Thursday, June 24, 2010

The meaning of torture porn (Salon)

I have heard a lot of people in their discussion of these remakes argue that this emphasis on torture is a passing fad, but I actually don't think that's true. Critics tend to ignore the fact that these films are part of a very long history in which torture and public executions are part of popular entertainment, from gladiator battles to the Inquisitions to public executions in 18th century France to lynching in the U.S. in the 19th and 20th centuries. The question becomes, Why are people watching them right now?
An interesting article about a genre I had hoped had gone away. Perhaps not, but I do think the interviewee misses part of the point, focusing too much on the torture aspect of these films, and not enough on the porn. Seriously - you can see someone get killed in just about every movie made, but torture porn is about enjoying the killing. Isn't that more disturbing?
Read the full article here.

1 comment:

Jonathan said...

I, too, desperately hope this genre goes away. America successfully dodged NC-17 becoming a mainstream market in the 70's-80's. If only we should be so lucky this time...