Hostel is a currently playing movie that imagines a hostel in eastern Europe where people pay to torture and kill travelers. By all accounts, it is one of the most gruesome and gory films for a major-studio to have released (if not shocking enough for the truly hard-core slasher flick crowd). It confuses, saddens, and revolts me that such a movie was made, never mind that it was the most popular movie in America when it was released earlier this month. But Kerry made a brilliant observation today: can you imagine the response if this film had been made about torturing puppies instead of people?
3 comments:
Of course, puppies don't go to Amersterdam to seek depraved hendonism and then further push their luch by going to Slovkia to "kick it up a notch."
A friend of Jedi's friend, Nate, once wrote an essay called "Dogs are food" about the exact same thing, only from the point of view of some Vietname movie where they sent a dog into fox holes to look for "Charlie" The author was upset that everyone was worried about the dog and no one cared that a Viet Cong soldier would die if the dog was succesful.
Just to push the instinct a bit. No one roots for the Uruk Hai in "The Two Towers"
I decided against trying to write a more complete and nuanced initial post. I'm glad William did the same with his comment.
1) Oh of course, it's a morality play. The point (and appeal) of the movie is moral cause-and-effect, the reminder that self-centered pleasure-seeking will be repaid with finger-removal by chainsaw. And the random girl who gets her eyeball pulled out, she had it coming to her.
2) Fair enough.
3a) Well come on. The Uruk Hai want to eat people, including, presumably, the audience. Rooting for them isn't exactly like hoping DeNiro gets away at the end of "Heat".
3b) You are mistaken. (http://www.bbspot.com/News/2003/03/uruk-hai.html)
You are right to be glad about the nuanced business. I had a number of things to say that I thought my be interesting, but after a few letters, it became clear that intersting was boring and that silly oversimplifcation of the issue was far more enjoyable.
1) Only apparently random, we should presume that this girl looked at something the wrong way.
3a) I have a lot of sympathy for big ugly dudes who are hungry.
3b) I am indeed mistaken.
the word I had to type was "bckppbl" which is a noise you make when you clear your throught in order to hock a lugee but can't and end up having a coughing fit so you try to keep your mouth closed which just makes your cheeks puff out like a cartoon animal who swallows a stick of dynamite
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