What’s it About
One night in the small town of Steubenville, Ohio during the summer of 2012, a teenage girl attended some underage parties and became heavily intoxicated, whereupon she was sexually assaulted by two high-school football players. Investigative blogger Goddard and local journalist Bissell worked to expose this brutal crime by uncovering the jeering social media posts of other attendees and piecing together what happened and when. Through their efforts, two young men were ultimately charged. Yet rather than being thanked, the women experience threats and insults, as this football-crazed community closes ranks around “their boys.” What does this say about our society, and will justice prevail?
Why we love it
Schwartzman’s sober, stripped-down recounting of this shocking story will provoke anger and outrage as it exposes a toxic so-called “rape culture” where entitled high school athletes find it acceptable to rape a young girl who has blacked out, then laugh about it afterwards. Just as appalling are those in authority who tolerate and minimize the incident; after all, these same boys might win the town a coveted football championship! The disturbing “Roll Red Roll” confirms that even in our supposedly more enlightened times, misogyny is far from dead.