This blog is about shame and victims of shame. And the nature of this ‘hushed’ emotion is that it is better kept swept under the rug. But the only way to find healing from such a crippling emotion, is to reveal its true nature. And to expose a thing like shame for what it truly is, we need to risk exposing that which by nature seeks to be hidden.
The movie, ‘The Teacher’ portrays this idea powerfully, shedding light on the shame and injustice faced by survivors of abuse- especially sexual violence. It showcases a sports teacher, who gets drugged by her students and gets brutally raped by them. Initially unaware of what happened, she dwells on her suspicions. Eventually, she learns the truth, when she eavesdrops on one of her students talk about the rape with his friends.
Despite the devastation she faces, she immediately decides to file a complaint against them. But little does she know that the people around her, even her own husband, have inhibitions about her decision. Seeped in a culture which blames the victim for being in the wrong place at the wrong time, the men in her life begin to shift the blame on her and persuade her to abort her baby. They even encourage her to keep the whole atrocity quiet and pretend like nothing ever happened.
But with the help of her mother-in-law, who stands beside her with grit and resilience, she decides to take revenge on her students. Instead of allowing herself to be buried under the weight of injustice, she takes matters into her own hands. Using her martial arts skills, she instils terror in her perpetrators, making them live with the same fear and humiliation they imposed on her. By the end of the film, the once-arrogant students cower in perpetual dread, knowing they can never escape the consequences of their actions.
Although how Devika takes revenge and secures justice for herself is debatable, her courage to stand up for herself and seek justice is remarkable. She does not cower at the reality of her husband’s insensitivity and fear. Nor does she find ways to keep her shame locked up inside her. Rather, she boldly takes measures to reverse the reality of unjust ways, by overturning her experience of fear, shame and guilt into the perpetrators’ experience of the same.
Devika’s path to justice is complex and controversial. While her courage to stand up for herself is remarkable, her method raises moral questions about revenge and justice. Does retribution truly heal the wounds of injustice? Or does it risk perpetuating a cycle of fear and violence?
What The Teacher makes clear is that the greatest misery is not merely experiencing shame but living with unresolved guilt and the fear of accountability. While Devika reclaims her power by confronting her perpetrators, the film invites us to reflect on deeper questions: What does true justice look like? How do we dismantle cultures of silence? And ultimately, how can healing be achieved without becoming consumed by vengeance? Is there place for compassion and healing?
Through this movie we see that the greatest misery is to live with feelings of fear and guilt. The injustice that Devika faced cannot be overturned easily. But her courage to expose such injustice leaves the perpetrators of the crime to live with the fear of vengeance all their lives. When true justice is met the consequences reverse, the lives of the innocent will be avenged, and the perpetrators will have to live with the haunting feelings of unending fear and unceasing guilt.
In the end, we see that real shame is to live with the pain of unabsolved guilt and the fear of having to bear the pain of unabated condemnation. And it shows us that while shame thrives in secrecy, confronting it forces the world to reckon with the truth, which by nature is everything that is good and beautiful. So, the challenge is not only to talk about the atrocities of abuse and seek justice, but to be compassionate towards the shame that enslaves the perpetrators of abuse rather than its survivors.
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Written by Roselina Vundi
