"The Thoughts in Your Head: The Pedofile as 'Other' in Sidney's Lumet's The Offence" by Adrian Schober

This article argues that the film The Offence exposes the societal need for pedophiles as a way to explain the image of the eroticized child in film (Schober 134). According to the article, the film unearths the dissonance between our perceptions of pedophiles, and our own sexual anxieties (139). By demonizing pedophiles we distance them from ourselves and are able to remain self-assured that our own sexualities are safe and normative. The film also blurs the line between the criminal and hero, passion and obsession, normalcy and insanity. How far is the distance between those who engage in McCarthy-esque pedophile hunting (the 'moral panic' other articles have touched on) and actual pedophilia?

For a film that progressively attempts to deal with pedophilia, it is surprisingly masochistic though (138).. it seems the trend in these types of films are reliant on feminist theory. However, in this film, the women are only represented in the domestic realm, and as vapid sexual beings (138). It's interesting that the film is so conservative in relation to women with men as the only ones who are conflicted about sexuality.