Uncomfortable Empathy: A response to the cinematic construction of non-consensual sex

In ancient literature Valeria Messalina is introduced as a morally corrupt and corrupting woman. Accounts of her scandalous affairs and insatiable lust cemented her reputation, which has remained largely unchanged in art, theatre, and popular imagination. In cinema Messalina becomes an archetypal ancient temptress by scheming and seducing her way into a position of power. Yet in Messalina Venere Imperatrice (1960), an Italian sword and sandal film, Messalina (Belinda Lee) elicits an unexpected and uncomfortable response from contemporary audiences.