<p>Hey- I like Pulp Fiction- but I couldnt’ watch Kiss, Kiss, Bang Bang & I liked Gladiator even though I played solitaire through the excessive bits, and I have gone to see many movies where the level and tone of violence wasn’t accurately noted in reviews IMO- Like *To live and Die in LA, *
where a close up view of someones face getting blown off was hard to forget.</p>
<p>I don’t understand the infatuation( I do understand it- I just don’t like it) with graphic violence & why so many of our big films are about unethical/violent behavior?</p>
<p>I understand that some people like to push " the envelope" & I can see all the 15 year old boys going " cool- dude" and some will say " don’t go see them then", & I don’t- but I would like to be able to see a movie occasionally in a theatre , after all I will have to watch something once I am done reviewing the West Wing.</p>
<p>I also really like Jaiver Bardem- but I haven’t seen his latest movie.</p>
<p>I liked Pulp Fiction, but I stay away from most violent movies. If I watch them I tend to get them on DVD where it’s easier to take. My dh is even more squeamish than me I watched Pulp Fiction when he was away on a trip. As a culture American has been obsessed with violence forever - I’m not sure why, but it dates back at least to the Civil War if not longer ago than that.</p>
<p>I jumped in the part of HP where the Dementors came out despite seeing it x32234432432 times and reading the book. Don’t say you’re too squemish.</p>
<p>The movie industry loves gore. I mean, I can watch things like Sweeny Todd yet I cringe when I watch Psycho or any decent movie–with intense music.</p>
<p>The movie industry is losing the quality of its film–and trying to make it up in crappy gore.</p>
<p>we rented The Departed last weekend, and I should have suspected that it, being directed by Martin Scorcese, would have lots of violence. Although the movie was well done, and it’s a brilliant story, by the time it was over, I’d had enough. Yea, I don’t usually do violent movies, but there are occasional exceptions (such as Pulp Fiction).</p>
<p>I’m not a fan of gore, and I tend to avoid it.</p>
<p>but what I really don’t understand is the trend toward graphic, drawn out depiction of extreme terror, pain, and suffering, in so many recent movies–tortureporn, as it’s been called. I have trouble understanding why it’s so popular. And I assume it is, since it’s more and more common.</p>
<p>Yep. They’re runnning out of ideas. A good director wouldn’t need to go crazy on the gore if they could present it in a decent way. I immediately thought of Saw when I read your post, garland.</p>
<p>The sad thing, IMHO, is that there are some wonderful and creative films that are being made but not distributted to the general populace. I had recently attended the film festival in Palm Springs, and saw movies from US directors along with several from overseas. I was amazed at the depth of dialogue and interesting photography that I thought was a lost art.
Until Econ 1A shifts its direction and becomes evident by movie producers, they will continue to disemenate these horrific films.
A good example as to how this can change, is when you consider the popularity of Steven King’s books(forgive me if you like SK-I think they are just too gruesome)—with several on the Top Ten lists of book readers throughout the US…and then the introduction of books from Oprah’s book club, where the general populace got introduced to other writers…I am hopeful that the independent film makers can have more of a voice and be able to more widely distribute their films…my two cents…APOL-a mom.</p>
<p>I had become used to watching alot of these violent films, watched alot of them on cable with my husband. One day I realized I had become desensitized to them and didn’t like that about myself so I quit watching things like that. Good new is, I got re-sensitized!</p>
<p>I want to see a story being resolved with peaceful action or words- or even not resoived but depicted.</p>
<p>I don’t have to watch “feel good movie of the week” and actually I don’t really like “chick flicks” usually because I don’t like to feel pandered do- although I will admit to watching movies with Hugh Grant , and sometimes the violence is an intrinsic part of the story. Like with Hotel Rwanda, but then again, it wasn’t “porned out”.</p>
<p>But there are just so many movies where the resolution happens because the bad guys get blown away in the end- I know we are a violent nation, but lets bring back movies like The Lion in Winter & African Queen, ( both starring Kate of course)- </p>
