Little Lies, Big Problems 

          The HBO series Big Little Lies by Liane Moriarty focuses on the traumatizing events of a group of women and their children. The narrative, due to its adaption available on HBO, has raised awareness to abuse in domestic spaces. The real world is impacted by this show by becoming more informed on this sensitive subject. However how does Big Little Lies bring awareness to domestic abuse and all other aspects that fall under it?

          Big Little Lies presents a group of women who have experienced some form of violence against women, such as the main character Jane Chapmen who was raped. Big Little Lies brings attention to her situation as they present different habits Jane does in this show, such as working out to relieve her emotions and to feel empowered. Cole and Ullrich-French, authors of Exploring Empowerment for Sexual Assault Victims in Women's Only Group Fitness, performed a study in which they both find that having a community which exercises together can form a bond that will help bring empowerment in victims of domestic abuse cases.  “Broadly speaking, empowerment is the process by which individuals and communities work to gain control and power over their own circumstances” (Cole, Ullrich-French, 96). In Big Little Lies, Jane becomes part of a community which helps her power through her traumatic event. Her friend Celeste, who is was also abused by her husband, finds the willpower in herself to finally leave the man that had been hurting her after talking with Jane and her fellow peers. Talking to others who have been through the same situation may make one not feel so alone and working out together or any group activity can reinforce a support system. This TV show demonstrates how one who has experienced the trauma of abuse, might cope to with this experience.

          Big Little Lies demonstrates how couples may work through their problems with domestic abuse, and also shows how one partner in the relationship may show signs of being an abuser. According to Karakurt’s et al. Couples Therapy for Intimate Partner Violence: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis “…controversy exists about whether couples therapy is appropriate, effective, or even safe in treating potentially violent couples” (Karakurt et al., 568).  Karakurt et al. also claims that about 4.7 million women are affected by intimate partner victimization. Big Little Lies shows clips of Celeste and Perry atempting to fix their relationship through couples counseling, which is a supported by Karakurt’s idea that couples maybe able to stop domestic abuse in a relationship through couple’s therapy. “Although our effect sizes were only moderately significant, the analysis of the combined data from these studies provides evidence supporting the idea that couples therapy is a slightly better treatment approach than standard treatments when working with violent couples” (Karakurt et al., 580). This brings attention to different techniques used by couples to mend their relationship. A viewer could use this information to help a friend or even themselves.

           Naturally one of the most important people in a case of domestic abuse is a health care provider such as the one in Big Little Lies. When Celeste and her husband Perry go to couples counseling and from the start their therapist can tell that there is some form of IPV (intimate partner violence). Author Lynne Pearce states in her article, Bringing Attention to Domestic Abuse, that “How a patient behaves when their partner visits can reveal cause for concern” (Pearce, 24). This is seen through how Celeste acts during their first meeting with their therapist. In private the therapist asks Celeste if Perry hits her when they argue. Pearce claims that it is important to ask the patient what has been happening to them instead of waiting for the patient to tell them. Pearce states that it is important to know how to treat a patient in the health care profession. Big Little Lies brings attention to how a health care provider can recognize a case of domestic abuse or expose the abuse that the patient did not even know was there. Showing this in a television show can informer a viewer the importance a health care provider can have in a victim’s life.

          A point that is often over looked is that children can obtain behaviors such as aggression and abuse from watching their parents display these actions in front of them. Author Dinh et al. states in their article Parents' Transitions Into and Out Of Work-Family Conflict and Children's Mental Health: Longitudinal Influence Via Family Functioning, that “Parenting behaviors and child development are governed by intersecting parent, child, social and environmental determinants.” (Dinh et al., 43). Meaning that if there is a form of abuse in their environment the child can start to perform these same patterns. In Big Little Lies, there is an example of this situation with Celeste and her son. Her son observed his father beating Celeste and started abuse a little girl in his class. Dinh et al. also claims that a child’s mental health can be affected by abuse being in home. When Celeste’s son sees his father acting this way he starts to mimic his actions because he is learning that this an acceptable behavior. Author Megan Holmes supports this idea by stating in her article, Aggressive Behavior of Children Exposed to Intimate Partner Violence: An Examination of Maternal Mental Health, Maternal Warmth and Child Maltreatment  that “’Children exposed to IPV [intimate partner violence] were 2.6 times more likely to be physically abused and 9.6 times more likely to be psychologically abused than children without such exposure.’ ((Zolotor, Theodore, Coyne-Beasley, & Runyan, 2007).” (Holmes, 521) Big Little Lies doesn’t just show how domestic abuse can affect a couple but also portrays how it can affect a child’s well-being. This information could be vital for teachers as they go through their days trying to provide a safe classroom for their students.

