Can a rape victim fall in love with her attacker-Even on a Soap?

Backstory to this post: When I grew up, I watched soaps, mostly ABC soaps. Later on I got into Days of Our Lives and later some CBS ones. But the ABC Soaps are my bread and butter. I was about three when I started watching them with my dad who would always fall asleep leaving me to be enamored with stories that were way over my head.

One Life to Live , one of my soaps, did a groundbreaking and Emmy winning story about gang rape back in 1993. The story revolved around a young college student being raped by three frat brothers. The show portrayed a pretty graphic scene by network and daytime standards, followed the aftermath of the rape and its effect on the victim Marty, and her accusers, most pivotal the sadistic Todd. He tormented her and stalked her following the rape. Todd eventually became a fan favorite and was redeemed slowly over the years. All the time he and Marty ever interacted, Todd would treat her with a distant remorse while Marty always had the underlying disgust and contempt.

Now the characters are back in each other's orbit, Marty has lost her memory, and Todd is taking care of her, not telling of her life or the rape, and they are falling in love. The show is seriously selling this as a love story. Is a rapist and victim love story ever a good idea, even in daytime TV?

Looking back in history, soaps most famous couple started with rape. Luke and Laura, the 80's pop culture icons who put soaps on the map had a rocky start when Luke raped Laura at the campus disco. What was later called a "seduction" and piled under the rug in the 80's, was revisited in the 90's with amazing writing and acting by General Hospital. It was a story linking generations together as Luke and Laura's son was dealing with his best friend's rape, and repulsed to discover that was part of his parent's history, leading to a confrontation and first real conversation about the rape between daytime's supercouple.

So it might have worked for Luke and Laura, but that was the 80's, rape wasn't as publicized. That rape wasn't even dealt with onscreen. Todd was convicted of this rape, it haunted both characters for years. I guess viewer response is mixed as younger and newer viewers are positive and liking the romance, while longtime fans are outraged.

If a shows legacy in the past twenty years is most associated with this social conscious story, which was told so amazing the first time, now wants to go back and destroy it for ratings, what does that tell us about the state of television, and more specifically soaps?

Also, what message is the show sending to viewers, it's ok women, you get brutally raped and taunted about it afterwards, give them fifteen years, they have changed and just didn't know how to express their love then?

Religulous- Ridiculous, Brilliant, or both?

The new documentary by Bill Maher hasn't quite made the impact I was expecting it would, or the controversy I thought it would either. The film came out a few weeks ago and maybe with the Presidential election taking up all the media's time it is being overlooked.

The film defintitley has a point of view, one that it takes no time expressing. Maher's attack on religion is both hilarious and devious. Anyone who knows the comedian/political pundits humor will not be suprised with the verocity in which he attacks not only Christianity (although it is his prime target) but also Judaisism, Islam, and Scientology even gets a mention.

Part of what suprised me about the film is that they even got acsess to go to some of the locales they visited. Sure, Bill was kicked out of the Vatican and only got to stand outside a Mormon church in Utah for about a minute before the camera crew were shut down, but he stil got that far.

When Bill goes to visit the Holy Land Experience in Orlando, it is what I can only describe as Jesus Land. They have an actor who plays Jesus, who daily performs the last days. Maher's conversation with "Jesus" is lighthearted and comical untill, a PR person finally freaks out her actor is talking to heathen Maher. Funny that Maher and crew were there for so long before a PR person got wind of it.

Now, I'm sure there was some editing being done here, but you can't create soundbites out of nothing. Senator Pryor, of Arkansas, set himself up while after talking about his Christian faith and listening to Maher question how a smart, rationale person can believe in such nonsense and still be Senator, Pryor responds:"Well, you don't have to pass an IQ test to be Senator." Really?

Maher and director Larry Charles are masterminds and interjecting funny clips from old films and for Maher's ability to flow the interview and prod while also seemingly playing along with the interviewee. My favorite example of this is when talking to reformed gay minister, all the while making quips about his attractiveness and subtly flirting while Brokeback Mountain's theme song plays.

Maher is smarmy and arrogant sure, but he is sharp, lets his counterparts make fools of themselves, and keeps us laughing along at them.