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"The Aftermath"
American Crime episode
Episode no.	Season 2 Episode 8
Directed by	Kimberly Peirce
Written by	Keith Huff
Original air date	February 24, 2016

"The Aftermath" is the eighth episode of season two of the ABC television series American Crime. It was written by executive producer Keith Huff and directed by Kimberly Peirce.

Plot

In the beginning of episode eight we see the school mourning the death of Wes after Taylor had shot him. Meanwhile, Taylor is being held in custody. With Taylor in custody, attorneys and Anne are figuring out what to do next in regards to the trial. Sebastian, the internet hacker, takes a trip to Indianapolis to help Anne with case and to finally put Leyland High down. In the previous episode we find out that Becca had sold Taylor drugs prior to the shooting. Becca makes a startling confession to her father Dan after Taylor was arrested. Eric's mother, Lilah, takes action in taking Peter away from Eric and Curt due to her homophobia against Eric. During the episode, we see that Eric and Kevin are in a heated argument about the guys on the team beating up Taylor and that resulted in the killing of Wes, their own teammate. Kevin is upset because Eric never told him he was gay and Kevin had to find out with the rest of the school. Throughout episode eight, we get short glimpses of interviews from employees from Columbine High School, and also, a mother of a student, AJ, who fought the battle of bullying due to homophobia. The interviews reflect stories similar to the situations happening at Leyland High.

Perspective on Rape Culture

Homophobia continues to be a reoccurring theme in American Crime.  In this episode, a mother tells about the bullying and harassment her son AJ experienced while going to school.   He told her that he doesn't think that it's okay to be gay anywhere.  This seems to be a true concept, especially when observing the lives of the several gay characters in the series.  Taylor dated Evie, which she assumes he dated her to cover up his sexuality.  His intentions by dating Evie are still unclear, although her presumptions could be true.

Lilah Tanner convinced Peter go with her, saying she needed to get out of there.  Lilah wants to get away from Curt and Peter because she thinks that Curt touched Eric as a child causing him to be gay. Sexual orientation is not learned, however sexual attitudes and behaviors can be. This is part of rape culture.  Rape culture promotes the objectification and dehumanization of another person.  These concepts are taught through social interactions, media, and other sources (Buchwald).

An individual  tells about accusations against them for sexual assault.  They were accused of sexually assaulting another student after they came out.  Their story shows the socially constructed concept that homosexuality means predator. We can see a similar concept with bathroom laws, which allows individuals the right to  use the bathroom associated with their gender identity.  It received much backlash from the public, some people claiming that this opens door for non-cisgendered people to sexually assault other people.

Leslie continues to deny that Taylor was raped.  She refuses to use the “r” word to describe his situation.  She is in denial that boys can be raped, which is a misconception accepted in our culture. Rape is any unwanted penetration by a body part or object against a victim. At some point during the captain's party, Taylor was drugged and could no longer consent, making Eric's actions against him rape. The refusal to acknowledge instances like this as rape ignores the severity of the matter. Many characters throughout the series used terms to define the situation as anything other than rape. This use of words also contributes to the normalization of rape, which is a key concept in rape culture.

Broadcast and Reception

Across a broad view of ratings American Crime season 2 episode 8 has received a pleasant reaction in regards to review of the storyline and how they brought a story disrupting rape culture to life. In a review by AV club, reviewer Plot Virtue commented on the implementation of interviews with teachers from Columbine High School, as well as interviews with individuals who have experienced bullying in regards to their sexual orientation or identity. "Neither the interview nor the the fictional plot felt forced or out of place, there was a nice balance that made the interruptions feel mostly natural, and it added to the overall narrative instead of distracted from it. Bringing real life scenarios to the table in connection to American Crime in episode eight, gave the viewer a surreal outlook on the storyline this season obtains. In Transforming A Rape Culture by Emilie Buchwald, homophobia is highlighted as a serious problem in our society, as exemplified in American Crime. “Homophobia -which appears to be the fear of homosexual men but is really the fear of other men- keeps men acting like men, keeps us exaggerating our adherence to traditional norms so that no other men will get the wrong idea that we might really be that most dreaded person of all: a sissy" (pg 96, Buchwald). Homophobia as a major theme in this episode, gives another perspective on what it truly entails. In most common aspects of what homophobia entails, gays are stereotypically viewed as primarily sexual predators in correlation to their sexual orientation. As Buchwald highlights in this quote, homophobia can also entail the fear of other men seeing you as inferior or "a sissy". In American Crime, Eric's character exemplifies this very version of homophobia by Eric maintaining his status as a basketball captain at Leyland by keeping his sexual orientation a secret.

References

Harding, Kate (2015). Asking For It: The Alarming Rise of Rape Culture—And What We Can Do About It. Boston (MA): De Capo Press. ISBN 9780738217024.

Buchwald, Emilie; et al. (2005). Transforming a Rape Culture. 2nd Edition. Minneapolis (MN): Milkweed Press. ISBN 9781571312693. Clark, Annie E.; et al. (2016).

We Believe You: Survivors of Campus Sexual Assault Speak Out. New York (NY): Henry Holt and Co. ISBN 9781627795333.