GOAL IS TO REACH YOUNG PEOPLE : STUDENT FILM FOCUSES ON THE DATE-RAPE ISSUE

The first thing Dean White did after acting out an assault scene in a Chapman College student film about “date rape” was to apologize to his co-star.

Laurel McGehee, an 18-year-old freshman who plays the victim, Laura, recalled how White took her aside once the cameras had stopped. “He was pretty upset and he said, ‘I could never do anything like that to you, I swear.’ I could tell that he meant it.”

White, 21, was vehement about the uncomfortable feelings raised by his character Mike’s attack on Laura. “I kept wondering how many guys had done that, and I wondered if I had ever been too aggressive (with a girl) before. I felt terrible.”

That’s just the type of emotional reaction the college’s communication department is hoping the 30-minute film will provoke in thousands of young men across the country. “On Saturday,” a film department project involving more than 40 students, should be completed in April; at that time the college in Orange will try to distribute it nationally as an education tool.

“We think it will be powerful enough to make a difference in high schools, colleges, rape crisis centers,” said Greg Hobson, the project’s faculty adviser. “The goal is to reach as many kids at the dating age as possible to let them know that date rape occurs but doesn’t have to.”

As the daily shoots wound down recently, the student film makers and actors talked about the film and how it came to be this year’s project. It’s not the first time Chapman has taken on serious topical issues--nuclear apocalypse was the subject of “Cocktail Party” made a few years ago--and after a faculty-student committee read the “On Saturday” script, it was an easy choice, Hobson recalls.

“It inspired a bunch of strong reactions, I can tell you that,” he said. “We knew we had to make it.”

Written by Kathleen Seabolt, a 20-year-old junior, the script follows Laura and Mike through their on-campus courtship. The attractive pair eye each other during archery class, they giggle about the other to friends and then have a couple of harmless dates.

But during the last outing, shortly after Laura has invited Mike up to her dorm room, he refuses to stop his sexual advances. Laura is raped. Ashamed and confused, she decides against going to the police and visits a psychologist instead. The film concludes with Laura confronting Mike during a classroom discussion on assault.

Similar Incident

The screenplay, at least partly, was the result of a similar incident that Seabolt experienced. Inspired by her own anger and pain, she began to investigate date rape and discovered that as many as one woman in four will be victimized during her lifetime.

“The figures astounded me. I mean, there are so many of us that are put in that situation,” she said, her voice rising. “I wanted to show how this can happen so women know what to watch out for, so they’re prepared. I want guys to know that when a girl says ‘no’ that that should be respected. It’s really as simple as that.”

To influence as many young men as possible, Hobson and student director Dave Judy and student producer Joe Leone realized that the film, particularly the crucial rape scene, had to be potent. They also had to straddle the line between sensationalism and good taste.

Hobson notes that “On Saturday” cannot be too sexually frank or violent for fear of turning off young teen-agers, part of the movie’s target audience.

“We all knew that the rape had to be a moment that would affect people, but we also didn’t want to titillate,” Hobson explained. “We tried to go for realism without getting too graphic. We’re hoping this will be accessible to everyone, even junior high kids.”

The result, Judy says, is that the dormitory struggle shows no nudity. Instead, close-ups of Laura’s stricken face and an accelerating series of intercutting images are used to heighten the scene’s drama.

‘It’s Pretty Realistic’

“It’s pretty realistic. I think people will believe what’s going on and have feelings about it,” Judy said.

With at least two months of editing still ahead, the communications department has not yet begun looking for a distributor, but Hobson says there are plenty to choose from when the time comes. The educational film industry is large, and he is optimistic that “On Saturday” will find a wide audience.

Even if the nationwide effort fails, Hobson says, Chapman will try to interest local schools and clinics in the film. The movie will also be used as an instructional tool in the college’s film-making classes.

Beyond that, “On Saturday” will probably be entered in several student film award contests. “We think we’ve got something good here and we want to show if off some,” Hobson said.