Angelina Jolie opens up about ‘rape’ scenes in Maleficent: ‘The core of the film is abuse’

WARNING: SPOILERS AHEAD

A particularly brutal moment in Angelina Jolie's new film, Disney's Maleficent, has sparked controversy after being compared to rape.

It is the harrowing scene where Stefan (played by Sharlto Copley), a childhood friend of Maleficent (Angelina Jolie), drugs the dark fairy and, while she is trapped in a deep sleep, mutilates her by ripping off her wings.

Stefan truly believes he is acting in Maleficent's best interests - he is trying to prove to a dying king that he has taken Maleficent’s life - but, in taking her wings as proof of her death, he has mutilated her in a powerful and disturbing act of violence.

An act of violence which many, including Angelina Jolie, have compared to rape.

In an interview with BBC Radios’ Woman’s Hour, Angelina Jolie admitted: "We were very conscious, the writer [Linda Woolverton] and I, that it was a metaphor for rape.

"This would be the thing that would make her lose sight."

"The core of [the film] is abuse, and how the abused have a choice of abusing others or overcoming and remaining loving, open people.

She added: "The question was asked, 'What could make a woman become so dark? To lose all sense of her maternity, her womanhood, and her softness?’"

Do you think a film aimed at children and families should tackle subjects such as rape, even via metaphor? Or do you believe that it is an important topic which needs to be discussed