Víctor Gaviria’s Mujer del animal and the Banality of Violence against Women

Abstract

Abstract:This article explores violence against Colombian women in Víctor Gaviria’s 2016 film La mujer del animal. The plight of women comes into view in cases of domestic abuse, the apathy of an indifferent society, and in popular language that condones gendered aggression. The raw depiction of relentless oppression in La mujer del animal urges reflection on the normalization of mistreatment and societal collaboration. Rather than putting all blame on the tormentor himself, Gaviria’s film condemns the complicit community as the real evil responsible for forging intergenerational patterns of abusive behaviors. Moreover, the article argues that Gaviria’s mode of presentation—a realistic portrayal of violence deemed excessive by some commentators—is dismissed by them in the same way real-life gender violence continues to be ignored by institutions and communities alike.