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| Bulls Make Money, Bears Make Money, Pigs Get Slaughtered
i'm right here, in front of you
and i can't stop sh-sh-sh shaking
come on and hold me still
did my heart love until now?
cause i feel that if i've never seen beauty till this night
i'm forever
yeah, i'm forever yours
you're wearing your skin like it's too tight
and there she was, reflecting so brightly the warmth that she installs
and there she was, we were infinite for a moment
there's not one girl that will be lead by her conscience
in a world where every girl wants to be a model
what's wrong babe?
did daddy not give you attention?
across the ocean,
hear her screams
>Chiodos "Bulls Make Money, Bears Make Money, Pigs Get Slaughtered"
My new favorite song.
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| Make Yourself Listen to the song “Alive with the Glory of Love” by the band Say Anything. Singer Max Bemis starts the song proclaiming his explicit desire for some girl. From sex on a foyer to the young lovers’ separation in work camps, by the end of the song he paints a harrowing love story against the backdrop of World War 2. If the listener was not aware that this song was set during the war, then the lyrics would have a different meaning to them, one would assume that the song is solely about sex. The song’s lyrics are only effective when they are in the context of the song. In order to understand something it must be taken in its’ proper context. Such is the case with the current debate against violence in media. People are not desensitized to the realities of violence by the movies they watch. They may however become more tolerant of violence and brutality in movies.
Many people argue that our culture is becoming increasingly obsessed with violence in the media. In her essay “The Postmorbid Condition”, Vivian C. Sobchack argues that “Today, most American films have more interest in the presence of violence than its meaning” (373). Not only has the level of violence increased, but there is apparently no reason behind it. There is an obvious increase of brutality in films, but there is no decrease of people’s reactions to it in real life. Violence in the media only serves to numb its viewers to media related violence.
The popular movie 300 is two hours worth of death and fighting. From its beginning a spear skewers a wolf. Men are kicked down an endless well. An entire village is massacred and strung up in a tree- this is all before the fighting starts in earnest. Once it does start, it is relentless. An arm is cut off. A Persians head is cut off. A Spartans head is cut off. A rhino gets a lance in the eye. A Persian gets a lance in the eye. Persian elephants are pushed off a cliff. Persians are pushed off a cliff. Sobchack would say that in a film like this “bodies are more carelessly squandered than carefully stylized”. She has a point; the movie only slows down to mention the death of a single Spartan soldier. There is no moral mention of the hundreds of Persian killed. It would seem that with a movie as violent and brutal as 300 the viewer would be aghast watching it. This is not the case. Not only did most people sit through the movie, they also cheered several times throughout. Adults have the ability to separate fact from fiction; while an adult is watching this movie, he or she can watch a man be killed and know that he is not dead in real life. Furthermore, with the advent of special features on DVD’s, most people are quite informed about stunts and how they are performed. Because this is made clear people are able to watch without being offended.
It is not just the violence that is said to have a negative effect; it is also the byproduct of violence, the de-humanization of the human body. This de-humanization is especially apparent in the film Final Destination. The premise of this movie is that a group of teenagers somehow manages to avoid their deaths in a plane crash. As a result death becomes somewhat personified and through a series of “accidents” comes after the teens one by one. Aside from the lead male and female characters, the audience is not actually expected to care about any of the other characters. The other characters in the movie merely represent an upcoming creative death. With a clothesline, one character is strangled; another has her throat cut, is impaled by a knife, then dies as her house explodes. Yet another character is infamously hit by a bus. Sobchack makes note of cases like these in which the deaths of the characters do not seem to have any kind of sorrowful effect on the audience. Rather Sobchack emphasizes that “the mounting gore and dead bodies [become] expected and funny”. The important point present here is context. While the movie is marketed as a horror film, overall the deaths in the film were designed to be inventive, and at the same time fun. If the movie is set up for the audience to have fun while watching it, then it is unfair to call the audience out for actually having fun while watching these types of films.
Repeatedly it has been said that brutality in media is having a desensitizing effect on its viewers. The opposite seems to be true with the television show Firefly and its movie Serenity. The basic premise of Firefly is that it is a character study of a captain and his crew. In the pilot episode, the captain is introduced as uncompromising. His will is put to the test when his ships mechanic, a young woman named Kaylee, is shot and finds herself in desperate need of a doctor. There happens to be a doctor on the ship at that moment, however he is a fugitive. He also refuses to help unless the captain helps him escape the law. The
captain must then decide whether he will give in to the doctor’s demands or let a member of his crew die. From the very beginning, the characters of the show are shown to be vulnerable, and every threat made has the possibility of being carried out. In Firefly and Serenity the viewer is meant to care about the characters so therefore, whenever a character found themselves in danger, the audience is concerned. In 300 the audience is supposed to cheer for the Spartans, so they cheered. In Final Destination, the audience is supposed to feel anticipation for the characters deaths so they reacted accordingly.
