A Little (More) Ultraviolence
I’ve been thinking a lot about my last post…and why I feel the way I do about horror movies, and I’m at the point where I think I’m wrong to think the way I do. Not 100% wrong…but clearly my bias and personal feelings have clouded my judgment…so in an attempt to see things from the other side, I’m going to try and point out some of the reasons why I may not have it right…
a) Context: Sure, I witnessed a pretty violent and exploitative clip from the new Hostel 2 movie, but without context, who am I really to judge. I say this because yesterday, at the mall, I was looking at DVD’s when I came across a cult classic from 1970, ‘El Topo’ by Alejandro Jodorowski. I won’t give you a lengthy synopsis, but suffice to say, there was a lot of blood, violence, some nudity, and even a scene with a ‘slave’ being hung upside down and shot. Of course, my stance being what it was with Hostel 2, you’d think I would have been appalled by what I saw…but it was the opposite. The film was as visionary, philosophical, bizarre and surreal as anything I’ve seen in a long time…and I thoroughly enjoyed it. All the blood, violence and nudity had a reason for it being there...as much reason as the words. So maybe what I need to do is sit down and watch the entire movie before I make a judgment call like the one I did in my first post.
b) Its Nothing New: Jason and Freddy have been slicing and dicing people up for over 20 years…and while I was never a fan, I certainly didn’t label those films, or the people who watched them as ‘disgusting’…so why should I start now? Yes, I am older and more mature…and with my background in Media Studies I am much more in tune with the influences and effect film/tv/music/culture can have on young (and sometimes old) people…but if I can sit down and enjoy an ‘odd’ existential film with lots of blood and weirdness and not go off the deep end, then who am I to say that John and Jane Doe shouldn’t be able to enjoy a gory horror movie if that’s what they’re into?
c) Evolving Tastes: The truth is, things that were taboo and not talked about 20-30 years ago are much more mainstream and accepted today. Violent, unrelenting blood and gore horror movies are box office hits, reality TV has blurred the lines of what is entertainment, porn stars are virtually mainstream celebrities, and the sex lives and ‘troubles’ of our favourtie celebrities is front page news. It seems, to me, that we live in a society too busy to care whether something is truly offensive or not. Oh sure, people will make noise and complain when Marilyn Manson comes to town, or the next 50 Cent video premiers on MTV…but we live in such a P.C. world these days that we almost expect there to always be someone who thinks something is offensive…so we sort of roll our collective eyes and ignore it. ‘The problem isn’t as bad as they make it out to be.’ Well, maybe it is, and maybe it isn’t…I’m sure the same was being said in the 70’s when movies like Taxi Driver, Apocolypse Now, The Shining and Easy Rider and bands like The Doors, The Velvet Underground and Jefferson Airplane were ‘offending’ all the ‘normals’ and sending them into a tizzy. I guess, when its all said and done, things never change. Hell…I remember the vibe I got from my parents when they first realized I was into Public Enemy…
d) Its Up To The Parents: In Canada, and the United States, we have what is called freedom of speech. This freedom is perhaps one of the most important freedoms we have, for it allows us to explore life from all angles…from the highest peak, to the darkest corner…and share our findings with the general public. And while not everyone wants to travel to the darkest corners, or wants to know what resides in them, for those people to say its not right to go to those places…well, who are they to tell me what I can and can’t do? Personally, I feel as long as your not hurting someone else, or propagating clearly immoral, evil beliefs, then we as human beings should be able to do/act/create what we wish. If it offends other people…ask why? Human beings are not all made the same. Society may wish that everyone acted the same, talked the same and bought the same products…and while many, many people have blindly jumped in and been taken away by the current, there are still many, many free thinkers out there exploring, digging, attempting to find treasure where others say there is none. I am one of those people. I’ve been told that I’m wasting my time…that I’m throwing away my future…but I’m not like everybody else…I just cant fall in line…not when the line is so straight and I can’t see where it goes. I’ll carve my own path thankyouverymuch. I've lived long enough to have earned that right. For those not old enough to make those sorts of life decisions...that's why kids have parents. Trust me, I know its a lot to ask of parents considering the pace of modern life...but if you care about your kids, you'll make the effort to understand and censor what your children watch as you see fit. If you don't care that your 8 year old's hero is Jigsaw from the Saw movies...then you won't care if he hogties one of his friends in your basement during a game of 'Haunted House'? Right?
