Summary and Analysis of the Film “True Stories” by Rachel Mira Perez

Other essays and articles in the Arts Archives related to this topic include :Analysis and Review of the Documentary Film "Transgeneration"  •   Review and Analysis of the Documentary Film "The Merchants of Cool" •   Film Review and Analysis of the Documentary "All About Sacramento"

The film “True Stories” by Rachel Mira Perez is quite short, coming in at just under fifteen minutes but is unforgettable and disturbing, not only because of the subject matter itself, but also because the depictions of the thoughts and actions of the victims and perpetrators are so realistic. More importantly, the short film "True Stories" by Rachel Mira Perez demonstrates different ways this crime can occur and that it has serious repercussions for both parties. In addition, the “True Stories” are, just as its name suggests, events that can happen to anyone and this crime is not something that just occurs on dark abandoned streets at night, but at parties or private homes regardless of the person’s background or whether or not they are known or strangers.

What film “True Stories” by Rachel Mira Perez attempts to do is highlight the different situations in which acquaintance rape can occur. Interestingly, as the main ideas of the film "True Stories" is based upon, acquaintance rape his most associated with the segment in the film where the girl is passed out drunk, thus leaving herself open to attack. While many may associate this crime with such a situation, the more disturbing case is when the girl goes over to study at a classmate’s house without recognizing the danger that he may not correctly be perceiving her intentions.

To offer a brief summary of the film “True Stories” by Rachel Mira Perez, in both cases in the short film, the viewer is presented with women who are just like any other student; they study and enjoy spending time with friends and new acquaintances. In the one case, a a student goes over to another student's house to study not understanding that he has different plans than she does and is attacked.  In the other case, the girl has been at a party and passes out drunk whereby she is assaulted.  In both cases the attackers go to jail and the thoughts of both parties in each segment are revealed. It is this “close to home” feeling that leaves one with a renewed sense of vigilance and understanding about rape as a crime because these are young people doing the exact same thing many peers do on a daily basis, usually without even a second thought to this issue.

One of the most gripping and memorable aspects of the short film “True Stories” by Rachel Mira Perez is the way narration is used to help the viewer understand both sides of what is happening.  While one might expect in a film like this that there would be a great deal more emphasis placed on the woman's side of what happened, there is equal weight given to both sides of each story presented.  Unfortunately, this means that whether the viewer likes it or not, they must spend time thinking about what the attacker had to say and how he perceived the situation.  This leads to something of an ability to understand why acquaintance rape can happen and what the danger of mixed cues might be. While this does not mean that either of the attackers were right it is revealing how some situations can be misconstrued by the other party.  For instance, although the female may never have thought going over to study would mean she was opening herself up to an attack, the male's perception of this case was much different.  Through the narration of both parties it is possible to see how this crime can easily happen to anyone because one can now understand the thoughts behind the actions.