People aren’t desensitized? Since when is it ok to view children in danger? Pan’s Labyrinth is considered very imaginative and a work of art. The main character a young girl named Ophelia creates a fantasy world in which to escape from her surroundings. She lives in a war torn Spain with her pregnant mother. Her father was killed and now she finds herself adjusting to her new stepfather. These are just a few of the trials this girl must go through. Before the movie is over, she will have caused and witnessed the violent deaths of two fantasy creatures. She will watch her stepfather sew his cheek, which was cut in half. She will have watched her mother bleed profusely due to a pregnancy complication. Later she will listen to her mom’s screams as she dies. Ophelia will get shot and bleed to death. In the upcoming movie Hounddog a young twelve year old, Dakota Fanning will be raped. Regardless of context, no movie should imperil children in that way. Has this culture become so numb to violence that we seek entertainment in the killing and rape of young girls? These are only movies and as such are not real. Some lines should not be crossed.
Sometimes in trying to capture a feeling, movies do so perfectly. Other times in trying to create a mood or effect, they go too far. Such is the case with Pan’s Labyrinth or Hounddog. In real life, people have all the appropriate sensibilities about violence. Crimes against children still strike a nerve. People become alarmed about murder rates in cities. While violence in media is on the rise, people’s reaction to it in real life remains appropriate and proportional. Violence in media will not desensitize someone. Violence in media will not make someone more apt to stand by while another person is assaulted. Violence in media will not make someone able to watch news stories with disinterest. Violence in media will not make anyone do anything. Ultimately, it is up to you, the viewer, to make yourself.
Works Cited
300. Dir. Zack Snyder. Gerard Butler, Lena Headey, Rodrigo Santoro. Warner Bros.,
2007
Final Destination. Dir. James Wong. Devon Sawa, Ali Larter. Warner Bros., 2000
Firefly. Joss Whedon. Nathan Fillion, Summer Glau, Gina Torres, Alan Tudyk.
2002-2003
Pan’s Labyrinth. Dir. Guillermo Del Toro. Ivana Baquero, Doug Jones, Sergi Lopez.
Warner Bros., 2006
Say Anything. “Alive With the Glory of Love”. …Is a Real Boy. Max Bemis, Coby
Linder. Sony Bmg Music Entertainment. New York, 2006
Serenity. Dir. Joss Whedon. Nathan Fillion, Summer Glau, Gina Torres, Alan Tudyk.
Universal Pictures, 2005
Sobchack, Vivian C. “The Postmorbid Condition”. Signs of Life in the USA. Ed. Sonia
Maasik and Jack Solomon. Boston, Ma, New York, 2006. 372-376
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This made me smile.
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There is another chapter in the whole 'Animals vs Humans' story. It's filled with suspense, and action, and all sorts of revelations! You won't want to miss this, it will forever change the way you view our brethren in the animal kingdom. You might not want to hold your breath or anything seeing as I haven't written it yet. However rest assured it is in the works.
"Hey, If I were you then it would be me that I go home with"
Valentines day is almost upon us. The hospital is selling hearts and some sort of singing telegram. That of course got me thinking of all sorts of wonderful V-day things. Actually I only briefly thought of some of my favorite 'love' songs. Pantomime by Incubus and this gem by Mos Def:
See me, want me, give me, trust me
Feed me, fuck me, love me, touch me
This whole world is cold and ugly
What we are is low and lovely
I am the most beautiful boogie man
The most beautiful boogie man
Let me be your favorite nightmare
Close your eyes and ill be right there
While...Open...All...Over...A-gain
See me, touch me, give me, want me
Feed me, fuck me, trust me, love me
This whole world is cold and ugly
What we are is low and lovely
I am the most beautiful boogie man
The most beautiful boogie man
Let me be your favorite nightmare
Close your eyes and ill be right there
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I was having a conversation with someone one day and somehow it turned toward his bathing habits. Not completely sure how that happened. In any case he mentioned that he doesn't wash under his arms all the time because he wears 48hr deodorant and that's good for two days. Does that seem a little suspect?
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