            With this in mind, teachers can’t see everything that happens in a classroom and that is made clear through the bullying that happens in Big Little Lies with Celeste’s son. Although the teacher attempts to stop the bullying right away in her classroom, she accuses the wrong student of bullying which does nothing to stop the event. Author Majcherová et al. explains in their article, The Role of the School in Handling the Problem of Bullying, how crucial it is to have a good school-family relationship to stop bullying in classrooms. Jane Chapmen enforces this in her son’s head and even takes him to a counselor to see if he has violent behaviors. Majcherová  states that it is especially crucial in “young men” to reinforce good school values (Majcherová et al., 464). Through the display of bullying in the classroom parents can be more aware of what may or may not be happening in their children’s lives.  Author Holmes claims that children who have witnessed aggression at a young age are more likely to display this type of behavior than older children. It is also said by authors Guimond et al. in Peer Victimization and Anxiety in Genetically Vulnerable Youth: The Protective Roles of Teachers' Self-Efficacy and Anti-Bullying Classroom Rule, that genetics can “influence a child’s aggression” (Guimond et al., 1097). Meaning that if a parent has a history of being abusive, the child can possibly have this gene in their genetic make-up. Jane Chapmen worries that her son may have this gene in his system even though he has never seen any act of domestic abuse is his house he is a product of domestic abuse case. This is crucial information to understating why a child in the classroom maybe acting out. Not only will it give a deeper understanding to why a child is acting out, but it could also be helpful in ensuring that a child is in a safe environment at their home.

          However domestic abuse doesn’t just end after a separation and Big Little Lies demonstrates this through Jane Chapmen’s PSTD and Celeste’s irrational fear of leaving her husband. Author of Irish Women’s Ongoing Experiences of Domestic Abuse in Cases of Separation and Divorce, Crosse and Millar state that “Studies on the impact of domestic violence on women’s mental health suggest that depression, anxiety, lower levels of self-esteem, and in some cases posttraumatic stress disorder are all common experiences.” (Crosse, Millar, 509) all of which are demonstrated in Big Little Lies. Jane has PTSD and dreams that her attacker is going to find her and kill her in her sleep. While Celeste on the other hand faces anxiety that leaving her husband will cause the abuse to worsen and that she will lose her children in a custody case. This irrational fear becomes a reality when Perry, Celeste’s husband, finds out that she is planning to move out and take the children with her. Perry locks her in the car and tries to manipulate Celeste into not leaving him. This proves the idea that “…abuse perpetrated by intimate partners does not end on separation…” (Crosse, Millar, 515). Both of these women experience fear when it comes to dealing with separating from a domestically abusive partner. Big Little Lies shows how much of a mental drain domestic abuse can have on someone and the long term affects a victim will potentially have to deal with.

          Although Big Little Lies may seem like they are bringing consciousness to the situation of domestic abuse, it can also do the counter affect such as supporting the idea that mistreatment of women is acceptable. According to author Sally Feldman’s research in Everyday Threat: Sexual Violence Against Women Has Become a Staple of Mainstream Entertainment. It's a Trend with Worrying Consequences “Rape is now so common in television crime dramas that is has ceased to shock.” (Feldman, 57) She states that rape is becoming so normal on television that some shows are doing the opposite of being a part of the “social change”. She claims that because of the way it is being portrayed on television this could be the reason that many women are getting sexually harassed. Rape is appearing more in entrainment than it ever has before, and is becoming excessively violent. This could be the reason why violence against women happens in America every day. Feldman also states that sexual harassment doesn’t even need to be done face to face anymore. With just a “push of a button” (Feldman, 57) a woman can be sexually harassed through social media, just as seen on television shows.  In addition, Feldman states that rape is becoming more and more graphic on television shows. Women are portrayed as vulnerable and men are still taking advantage of them. Such as how Jane in Big Little Lies, claims that when she got attacked, she had a little bit too much to drink as stated before. In a different perspective, television shows could be just the opposite of what the world needs to bring awareness to domestic abuse.

