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Post by MTOL Horror Movies on Mar 27, 2012 7:05:49 GMT -5
I was watching a bit of Jeremy Paxman's series EMPIRE, where he examined Britain's history in the slave trade. He read from a diary some of the punishments that one master dished out to slaves that he took a dislike to. EMPIRE Ep 4 (10.33 - 11.05): "Ghabi catched eating canes. Had him well flogged and pickled. Then made Hector shit in his mouth", "Rubbed Hassack with molasses, and exposed him naked to the flies all day and the mosquitoes all night", "Flogged, punched well and then washed and rubbed in pickle, lime juice and bird pepper. Made negro Joe piss in his eyes and mouth". If "torture porn" has any social function, it puts the audience in the shoes of someone who has no choice but to be physically and mentally oppressed. Given the pretty grim history of humanity, 90 minutes of being tortured could be argued as a pretty healthy (if unsubtle) way of learning to do to others as you would have them do to you  |
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Post by nickeadie on Mar 27, 2012 8:10:38 GMT -5
Pardon me for posting incorrectly. I am the author and I welcome any discussion on this issue.
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Post by joeviturbo on Apr 6, 2012 19:23:06 GMT -5
There is absolutely an aspect of "the golden rule" as you mention. However, I would not discount the enjoyment that people derive out of seeing someone suffer, particularly if it has been demonstrated that the person suffering deserves it in some way. But, along those same lines, how many Lifetime movies are about a woman suffering all sorts of pain and hardship? I think, in that instance, people (women) watch it because they can emotionally share in the simulated pain of someone else. Is it so hard to extend that view to torture porn? Perhaps people watch it to imagine themselves in such a situation. Finally, for real horror fans there's the aspect of how far the scene of violence will go, with the added pleasure of trying to figure-out how the effects were created.
Personally, I can not stand torture porn but I am drawn to horror and there are certainly areas where they overlap. There's a point in many great horror movies where the terror goes from being unknown to being well-known and the danger is terrifyingly demonstrated. Often enough, this is displayed through a scene of intense violence.
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