MovieChat Forums > Lawn Dogs (1998) Discussion > Trent touching the scar: Pedophilia or a...

Trent touching the scar: Pedophilia or acknowledgement

posted 17 years ago by lolatzu
37 replies | jump to latest

I hope I explain myself clearly without offending anyone. This is my theory on the movie regarding the relationship Trent and the little girl shared. It is obvious that she has a crush on him but he recognizes that she is a little girl and that sets the tone of the movie.

I saw this movie and I could see how some people could feel uneasy about the film and almost find it borderline pedophilic but you have to realize that she was only 10 years old and Trent recognized this and tried to keep his distance sexually.

I don't think him touching the scar was meant to be sexual because if you notice he initially doesn't want to do it until she insists that he do it. It was uncomfortable because he was an adult and she was a child but it wasn't supposed to be what some people have perceived it to be.

My theory is that she asked him to touch her scar because that was her way of having someone acknowledge that she wasn't perfect. She wasn't doing it because she wanted him to have sex with her and he didn't touch it because he wanted to have sex with her. It was just another way for her to express her feelings which she had been doing from the moment she met him and he listened without judgment. Her parents hadn't even touched it which means that they couldn't acknowledge that their daughter was "damaged".

Her family had this perceived image of what she was and should be and here is this person who recognizes and acknowledges that she isn't perfect and is nothing like what is expected of her; he just listens to her and allows her to express what she is feeling and gaining an idea of how she perceives the world.

It is true that this is how pedophiles get children into compromising positions but not all adults who form a bond with young children want to molest them or even have any intentions of molesting them. I think that was the point here. It is possible for children to have adult friends who just want to allow that child to say what they feel and not want to hurt them.

If my theory is off, please explain but promise me that you won't make any personal attacks because as I said, I wasn't trying to offend anyone. Maybe my theory is wrong but this is how I perceived it.

Any other views?

[–] 17 years ago

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[–] lolatzu 17 years ago

Thanks for your input and diplomacy.

You were right in that the friendship became more but he knew he had to draw the line. As the adult, he took that responsibility which is a good thing.

As we saw with people like Mary Kay LeTourneau and Woody Allen, not all adults draw the line.

[–] 17 years ago

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[–] lolatzu 17 years ago

Then why did he sue the school system and the police department unless he was being used.

He doesn't have an education and he has two kids. What other choice did he have but to sell his story and stay with her?

How many teenage girls want to go out with a guy who has two kids?

She shut his options down.

I noticed you didn't say anything about Woody Allen. Is it okay because he is a man?

[–] 17 years ago

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[–] lolatzu 17 years ago

He didn't even graduate high school. He has no education. The reason he sued the school system and the police station was because the money that he received from the tabloids had dried up because he and his mother did not know how to manage it. He said that himself after they lost the case.

He has two kids and barely in his early 20's. Most girls want someone single whom they can enjoy a courtship with at that age. They aren't looking to become an instant mother to someone else's kids.

Mary Kay Le Tourneau molested him! That is not love.
Psychologists call it the Stockholm Syndrome. It is when a victim becomes emotionally attached to the person doing the victimizing.

Furthermore, why is it that when a woman molests a boy, it's love but when a man does it, he is a pedophile?! You haven't addressed the Woody Allen thing! He was taking pictures of her naked when she was about 12 or 13!

They aren't in love with each other.

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[–] lolatzu 17 years ago

telling yourself that.

Only time will tell,

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[–] Icthus381376 17 years ago

I grow tired of people who see an adult male befriending a girl child in a movie or real life and jump to the conclusion it is pedophilia, a word whose definition is debated. Trent and Devon's relationship was one of friendship. Unfortunately, given the world we live in, nothing good was going to come of their friendship.

[–] InUrFridge 17 years ago

Who the **** is this josephinelilac?

You go around accusing people of being peadophiles but it is obviously you who have some sort of problem for you to be so bitter.

You say that no adult in their right mind would want to befriend a child unless they were a peadophile. So are you saying that when children go on trips with their Dads the Dad is merely going out of parental duty? That if when someone takes their children out somewhere they have a good time and enjoy the company of their child they must be a peadophile?

