From: gbradley@uks197.Berkeley.EDU (Gary Bradley)
Newsgroups: rec.arts.movies
Subject: Re: sex in movies
Date: 27 Aug 92 17:18:43 GMT
Reply-To: gbradley@uks197.Berkeley.EDU (Gary Bradley)

kirsten@morgan.ucs.mun.ca (Kirsten Starcher) writes...

> I remember watching some movie -- I can't remember, I think it was
_Manhunter_
> -- and I just sat there thinking, "This shouldn't be entertainment."  People
> around me were watching it perfectly contentedly, as if it was normal human
> behavior to slit someone's throats and have the blood spurt all over
the walls.

   Hold it right there! Are you saying it is not normal behaviour to
slit someone's thoat, or are you saying it is not normal behaviour for
blood to spurt over the walls AFTER you slit someone's throat?
   If it is the former, then are you suggesting that films should only
depict what YOU consider normal behaviour? I imagine that would be very
dull (unless you are some sort of deviant! :-)) The point I want to make
is that films tend to depict non-normal behaviour, that is why they are
interesting. People DO get their throats cut in real life. How would you
decide what subject matter was permissable? Will you ban war films cause
people get shot in them? Will you ban police thrillers cause people get
murdered etc etc. See what I'm getting at?
   Now if it is the latter you are saying, I disagree. If a thoat IS cut
there is going to be blood on the walls. This comes down to levels of
realism. I like films to be as gritty and realistic as possible. Realism
films: films which show the events they are trying to depict in an as
true-to-life manner as possible. Too little realism and the film can
just look silly. Too much and people yell "gratuitous violence" - this
is where the "it's only a film" safety machanism should kick in. It's a
fantasy remember. If a film depicts a horrific murder, it should look
horrific. I would hate to see such a thing in real life and would
probably have terrible nightmares if I did; however, in a film I enjoy
blood flying everywhere - no problem, it's only a fantasy. It has the
visual realism of real life (and beyond?!), but isn't real. There are no
repercussions or consequences. This is what makes films so enjoyable
IMHO. I don't get bothered by imagined events within a real setting: it
COULD happen, but it isn't happening, it's a film.
   I understand that I am an adult and make my own decisions about what
I see (except when the bastard censor makes up my own mind for me!!),
but that young children cannot do this as well as I can and the effect
on them is unpredictable. But let's not criticise the content of the
film in this case, let's hit out at the mechanism that allowed the child
to see the film. You mentioned a mother taking a child to see a film of
her choice (Single White Female)...she's to blame, not the film.

  For a footnote I will add that as a die hard horror/gore film fanatic
I have noticed that the amount of violence appearing in films (esp
horrors) has been gradually decreasing since the early 80's, not
increasing as this thread suggests.

+---------------------+------------------------------------------+
| Gary Bradley        |   "You receive a love letter from me and |
| ORACLE Corp, UK     |                  you're f*cked forever!" |
| Edinburgh, SCOTLAND |        - Frank Booth ("Blue Velvet")     |
+---------------------+------------------------------------------+
| "God damn the censor man"                                      |
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Newsgroups: rec.arts.movies,alt.cult-movies