Has anyone noticed that people flock to the theaters to see movies like Saw and Halloween? The films that you just know are going to be filled with the most bloody and destructive way to kill a person? Yeah, you know what I'm talking about. The ones where people get their heads or appendages ripped/cut off, their body torn to pieces, splashes of blood, stabbing, crushing, ripping, tearing... uh, it's making me sick just writing about it.
I have always wondered why people enjoy watching these. Since I had never seen anything like it, I couldn't say that I didn't like it, but I didn't like the idea of it. Sure, I like it when the heroes of a book or movie get injured, but not fatally so, and definitely not gorily so. I want them to emerge victorious and on their way to healing, not dead, dead, dead, dead, crippled, dead, or scarred for life.
Over the years I've accidentally found myself watching scary movies. When I was eleven I demanded my parents let me watch the Sixth Sense, and it terrified me, so I vowed to never watch another scary movie. (Note: I haven't seen it since, but I'm sure I wouldn't find it scary now. Just startling, and that's okay.) Of course, as I grew up I realized that a child is easier to scare, so I've tried the genre again. Since then, I've seen movies like both The X-Files movies (the first one scared me until I watched it again), Final Destination 2, The Changeling (1980), Signs, and House on Haunted Hill. Now, granted most of these are not splatter films--or even close--aside from Final Destination. The Changeling I didn't watch by choice (young single adult Halloween activity. I wasn't happy that they picked a rated R movie), and I didn't know that I was watching Final Destination until after I had finished it (and was completely grossed out and horrified by it.)
Now let me tell you, now that I'm an adult I like a good scary movie. But my definition of 'scary' is much different than other peoples'. I liked Signs (granted it's just startling), thought House on Haunted Hill was cool, and wasn't too freaked out by the Changeling.
The main point of the post is, two days a go I was watching a clip of something on youtube when my eyes were assaulted by a clip of a movie called Silent Hill. In the clip I accidentally saw a woman's skin ripped off in one bloody piece by some sort of demonic...thing. I felt sick the rest of the day and didn't get any of my writing done because I spent the rest of the day watching funny movies just to get the image out of my head.
It felt like an affront to to my very nature, and I desperately wish I could forget I watched it, but it's now burned into my brain. This made me think of all the people who enjoy watching movies with images like that one in it, and I began to question why. Why do people enjoy this kind of thing? I can't believe that there are that many sadists in the world, so it must be something else.
Some research on the internet told me that people consider them a release from the stress of the world, a way to see what could happen from the safety of 'will never happen'. They compare it to when people slow down to see a car crash, or go to the circus to see the freak show. They want to see something different, something astonishing.
Of course none of their reasons made any sense to me. Wouldn't seeing people dying on screen make you more stressed out? And why would you want to see what could (really can't) happen? Isn't there enough death and destruction in the world?
When I asked my mom about it she made an interesting point. People have been so desensitized by the media and what they portray as 'cool' and 'great' that they can't feel the spirit anymore. Now this I already knew, but I didn't know how far civilization has fallen until I saw that clip and felt dirty and sick from just watching it. It wasn't like it was pornography, for which there are campaigns against, but it was the mutilation and destruction of one of Heavenly Father's children. If there are campaigns against pornography and the graphic and disgusting portrayal of the most sacred gift of creation, why aren't there campaigns against splatter films and gore-fests and the graphic and disgusting portrayal of the destruction of children of God?
I hope that there aren't LDS men and women out there who enjoy watching these kinds of movies.
If you feel offended by what I've written, please comment and let me know why. I won't apologize though.
3 comments:
I completely agree--that sort of film appeals to the basest of human instincts and is absolutely revolting. There is no way you can stay clean through a movie like that.
Also, you might be interested to know this-- one of my communications textbooks talked about how horror films help to reinforce gender roles and expectations. For example, a boy takes a girl to the movies and he gets a chance to show off how tough he is, how strong and unafraid, whereas she shrivels in fear and he gets to protect her against the big bad screen. Interesting huh?
Hey, that is pretty interesting. I'm glad to see someone still reads my blog.
I agree with you. I think those movies drive away the spirit and dehumanize us. I think it's a great sihn that watching that small clip that you saw on Youtube traumatized you so much; it means you are still human. Hooray!
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