However you might argue that that is different because they are the parents of the child. What about youth workers and teachers then? Did you never talk or (god-forbid) joke with your teachers? Scout leaders, for example, although they also supervise they join in games and activites and have fun else they wouldn't be in that job.

Anyone who thinks that befriending a child can only be sexually motivated is obviously so scared of being branded a peadophile themselves that they have never spent enough time with children to know that they can have just as much to offer to a friendship as any adult.

_____________

Tsk²

[–] ostiarius 17 years ago

Well said.

Why does everything I whip leave me?

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[–] Niknack 16 years ago

Back to the original post...

I didn't come away thinking that Devon had a crush on Trent. I thought it was just that she was looking for company, and she felt comfortable with Trent, rather than with the pretentious community she was living in.

And I thought that when she asked Trent to touch her scar, she was telling him that she trusted him completley. She wouldn't let anybody else touch, or even see it. And his (reluctantly)touching it was an aknowledgment of their friendship, rather than pedophillia.

That's just what I thought.

[–] Bigmoviefan 16 years ago

Perfect example of a film that has hit the mark. Is it friendship? Is it worse? A beautiful nuance on a great film. Oh, that more films were as well balanced as this..

[–] fran-emily1 16 years ago

it was clearly a friendship,some people are to cynical to understand that,

obviously in real life there are situations that are less innocent.

but everyman that has contact with a child that is not there own should not be considered a peodophile, some people are just nice.

[–] Stargeezer 14 years ago

True, true. Perfectly balanced without a resorting to controversies to make this film bankable.

[–] tkbik 16 years ago

Devon lived in a phoney world. She found reality in Trent. This was strictly a platonic relationship, though she did tease him about it ("Devon and Trent, Trent and Devon, Devon and Trent, Trent and Devon")

[–] Stargeezer 14 years ago

Well said.

[–] siddownshaddap 16 years ago

Well said.

LIFE: It's just a movie.

[–] siddownshaddap 16 years ago

I agree 100% lolatzu!

LIFE: It's just a movie.

[–] CorpseCandle 15 years ago

What kind of adult wants a child as a friend you say?

Normal adults...because ...not everyone is a pedophile,no hang on better not say that or it will give you a few less false monsters to hate.

[–] porzstar 15 years ago

I think that sums up perfectly, without offending at all. This film can be uneasy to watch in parts but I dont think its meant to be peadophillic in any way...Its just a very good example of the interaction between a child and different adults, and the childs realisation of how she can manipulate certain adults (parents)but at the same time maintains to a certain degree innocent child like qualities (i.e. not realising the effect of running to her parents after the dog was killed etc and end result of this) The fairy tale end is left unexplained and thats what makes this such a tgood ending. Sometimes a films ending is best left unexplained.

[–] ExAxLxPx12 15 years ago

i completely agree with the OP with the exception of i don't think Devon ever had a crush on Trent. they were friends, plain and simple. letting him touch and see her scar was just her wanting him to know her. her parents wouldn't even look at it. and she recognized that the scar was a part of her, her parents tried to ignore or shove that part away, Trent had a scar as well and she felt that they had that "damaged" thing in common, she trusted him and thought that he would accept this part of her. which he did. they were friends, nothing sexual about it.

[–] Mousuke 14 years ago

Firstly I just want to say that I don't think for a moment that Trent was supposed to be some kind of paedophile, I didn't find anything in his actions to suggest he was.

That said, I think paedophillia was a major part of this film and in particular that scene with the scar. I liked this film because although they had an innocent relationship it was filmed in such a way that you could interpret it in a much more sinister way. For example, there were several longish shots of Trent looking at Devon, such as when he is watching her talk to his mother- this is perfectly innocent, of course he is going to look at her every now and then- he is not going to walk around staring at the floor all the time, but in films if the camera shows lingering looks for a long time it is usually to communicate some kind of romantic feeling. Again I stress, this is not what I think the character was thinking, but just a choice the director made to possibly make the viewer think that. Maybe I am reading too much into shots like that, but I think it could be not to show that Trent is a paedophile but to make viewers (some not all) feel uncomfortable at the situation and perhaps confront their own hang ups. Likewise the scar scene was innocent, and we can clearly see from Trent's reaction to her unbuttoning her shirt that he is uncomfortable with what she is doing and definitely does not have some kind of desire to see her naked, but there are still elements of that scene which a cynical viewer could read too much into, like the way he runs his fingers down the scar and the 'I'll show you yours if you show me mine' aspect of it, and Devona sking slyly 'can I touch it?' Plus the positioning of the scars is quite important- across Devon's chest, and right above Trent's belt line- they could just have easily been on arms and legs but they are on parts of the body which you would not normally show someone unless you were in some kind of romantic or sexual relationship.