         Big Little Lies makes the point that domestic violence doesn’t just end at separation. It can lead to months of PTSD and depression. This brings awareness to how much of an impact domestic abuse can have on one’s life. Authors Balfour, Du Mont, and White’s state in their article,  "To this Day She Continues to Struggle with the Terror Imposed Upon Her”: Rape Narratives in Victim Impact Statements, that “we determined that legal narratives constructed women’s fear of the men who assaulted them as well as men in general, according to clinical discourses of depression and PTSD, ….suggests that fear of sexual violence is a normative experience for most women in their everyday lives” (Balfour, Du Mont, White, 56 ). The main character Jane, is written as to portray someone who has gone through a relatable traumatic experience. Television shows although can do the opposite of bringing awareness to domestic abuse, they can also show that there is more than what people may or may not know. All of this supports the idea of how Big Little Lies brings awareness to the situation of domestic abuse.

          Other works of fiction such as Game of Thrones and Behind Closed Doors both portray domestic violence in some shape or form. Although they both have different techniques in doing so, people are becoming more and more aware of what domestic violence is and what it looks like. As stated before domestic abuse is becoming a huge aspect in dramatic television shows.

          Violence against women is a huge problem, such as how domestic abuse cases get reported every twelve seconds in the United States. There are many shows that depict domestic abuse as a social norm or in a way that brings negative attention to the subject. Big Little Lies portrays this controversial subject in a way that brings awareness to what a victim of abuse goes through. Television shows like Big Little Lies are important in modern society because they try to educate the viewers on this situation. Through showing the action of abuse and ways to overcome it, viewers can take this information that was given to them and be a part of the social change. Stopping violence against women is a group effort and educated others on the subject is one step closer.

 

Work Citied

Balfour, Gillian. Du Mont, Janice. White, Deborah. "“To this Day She Continues to Struggle with the Terror Imposed Upon Her”: Rape Narratives in Victim Impact       Statements." Women & Criminal Justice, vol. 28, no.1, 2018, pp.43-62, doi:10.1080/08974454.2017.1342744. Accessed 10 August 2017.

Cole, Amy N. Ullrich-French, Sarah. "Exploring Empowerment for Sexual Assault Victims in Women's Only Group Fitness." Women in Sport & Physical Activity Journal,    vol. 25, no. 2, 2017, pp. 96-104. https://doi.org/10.1123/wspaj.2016-0005. Accessed 1 October 2017.

Crosse, Rossmary. Milar, Michelle. "Irish Women’s Ongoing Experiences of Domestic Abuse in Cases of Separation and Divorce." Journal of Divorce & Remarriage, vol.  58, no.7, 2017, http://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/10502556.2017.1344499?scroll=top&needAccess=true. Accessed 2 August 2017.

Dinh, Huong, et al. "Parents' Transitions Into and Out Of Work-Family Conflict and Children's Mental Health: Longitudinal Influence Via Family Functioning." Social    Science & Medicine, vol. 194, 1 Dec. 2017, pp. 42-50. ScienceDirect, doi:10.1016/.socscimed.2017.10.017. Accessed 16 October 2017.

Feldman, Sally. "Everyday Threat: Sexual Violence Against Women Has Become a Staple of Mainstream Entertainment. It's a Trend with Worrying Consequences." New  Humanist, vol. 132, no. 2, 2017, pp. 56-58, http://www.newhumanist.org.uk. Accessed 1 June 2017.

Guimond, Fanny-Alexandra, et al. "Peer Victimization and Anxiety in Genetically Vulnerable Youth: The Protective Roles of Teachers' Self-Efficacy and Anti-Bullying  Classroom Rules." Journal of Abnormal Child Psychology, vol. 43, no. 6, 2015, pp. 1095-1106, doi:10.1007/s10802-015-0001-3. Accessed 14 March 2015.

Holmes, Megan R. "Aggressive Behavior of Children Exposed to Intimate Partner Violence: An Examination of Maternal Mental Health, Maternal Warmth and Child  Maltreatment." Child Abuse & Neglect, vol. 37, 01 Aug. 2013, pp. 520-530. ScienceDirect,

Karakurt, Gunnur1, et al. "Couples Therapy for Intimate Partner Violence: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis." Journal of Marital & Family Therapy, vol. 42, no. 4,  Oct. 2016, pp. 567-583. Wiley Online Library, doi:10.111/jmft.12178.

Majcherová, Katarína, et al. "The Role of the School in Handling the Problem of Bullying." Aggression and Violent Behavior, vol. 19, 2014, pp. 463-465.  ScienceDirect, doi:10.1016/j.avb.2014.06.003. Accessed 1 Sept. 2014

Pearce, Lynne. "Bringing Attention to Domestic Abuse " Nursing Standards, vol. 28, no.39, 2014, pp.23-25, doi:10.7748/ns.28.39.22.s24. Accessed 28 May  2014