The Hunting Ground poster

The Hunting Ground(2015)

dir. Kirby Dick

Campuses that bury rape to protect the brand.

Where to watch: Free on Kanopy, Hoopla, Tubi, Plex; rent $3.99 (JustWatch US)Letterboxd ↗

Kirby Dick follows several US college students who say their schools buried their reports of rape, and the two survivors who started a national network to fight back. The film interviews administrators, athletes, and Title IX officers, and builds a case that campuses protect their reputations before their students. Amy Ziering produced it.

Why it’s here

The film shows how a school's incentives turn a crime report into a PR problem. What's punk is the survivors organizing across campuses. What's pedagogical is learning what Title IX is and how a report is supposed to move. Note: some specific claims in the film were challenged after release, and it was distributed by The Weinstein Company, so read it alongside Roll Red Roll and Sexual Citizens. Heavy subject matter.