August 19, 2007
Torture Porn: The Kids Aren’t Watching Jason and Freddie Anymore
A young woman is chained to a metal chair. We see her face melt under the heat of a blowtorch.
A man is snared in a complicated piece of machinery that slowly turns his limbs until his bones snap and break through his skin. The final action for the machine is to turn his neck around until it too slowly snaps.
Another young woman having been raped and beaten is tied to a post. We casually watch as her captor loads a gun and then shots her in the shoulder. She screams but the abuse doesn’t stop there.
These are descriptions of the images served by Hollywood today (Hostel, Saw and Wolf Creek respectively). Today the most vile and disturbing works has infested the genre of horror. Many people have never enjoyed horror films. They are scary, they are intentionally violent and since the 1960’s, they are usually rather brutal and gory. These days however, horror has taken a turn for the worse (and yes, that is possible).
The term “torture porn” is becoming more widespread. It speaks to the latest development in horror movies. Instead of seeing the evil on screen from the point of view of the victim(s) we are now provided a view of the action from the killer’s side of things. This is not to say we are putting the knife into the screaming teenage girl’s stomach (although if that’s your thing, there are plenty of video games that will allow you that thrill.) What is happening is that we, as audience members, are shown extended and very realistic scenes of torture. Like the scenes described above, the horror films being produced around the world (in particular in America and Europe) now rely less on suspense and fright as they do brutality and shock.
What is important is that these scenes are without moral contexts. They are there to titillate and to shock. Less any moral framework, these pieces effectively support the actions of the killer by not overtly condemning their actions. With no moral structure frame what we are viewing, we are asked to indulge in the same rush of seeing someone else in pain that is driving the tormentor. The rush of seeing someone else in pain is a dangerous drug to get addicted to and filmmakers are more than happy to make a buck serving it to the masses. Many of the filmmakers see their works as art, as examinations of the human psyche and of evil itself. But this new brand of cinema reduces the tone of fantasy from the narrative. Its one thing to see Freddie Kreuger carving up teens in their dreams and seeing the vicious killers in extended ten minute rape scene in Gaspar Noé’s crime drama Irréversible that goes out of its way to be as real as possible. With basic morality cast aside and a premium on realism, these scenes of torment are cinematic candy for the sick. They cater to the deranged individual in the audience and effectively condone their ill thoughts.
Gone are the monolithic evil killing machines like Jason, Michael Myers or Freddie Kreuger. These villains have been updated for a new generation. In a post-modern world one cannot abide by mythical figures hunting down a gaggle of teens in the woods. That’s too comical and too connected our folklore past (think Little Red Riding Hood, Jason would be the big bad wolf in this instance.) Like the Big Bad Wolf, Jason, Leatherface, Dracula or Frankenstein the big villain in horror movies has traditionally been a tool of morality (of sorts). Its not an accident that the slasher films of the 1970’s and 80’s concentrated on a virginal princess type evading a brutal harbinger of death who kills the immoral. Jason’s victims were the sexually flamboyant, the drug users and the coarse people in the crowd. They sinned and then died. As sick as the slasher movies were, there was a real and notable morality at play. I know it’s a little like saying that eating a dog turd will give you extra fiber, but compared to what is being produced today, Friday the 13th seems like a Greek tragedy.
For Christians, the question we must look at is why are these films are being made. I believe it goes to our post-modern society. We (as a culture) have forsaken God. We have decided (the cultural elites have decided) that he doesn’t exist and his followers are all fools. At least two American generations have been raised with this mindset constantly being drummed into their heads. Once you remove God, you remove the roots for any real morality. You also remove the roots for any real purpose in the universe. The absence of real morality and purpose is at the heart of a post-modern (existentialist) worldview. The works at the cinema reflect this lack of direction. Anything goes now because the only moral force in action is that which the elites decide should be in place. When morality is placed in the hangs of people, morality begins to lose its stability. Good suddenly begins to look more and more like bad and bad becomes far more agreeable.
In generations past horror was used to scare people into correct ways of living. The witch in Hansel and Gretel and the story of Count Dracula served the same function as Michael Myers did for the kids in the 1970’s. Today with the moral vacuum the elites are promoting, this generation is getting the scare without the lesson. This is akin to giving them the poison without the antidote. Without a moral cure for the evil that is presented, the audience learns that their fate is sealed and there is no escape. Christians know better, but others do not
Categories: film, horror movies, torture porn, post modernism
A man is snared in a complicated piece of machinery that slowly turns his limbs until his bones snap and break through his skin. The final action for the machine is to turn his neck around until it too slowly snaps.
Another young woman having been raped and beaten is tied to a post. We casually watch as her captor loads a gun and then shots her in the shoulder. She screams but the abuse doesn’t stop there.
These are descriptions of the images served by Hollywood today (Hostel, Saw and Wolf Creek respectively). Today the most vile and disturbing works has infested the genre of horror. Many people have never enjoyed horror films. They are scary, they are intentionally violent and since the 1960’s, they are usually rather brutal and gory. These days however, horror has taken a turn for the worse (and yes, that is possible).
