward Saunders |
author_sort |
Edward Saunders |
title |
Celebrity, Scriptedness and Alleged Sexual Violence in Ghost-Written Autobiographies by Julian Assange and Samantha Geimer |
title_short |
Celebrity, Scriptedness and Alleged Sexual Violence in Ghost-Written Autobiographies by Julian Assange and Samantha Geimer |
title_full |
Celebrity, Scriptedness and Alleged Sexual Violence in Ghost-Written Autobiographies by Julian Assange and Samantha Geimer |
title_fullStr |
Celebrity, Scriptedness and Alleged Sexual Violence in Ghost-Written Autobiographies by Julian Assange and Samantha Geimer |
title_full_unstemmed |
Celebrity, Scriptedness and Alleged Sexual Violence in Ghost-Written Autobiographies by Julian Assange and Samantha Geimer |
title_sort |
celebrity, scriptedness and alleged sexual violence in ghost-written autobiographies by julian assange and samantha geimer |
publisher |
University of Groningen Press |
series |
European Journal of Life Writing |
issn |
2211-243X |
publishDate |
2015-05-01 |
description |
This article explores issues relating to the way scripts of sexual violence are employed or rejected in auto/biographical writing. It addresses ghost-written autobiographical responses to two famously unresolved cases of alleged male–female rape: those of Julian Assange and Roman Polanski. In both cases, the alleged perpetrator was a famous man and the allegation of rape has not conclusively been proven in court. The article looks at rape as a narratological problem beyond the definition or symbolic meaning of the crime, and contrasts the narration from the perspective of an alleged perpetrator (Assange) with that of a victim (Samantha Geimer), addressing the way the act of sexual violence becomes a point of orientation in the lives of both – perhaps disproportionately so. In both cases, the management of the autobiographical account through the use of ghost-writers focuses attention on the constructed nature of the life narrative. In cases relating to famous men, reflecting the impact of media reporting is a necessary counterpart to the consideration of the auto/biographical text. |
topic |
sexual violence celebrity scriptedness |
url |
https://ejlw.eu/article/view/31450 |
work_keys_str_mv |
AT edwardsaunders celebrityscriptednessandallegedsexualviolenceinghostwrittenautobiographiesbyjulianassangeandsamanthageimer |
_version_ |
1724755484545646592 |