Domestic Violence in What's Love Got to Do With It (1993)

Plot Synopsis

The film What's Love Got to Do With It? (1993) is a biography of pop/R&B singer Anna Mae Bullock, better known by her stage name Tina Turner. It records the struggle she underwent to escape the clutches of her violent husband, Ike, played in the film by Laurence Fishburne. The first few scenes portray young Tina — played by Angela Bassett — and her initial singing career in Nutbush, Tennessee, before Ike Turner discovered her. By the time they met, Ike had already become a household name in the music industry as a guitarist, record producer, and songwriter. Under Ike's guidance, Tina became a star; however, he soon grew jealous of her fame and began abusing her, forcing Tina to struggle hard to escape his control (Maslin, 1993; What's Love Got to Do With It [1993], n.d.).

The film introduces a shy young country girl, Anna — played by Rae'ven Kelly — singing "This Little Light of Mine" at church as a choir singer. The girl lets her radiance shine forth, rather too brightly for the choir mistress's liking. Singing is an inborn talent in Anna, and she cannot help it. That gift helps keep her from obscurity and poverty, transforming her into a renowned dynamo — Tina Turner — while simultaneously luring her into the orbit of Ike, a silver-tongued, charismatic Svengali. Coerced into enslavement in the show business, regardless of how exhausted or sick she may be, Tina endures several years of indignity in the form of marital infidelities and cruel beatings. She ultimately finds the courage to break free from her husband (Maslin, 1993).

Fishburne's splendid, mercurial depiction of Ike — complete with a pencil-thin mustache and pompadour — leaves little doubt as to how this graceful charmer could hold the sheltered, naive Anna captivated. In the early scenes, when she first goes to live with her mother (who had abandoned Anna as a child) in St. Louis, Ike appears genuinely likeable and attractive (Maslin, 1993).

Initially, Ike is shown to smile, charm, and cajole Tina into reshaping herself. His extensive expertise allows him to dictate exactly how she must dress, move, and sing, and Tina meets his every request. The film, interspersed with animated reminders of the duo's stage act and most popular numbers, delights in plotting Tina Turner's ascent to stardom. Viewers familiar with her career will recognize the care taken in recreating her attire, wigs, and choreography (Maslin, 1993).

Types of Domestic Violence Depicted in the Film

The film narrates Tina Turner's life and the domestic violence she suffered at her husband's hands, offering audiences an unsettling and cruel portrayal of abuse by intimate partners. Ike and Tina's marriage was turbulent and frequently violent. The abuse depicted in the film represents a consequence of Ike's realization that he has lost authority over his wife, owing to her emergence as a rising star who eclipsed him (Jackson, 2007).

Tina is coerced into singing despite being worn out and ill. A clear illustration of this is the scene in which Tina, hospitalized for anemia after giving birth, is fetched home by her husband in the middle of the night in open defiance of the doctor's orders.

The film also portrays emotional maltreatment, which may be especially dangerous because victims often fail to recognize that they do, in fact, have a means of escaping their situation. Scenes from the film illustrate the typical cycle of abuse experienced by battered women. Ike lavishes attention and gifts on Tina after maltreating her — this characterizes the "honeymoon" phase of the abuse cycle, in which the woman tends to believe everything will be fine if she simply does "the right thing."

Finances are entirely under Ike's control; in other words, Tina must depend on him for her basic sustenance. He controls not just Tina but her family as well — the house her mother lives in was purchased by Ike. When Tina finally escapes, she has only 36 cents to her name. She is forced to ask a hotel manager for a free room in which to spend the night. Furthermore, Tina had no say in her career decisions; Ike made them all for her (Brady, 1995).

Impact of Domestic Violence on the Character

The film represents a forceful portrayal of the dynamics of a violent marriage. It accurately depicts the abuse cycle as well as the emotions — fear, guilt, and denial — felt by battered women. The portrayal of emotional maltreatment is particularly important, as it underscores how dangerous that form of abuse can be: women who experience it often fail to recognize that they have any means of escaping their situation (Brady, 1995).

Theories Explaining Domestic Violence

Spousal abuse refers to a pattern of threatening and abusive behaviors perpetrated by an intimate partner. Such behaviors may include physical, sexual, emotional, and economic aggression, as well as oppression, terrorization, and isolation. Domestic abuse is often a means by which individuals — usually men — seek to establish and exercise control over intimate partners, such as wives, ex-wives, dating partners, or girlfriends (SVAW, 2003).

The primary theory advanced in America held that abusive men were mentally unsound, and that women who continued to live with such men were similarly mentally unsound. This theory was eventually disproven. Early psychologists underestimated the true prevalence of violent relationships, and psychological testing failed to support their assumptions (SVAW, 2003).

A second theory proposed that men's backgrounds were responsible for their abusive behavior — that is, such behavior was learned within the family of origin. While a statistical link does exist between boys who witnessed their mothers being battered by their fathers (such boys are approximately seven times more likely to abuse their own spouses), no significant statistical link has been established between girls who witnessed similar situations at home and who subsequently became victims themselves. Moreover, evidence indicates that many men who witnessed domestic abuse in childhood do not go on to abuse their own partners (SVAW, 2003).

A third theory held that women became victims of "learned helplessness" as a result of repeated battering, which prevented them from leaving or, at minimum, from resisting abuse (SVAW, 2003).

A fourth theory proposed that abusers follow a cycle of violence comprising alternating abusive and remorseful phases (SVAW, 2003).