WORK > Indoctrination in the Dark

Rocky
Rocky
Oil, Acrylic marker, Spray paint, Collage on Canvas
27.5 X 45
2020

I remember this scene as the best thing that could have ever happened to the female lead, Adrian, but if you look at the scene again, she is clearly saying no and trying to leave. But instead of a coerced date rape scene, this movie gives us the male screenwriter's fairytale that every woman just needs to be convinced and then she'll absolutely want you. Just keep going. Her objections are foolish, and she will be grateful you didn’t believe her protests.


In my painting of the scene you can see that except for the spray painted Orange Caution lettering, I used a traditional, old fashioned color palette to underscore that these memes of the forced and and then appreciated kiss are very Old School.

And the little collaged hearts around the lovers’ kiss are also meant to underscore that this is a cartoon version of what we were taught a woman wants. A lesson that is not healthy for an individual or a society.

I used spray paint for the lettering because it felt like the best medium for protest, for attacking an ideology that is still pervasive.