The term “torture porn” is becoming more widespread. It speaks to the latest development in horror movies. Instead of seeing the evil on screen from the point of view of the victim(s) we are now provided a view of the action from the killer’s side of things. This is not to say we are putting the knife into the screaming teenage girl’s stomach (although if that’s your thing, there are plenty of video games that will allow you that thrill.) What is happening is that we, as audience members, are shown extended and very realistic scenes of torture. Like the scenes described above, the horror films being produced around the world (in particular in America and Europe) now rely less on suspense and fright as they do brutality and shock.
What is important is that these scenes are without moral contexts. They are there to titillate and to shock. Less any moral framework, these pieces effectively support the actions of the killer by not overtly condemning their actions. With no moral structure frame what we are viewing, we are asked to indulge in the same rush of seeing someone else in pain that is driving the tormentor. The rush of seeing someone else in pain is a dangerous drug to get addicted to and filmmakers are more than happy to make a buck serving it to the masses. Many of the filmmakers see their works as art, as examinations of the human psyche and of evil itself. But this new brand of cinema reduces the tone of fantasy from the narrative. Its one thing to see Freddie Kreuger carving up teens in their dreams and seeing the vicious killers in extended ten minute rape scene in Gaspar Noé’s crime drama Irréversible that goes out of its way to be as real as possible. With basic morality cast aside and a premium on realism, these scenes of torment are cinematic candy for the sick. They cater to the deranged individual in the audience and effectively condone their ill thoughts.
Gone are the monolithic evil killing machines like Jason, Michael Myers or Freddie Kreuger. These villains have been updated for a new generation. In a post-modern world one cannot abide by mythical figures hunting down a gaggle of teens in the woods. That’s too comical and too connected our folklore past (think Little Red Riding Hood, Jason would be the big bad wolf in this instance.) Like the Big Bad Wolf, Jason, Leatherface, Dracula or Frankenstein the big villain in horror movies has traditionally been a tool of morality (of sorts). Its not an accident that the slasher films of the 1970’s and 80’s concentrated on a virginal princess type evading a brutal harbinger of death who kills the immoral. Jason’s victims were the sexually flamboyant, the drug users and the coarse people in the crowd. They sinned and then died. As sick as the slasher movies were, there was a real and notable morality at play. I know it’s a little like saying that eating a dog turd will give you extra fiber, but compared to what is being produced today, Friday the 13th seems like a Greek tragedy.
For Christians, the question we must look at is why are these films are being made. I believe it goes to our post-modern society. We (as a culture) have forsaken God. We have decided (the cultural elites have decided) that he doesn’t exist and his followers are all fools. At least two American generations have been raised with this mindset constantly being drummed into their heads. Once you remove God, you remove the roots for any real morality. You also remove the roots for any real purpose in the universe. The absence of real morality and purpose is at the heart of a post-modern (existentialist) worldview. The works at the cinema reflect this lack of direction. Anything goes now because the only moral force in action is that which the elites decide should be in place. When morality is placed in the hangs of people, morality begins to lose its stability. Good suddenly begins to look more and more like bad and bad becomes far more agreeable.
In generations past horror was used to scare people into correct ways of living. The witch in Hansel and Gretel and the story of Count Dracula served the same function as Michael Myers did for the kids in the 1970’s. Today with the moral vacuum the elites are promoting, this generation is getting the scare without the lesson. This is akin to giving them the poison without the antidote. Without a moral cure for the evil that is presented, the audience learns that their fate is sealed and there is no escape. Christians know better, but others do not
Categories: film, horror movies, torture porn, post modernism
Labels: commentary, film, horror, torture porn
posted by Michelle Obama's Left Nut at 11:50 AM
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3 Comments:
This concept of torture porn is not new, of course. Back in the 70s, we had movies like Last House on the Left and I Spit On Your Grave. I think the different for this culture is that these torture porn movies are becoming the norm. It's not just one or two shocking movies out there. It's a whole slew all seemingly trying to outdo the rest. This issue is huge for me. I watched said movies above, and they are actually the reason I don't watch horror anymore. I am not saying that's the right decision for everyone, but it was for me. These images get engraved in your mind, and I think horror is very much like porn anyway. You get shock value from seeing/not seeing and feel a need to get more and more. I question even the tamer horror, not just torture porn. Why do we enjoy seeing people get murdered at all?
Why do we enjoy seeing people get murdered at all?
Because we're scared of dying ourselves.
With the horror movies from the 70's a number of them were direct and intended reactions to the horrors seen on TV every night coming from Vietnam. They were meant as "social statements". Wes Craven wasn't a kid when he came to Hollywood, he was in his 30's with a family. He knew what he was doing when he made Last House on the Left (as horrid as the film is).
Horror has its place when done properly. By properly I am thinking of creating a statement with the work that is worthy of being heard. The torture or the gore isn't the issue here - its the moral context of how it is being presented. If you find yourself disagreeing - have you seen Passion of the Christ, Schindler's List or Sophie's Choice? These are some of the cruelest films put to print - it is ALWAYS a matter of context.
Well said.
Horror for it's own sake makes about as much sense as art for art's sake. It's nihilistic, and leaves you cold. Or, in the case of 'torture porn', a less humane person. If film doesn't reflect the glory of God, yes, even the glory of Jesus's agony for our salvation, or Shindler's agony of decision to sacrifice to save Jews from the Nazis, it has lost it's reason to exist.
Our life on earth is too short to waste it watching pointless trash.
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