Plenty of films have been screened in the Marty Theater this year, but the one shown this past Wednesday had a more explicit message.
If one had no background information they would think that they were about to watch a horror film, but this was about a different type of horror: relationship abuse.
“We find that during the college years is typically one’s first experience with domestic violence and with that relationship abuse,” Emily Panich, outreach counselor at Bradley University, said. “We find that if we can educate people, especially with films like ‘Escalation’ they can know those signs to look out for and can intervene and help their friends.”
The workshop was organized by the One Love Foundation, an organization dedicated to identifying what healthy and unhealthy relationships look like. The foundation started in honor of Yeardley Love, who was beaten to death by her boyfriend in May 2010.
Curated by Panich, she gave handouts with local and national resources for people who are in abusive relationships.
When asked why she picked the film, Panich explained that it gives an honest picture of an unhealthy relationship.
“I really loved this film because it gives us a portrayal of a relationship that online looks so great, but behind the scenes we’re seeing that it is very unhealthy,” Panich said. “And I think that holds true to a lot of students today.”
“Escalation” is a workshop that analyzes how abusive relationships form and how friends can identify the warning signs. The couple in the film, Chase and Paige, start out as a head-over- heels-in-love college couple that start to fall apart as Chase becomes more possessive and obsessive over Paige. At the end, the film showed the faces and names of people who died from abusive relationships, concluding with Yeardley Love.
The Q&A after this film allowed the audience open up about how they felt after watching it. Some felt devastated, while some were angry at the boyfriend for his actions.
“The film was definitely heavy.,” Rachel Notter, freshman political science and economics double major, said. “It is very disturbing to see that actually happen and to witness it firsthand like that.”
Additionally, Notter felt that she knew how to use her new knowledge on Bradley’s campus. She said that it was important to have conversations with friends about their relationships.
“I think it is really important to listen to what they are saying and maybe find that turning point,” Notter said. “They might say it’s fine and convince themselves that it’s fine. Maybe you should push further.”
