Introduction

The world of popular cinema presents the unique possibility for reimagining the world of cause lawyering. It does so especially when the film in question is a complex, emotionally powerful morality tale, such as Roman Polanski's adaptation of the celebrated Ariel Dorfman play, Death and the Maiden. Although the film superficially presents its central figure Paulina Escobar (played by Sigourney Weaver) as victim – indeed, there can be no doubt that her character has experienced profound victimization at the hands of a ruthless, patriarchal state (i.e., one that condones rape and torture) – viewing the film as metaphor for the long, hard struggle toward emancipation from a world once marked by fascist control and the taken-for-granted rape culture that sustains it, Paulina's character takes on new dimension.