One of the methods often used to integrate a rape storyline into a show is as a tragic backstory – a flashback used to explain why a woman is the way she is, particularly if that woman is of the colder, less trusting variety. The Americans did this with lead character Elizabeth Jennings, a Soviet spy undercover as a normal American citizen. In the pilot of the series, during a flashback, we see a young Elizabeth preparing for her future role as a spy and subsequently being assaulted by a commanding officer. 

In 2008, writer-director Martin McDonagh teamed with actor Colin Farrell for  “In Bruges,” one of the best movies of the year. With the rollicking dark comedy “Seven Psycopaths,” they’ve proven that lightning can indeed strike twice. The film focuses on Marty (Farrell), a Hollywood screenwriter struggling to finish his latest project, a story about seven characters with psychopathic tendencies. 

It will be interesting to see what media analysts years from now make of television in the 2010s. The small screen has been so dominated by lush period pieces (The Tudors, The Borgias, Mad Men), procedurals driven by brilliant social misfits (House, Dexter, Bones), and supernatural dramas (The Vampire Diaries, The Walking Dead, True Blood), one wonders at the odd mix of nostalgia, monster mania and obsession with mad genius that lurks in Americans’ collective unconscious. For British programmers, these are very familiar waters, and US viewers are finding some UK offerings to be just their cup of tea.

The massive popularity of Stephenie Meyers’ “Twilight” book series is difficult to explain, but there are harder tasks. Try, for instance, unearthing solid rationale for the success of the movie adaptations. The first “Twilight” film was bad, but it introduced enough interesting elements to inspire hope for the franchise’s future. Four movies in, that promise has faded into an increasingly inane love triangle.