So…I’m still not sure where I stand on this subject…I guess I’m willing to tolerate movies like Hostel and the like…I don’t have to watch them…but I wish we were more willing to dig a little deeper and find out why we choose the entertainment we do…why we feel the need for ‘bloodlust’…why we slow down to take a peak at a car wreck…and why we’re disgusted one minute when we hear a gruesome story on the news, and the next, were waiting in line to watch the same story re-enacted on the big screen?
a) Context: Sure, I witnessed a pretty violent and exploitative clip from the new Hostel 2 movie, but without context, who am I really to judge. I say this because yesterday, at the mall, I was looking at DVD’s when I came across a cult classic from 1970, ‘El Topo’ by Alejandro Jodorowski. I won’t give you a lengthy synopsis, but suffice to say, there was a lot of blood, violence, some nudity, and even a scene with a ‘slave’ being hung upside down and shot. Of course, my stance being what it was with Hostel 2, you’d think I would have been appalled by what I saw…but it was the opposite. The film was as visionary, philosophical, bizarre and surreal as anything I’ve seen in a long time…and I thoroughly enjoyed it. All the blood, violence and nudity had a reason for it being there...as much reason as the words. So maybe what I need to do is sit down and watch the entire movie before I make a judgment call like the one I did in my first post.
b) Its Nothing New: Jason and Freddy have been slicing and dicing people up for over 20 years…and while I was never a fan, I certainly didn’t label those films, or the people who watched them as ‘disgusting’…so why should I start now? Yes, I am older and more mature…and with my background in Media Studies I am much more in tune with the influences and effect film/tv/music/culture can have on young (and sometimes old) people…but if I can sit down and enjoy an ‘odd’ existential film with lots of blood and weirdness and not go off the deep end, then who am I to say that John and Jane Doe shouldn’t be able to enjoy a gory horror movie if that’s what they’re into?
c) Evolving Tastes: The truth is, things that were taboo and not talked about 20-30 years ago are much more mainstream and accepted today. Violent, unrelenting blood and gore horror movies are box office hits, reality TV has blurred the lines of what is entertainment, porn stars are virtually mainstream celebrities, and the sex lives and ‘troubles’ of our favourtie celebrities is front page news. It seems, to me, that we live in a society too busy to care whether something is truly offensive or not. Oh sure, people will make noise and complain when Marilyn Manson comes to town, or the next 50 Cent video premiers on MTV…but we live in such a P.C. world these days that we almost expect there to always be someone who thinks something is offensive…so we sort of roll our collective eyes and ignore it. ‘The problem isn’t as bad as they make it out to be.’ Well, maybe it is, and maybe it isn’t…I’m sure the same was being said in the 70’s when movies like Taxi Driver, Apocolypse Now, The Shining and Easy Rider and bands like The Doors, The Velvet Underground and Jefferson Airplane were ‘offending’ all the ‘normals’ and sending them into a tizzy. I guess, when its all said and done, things never change. Hell…I remember the vibe I got from my parents when they first realized I was into Public Enemy…
d) Its Up To The Parents: In Canada, and the United States, we have what is called freedom of speech. This freedom is perhaps one of the most important freedoms we have, for it allows us to explore life from all angles…from the highest peak, to the darkest corner…and share our findings with the general public. And while not everyone wants to travel to the darkest corners, or wants to know what resides in them, for those people to say its not right to go to those places…well, who are they to tell me what I can and can’t do? Personally, I feel as long as your not hurting someone else, or propagating clearly immoral, evil beliefs, then we as human beings should be able to do/act/create what we wish. If it offends other people…ask why? Human beings are not all made the same. Society may wish that everyone acted the same, talked the same and bought the same products…and while many, many people have blindly jumped in and been taken away by the current, there are still many, many free thinkers out there exploring, digging, attempting to find treasure where others say there is none. I am one of those people. I’ve been told that I’m wasting my time…that I’m throwing away my future…but I’m not like everybody else…I just cant fall in line…not when the line is so straight and I can’t see where it goes. I’ll carve my own path thankyouverymuch. I've lived long enough to have earned that right. For those not old enough to make those sorts of life decisions...that's why kids have parents. Trust me, I know its a lot to ask of parents considering the pace of modern life...but if you care about your kids, you'll make the effort to understand and censor what your children watch as you see fit. If you don't care that your 8 year old's hero is Jigsaw from the Saw movies...then you won't care if he hogties one of his friends in your basement during a game of 'Haunted House'? Right?
So…I’m still not sure where I stand on this subject…I guess I’m willing to tolerate movies like Hostel and the like…I don’t have to watch them…but I wish we were more willing to dig a little deeper and find out why we choose the entertainment we do…why we feel the need for ‘bloodlust’…why we slow down to take a peak at a car wreck…and why we’re disgusted one minute when we hear a gruesome story on the news, and the next, were waiting in line to watch the same story re-enacted on the big screen?
posted by neil at 3:37 PM
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