system
Given the following post, respond as if you're commenting on Reddit:
human
ELI5: Why is it so controversial to display rape in media (movies, television, etc.) moreso than equally horrific crimes such as murder or torture?

There was a rape scene in Game of Thrones that caused a pretty big controversy a while ago.  The scene was extremely unpleasant, as a rape scene should be, (she's being *raped*, you're not supposed to like it) and didn't show rape as being exciting or sexy.

Game of Thrones is a show which portrays characters who the audiences see as "good guys" (a few of whom are children) participating in warfare, murder as a means of revenge, and summary execution.   Dark comedy has been derived from murder, sexual blackmail, and torture.  Why has the single rape scene caused so much more controversy than any of these? (for the record, I honestly don't give a shit about how the show portrays any of these, I'm not offended by much of anything)

The latest Metal Gear Solid game portrayed two characters, one a young woman and one a teenage boy, being sexually violated by the main villain.  The consensus is that the scenes were extremely disturbing but handled the subject of war rape in a tasteful manner.  However, a few people argued that showing a character committing rape is a cheap way to demonstrate that they're evil.  How is that more "cheap" than showing them murdering or torturing people?  Why is it wrong to show an evil character doing evil things?

I can't think of any work of fiction in any form of media which showed rape as something other than awful.
gpt
The easy answer is that TV viewers have long been de-sensitized to violence, but not so with rape. Furthermore, we've long idolized the violent (war heroes, superheroes, etc.), but we don't lionize rapists (although Genghis Khan was pretty impressive on both fronts).

Likely, the root of this comes from the fact that violence has a practical, sometimes beneficial function for society as a whole, as in the defeat of the Nazis, or in the countless tribal skirmishes that resulted in new hunting grounds for the victors. Rape, conversely, whether on a small or large scale, doesn't bring many social benefits.