F*ck Stan
F*ck Stan (2019)
Written and directed by: Marrissa Coccaro
Representations of sexual assault on television can be highly sensationalized, involving high-powered perpetrators or survivors, excessive violence, or generally unrealistic circumstances.
In the revenge comedy F*ck Stan, Marrissa Coccaro grounds her central conflict in a much more common but no less violent: the situation of a man (Stan) who refuses to wear protection and often manipulates women into sex without it. Margo (Marrissa Coccaro) is tricked into it, while Stan tries to slip it in Jacks (Sarah Patin) without her noticing. Vicky (Katherine Mraz) struggles with men who are wearing the wrong size: “Do you know how hard it is to tell a man he’s wearing the wrong size condom?”
Three women realize they have been victimized by the same man and enact a plot to rob him.
By showing three different experiences, Marrissa’s series serves a pedagogical function of showing women the spectrum of experiences that constitute sexual violence, while also showing ways to demand consent. The series shows how men benefit when women don’t talk to each other about their experiences and stand up for themselves.
Still, most of the series is a darkly comic tale of revenge where the women realize that Stan is more than he appears, though not necessarily less of a jerk than they think.
Ultimately the series embraces complexity and welcomes viewers to be open to surprises in pursuit of justice.