<p>I do like Stephen King and I have read a couple of his larger books- but I think they are too bloated- however, he is also a very good short story writer & has written The Green Mile,The Body ( Stand by Me), Shawshank Redemption which are different in tone from his horror theme. I do like some of his horror short stories- they are more fun to read- when you don’t have to wade through 700 pages of goo until the climax.</p>
<p>I was going to mention that if you want to see Jaiver Bardem in a different type movie, Mar adentro ( The sea inside) really shows how good of an actor he is.</p>
<p>tobia- thats what I was saying- Zodiac had a violent subject- a mass murderer, but it didn’t feel the need to lovingly show every final spurt from the carotid artery. :p</p>
<p>I will grudgingly watch violent movies only if there is redeeming value, such as the stunning dialog in Pulp Fiction and the magick in TLOTR and the creative, intellectual story in The Matrix. Others with redeeming value would include Bladerunner, Terminator, Princess Bride (minimal), The Devil’s Advocate…all really great movies with violence but the violence wasn’t the main point of the movie.</p>
<p>Still, I’d rather they make movies like that without the violence. When I saw The Matrix, for example, most people loved the 10-minute shoot ‘em up scene, thought that was the best part, but I ENDURED it and even closed my eyes for much of it. Same with TLOTR - come to think of it, when I read the books in high school I remember skipping over all the battle scenes. Reading about orcs’ grey blood once was enough.</p>
<p>I definitely think society as a whole is too desensitized to violence. What REALLY gets me is when parents let their little kids watch violent movies and play violent video games!</p>
<p>Case in point: Some religious people I know got movies from a company called Feature Films for Families and were telling me how the company edited out all the offensive scenes, so the kids could enjoy wholesome versions of great movies. </p>
<p>Well, guess what, they edited out all the sex scenes/nudity but left all the shoot 'em up and gore!!!</p>
<p>I guess their values are different from mine.</p>
<p>Isn’t that one of Europe’s biggest criticisms of American film audiences—how we can’t seem to get enough of scenes of gratuitous violence and slow motion carnage, but get up in arms about European film’s use of full frontal nudity? I have to agree that, the abject devaluation of human life in American films is far more disturbing, and should engender the greater moral outrage.</p>
<p>I NEVER, under any circumstances watch violent movies that depict in them gratuitous or graffic violence, no matter how “important” the story, no matter how well directed, no matter how well written. I am one of those who can never forget the horrific images from such movies. They haunt my waking hours and follow me into my dreams for weeks at a time, and give me such emotional upset that my ability to function normally is diminished. I’m sure most people would say that I overreact. But fortunately, no one can force me to watch these films.</p>
<p>What bothers me is how the youth in our country are frequently and casually being exposed to such visual graffics, not only in film, but through wildly popular video games, and even in prime time crime (hey, those three words rhyme!:D) dramas on television. When I think of the difference in that regard between, Hawaii Five-O and CSI Miami, I just shake my head…</p>
<p>I agree completely. I let my son watch movies with some nudity (like Shakespeare in Love) when he was a pre-teen way before I let him see anything graphically violent. (And even then, I never ‘let’ him but he just finally got to the age in which he made his own decisions.)</p>
<p>I too have a hard time getting rid of graphic images from my mind. Many of those violent movies I saw, I got dragged to by hubby. No excuse, I know! I usually close my eyes during the violent parts and then ask hubby what happened. I do draw the line at movies like Kill Bill. I refuse to see movies that are violent and vindictive and nothing else.</p>
<p>poetsheart, we may draw the line in a different place but we’re in agreement overall.</p>
<p>I’m to the point where if a movie is violent and/or depressing, I don’t want to see it. I know I miss out on some great films, but I’d rather feel good after my entertainment.</p>
<p>I haven’t seen a lot of movies because of violence- even if it is “cartoon” ( I didn’t even like Road Runner- because I felt sorry for Wil E Coyote)
I really want to see a movie this weekend though.
One of my classmates recommended the Bucket list- although she was in a major car accident and had brain damage which may have affected her taste
so maybe I will see The diving bell and the butterfly instead.</p>
, and sometimes the violence is an intrinsic part of the story. Like with Hotel Rwanda, but then again, it wasn’t “porned out”.</p>