There's a Sexual Assault Scene in Marty Supreme. What Is It Teaching Boys?

There’s a scene in the back half of Marty Supreme that, no matter what way you slice it, can only be considered sexual assault.

In the scene, which has been much-talked-about online, Timothée Chalamet’s Marty is forced to drop his pants and take a paddle to his butt in exchange for a job from wealthy businessman Milton Rockwell, played by Kevin O’Leary.

Marty Supreme, Josh Safdie’s awards season frontrunner, which won Chalamet a Golden Globe on January 11, is a fast-paced comedy-drama about how selfishness permeates a capitalistic society, and how man’s desire for power proves to be futile. In the movie, Marty Mauser, an aspiring table tennis player, commits fraud, steals, and cons his way to sports fame, autonomy, and financial freedom.

The paddle scene comes after a series of failures, which leave Marty with no choice but to beg Rockwell for an offer he previously refused: a staged exhibition match with his Japanese table tennis rival, Koto Endo, which Rockwell wants Marty to lose. 

In desperation, Marty approaches him again and asks to perform the match. Rockwell is hell-bent on demeaning Marty, who once made comments about his dead son. Thus, Rockwell utilizes his power in the situation to commit sexual assault. He smacks Marty’s butt with a paddle in front of a group of his associates, who laugh as they watch a visibly shaken Marty.

There is no further discussion about what can only be described as sexual assault.

What do we take from a graphic depiction of sexual assault on screen? Given that we know that depicting the violent, brutal act can retraumatize survivors, is there anything that Marty Supreme teaches us to make the depiction worthwhile?

The movie accurately showed that sexual assault is about devaluation and a demonstration of power. It is an attempt to humiliate and control someone to the highest degree.

Marty Supreme also accurately portrays the insidious ways some men desire to destroy and humiliate the people around them. But the movie stops short of calling it what it is. Sexual assault is never mentioned. It is an act of violence left unattended in the movie.

Thanks in large part to a high-profile social media campaign spearheaded by Chalamet, Gen Z men have been flocking to movie theaters to see Marty Supreme. What do they take from this scene? 

Marty does not receive help after his sexual assault, nor is it mentioned again. The movie does not delve into the psychological effects of the harm committed. His distress is shown on his face, but no other repercussions are shown.

Sexual assault is so prevalent, and graphic portrayals of assault with no further analysis desensitize audiences to the effects of the violation. The more it is glossed over in TV and shows, the more the general population believes this is an acceptable way to treat other humans.