While I think the film was mainly about two lonely and out of place people forming an unlikely friendship, there is definitely something there to fuel this debate, but I think people who genuinely think that Trent had unsavoury feelings towards Devon should perhaps rewatch the film with a more open mind.

Lovers in League Against Satan

[–] babz12 14 years ago

I think it's more just acceptance. Both were outsiders and finally found someone that was an outsider like themself. Since the scar was part of Devon, she wanted this other person to accept her for who she was. Trent realized this and touched it to make her know he accepted her and her "flaw." Besides if Devon's scar was on her shin and she asked him to touch it, would it be as big a deal? Probably not. Unless he caressed it or something...

Anyways, adults and kids can be friends. I was "friends" with 20 somethings when I was 10. We didn't call each other up, but our parents were friends and we'd all go camping together, and the kids, teens, and 20 somethings often hung out together. I never found it weird when the 20 year olds would hang out with us, I found it weird when they would sit around talking with the 40-50 year old parents.

[–] thenicotinefairy 14 years ago

What brought this on? Are there seriously people saying this scene was sexual? If so, were they actually watching this movie?

My theory is that she asked him to touch her scar because that was her way of having someone acknowledge that she wasn't perfect.

I don't think for a second that she accepted those ideas of "perfection." She didn't see her scar as a flaw or an imperfection. She was proud of it. She thought it was cool.

It is obvious that she has a crush on him.

Whoa, that's an unusual interpretation of the movie, and would completely change the entire movie. What led you to that interpretation?

[–] HogwartsBean 13 years ago

I like that everyone has differing interpretations but personally I didn't see anything in the movie that suggested sexual attraction from either of the leads. For me Devon was seeking a friend and a father figure, she clearly hated her parents so she sought out an adult to fill that gap in her life.
Similarly I would have suggested that Trent reluctantly took her on as a sort of younger sister, more than anything. And I don't think there was ever a time where he thought of her as anything other than a child.
The comment referring to the lingering looks, I see your point, but for me those were looks of affection in a different sort of way. You highlighted the look he gives her at his parents house, but to me that was just a look of pride.

[–] mr_bennett 13 years ago

Exactly Trent was a father figure to Devon and Trent could relate with Devon. At every moment where sexuality was hinted, Trent felt disgusted and said no. Yet no-one mentions the paedophile guy who put his hand up her top? (Well maybe someone said it but I couldn't be bothered reading every post).

[–] lombano 13 years ago

I think they're more like a good uncle-niece relationship, he's not quite a father figure but it's not, because of the age difference, a regular friendship between peers. To me Trent's initial disgust in this scene makes it obvious he's no paedophile, he has no ulterior motives for hanging out with Devon.

[–] TheMachinistSleeps 12 years ago

Early in the movie the father, referring to selling bags of cookies, says something like "People aren't buying what's in the bag - they are buying your smiling face".

In other words: it's not what's inside that counts but how pretty you look. He further enforces that by being disgusted with her scar, wanting her to get plastic surgery, and mentioning to the mother that it will be a huge turn off for boys.

So she feels bad about the scar. She is a loner. Even her parents don't fully accept her. At the beginning of the scar scene she says to Trent "We're best friends right?" which tells us, again, that she has no friends except for him.

She doesn't go around showing her scar to everyone... she shows it to Trent because that is something they have in common. They both almost died and have scars. She may also be doing it to test him - to see if he will accept her for "what's inside the bag".

Obviously that is all just my opinion though.

[–] May (8) a year ago

I do believe Devon was in love with Trent.....