tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4571197992337228005.post7830153744248772175..comments2023-08-18T05:36:16.586-07:00Comments on m huw evans — editor — writer — reader: Inglourious Basterds: a valuable reminderM. Huw Evanshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15608919632549675452noreply@blogger.comBlogger9125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4571197992337228005.post-40134958514074697402009-12-22T17:10:10.581-08:002009-12-22T17:10:10.581-08:00Wow. I concur. That is amazing. What a wonderfull...Wow. I concur. That is amazing. What a wonderfully written article!Zech Moorehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11325700599808189551noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4571197992337228005.post-40536371337656175572009-09-30T13:53:51.212-07:002009-09-30T13:53:51.212-07:00Thanks for the comment, Cameron. I agree... it...Thanks for the comment, Cameron. I agree... it's tragic just how many nice buildings, cars, and historical landmarks get blown to bits in movies. Good thing they're all empty so nobody gets hurt. BTW, are you either of the Camerons that I know personally?M. Huw Evanshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15608919632549675452noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4571197992337228005.post-63242635958455540742009-09-28T14:15:00.719-07:002009-09-28T14:15:00.719-07:00Outstanding argument, Ilorien. I have a lot of tr...Outstanding argument, Ilorien. I have a lot of trouble with onscreen violence too, and your articulation fits my discomfort like a glove. Visual and intellectual dishonestly in violence make it all the more appalling: the idea that violence is clean and without consequence.<br /><br />The most breathtaking violence I can recall seeing onscreen was in the apocalyptic stylings of ID4 or Cloverfield: lovingly rendered, shocking, gargantuan... and all done against buildings. No human suffering whatsoever. All adrenaline; no blood or guts. <br /><br />It's the tragedy of heartlessly devastated real estate. Who cries for the fallen architecture? Will these buttresses ne'er fly again?Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14843595356303515404noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4571197992337228005.post-35928771293903920502009-09-09T04:33:28.950-07:002009-09-09T04:33:28.950-07:00Hi Ilorien---I don't, Ilorien. I don't car...Hi Ilorien---I don't, Ilorien. I don't care how "realistic and nauseating" it is. A film with violence done that way might even have the most praiseworthy of messages. I simply won't go. I cannot handle it.George Bergerhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02793939519235087339noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4571197992337228005.post-6993377227188859942009-09-07T11:56:53.657-07:002009-09-07T11:56:53.657-07:00Reave -
Thanks for the comment. Of course I don&#...Reave - <br />Thanks for the comment. Of course I don't know what Tarantino's purpose or agenda is in his frequent portrayals of excessive violence, but I do feel like he and the Cohen brothers, and a few other directors do a good job of reminding the viewer that violence, bloodshed, killing are not as simple as pulling a trigger and walking away -- that they are ugly and disturbing. I still don't necessarily support violence on film, but if it's going to be there, I think it should be hard to watch.<br /><br />George - <br />I do think that the vast majority of explicit violence that is portrayed on film is done just for the attention -- the media hype that will get more people to go spend $10 on a theater ticket. I won't go to a movie just because it is violent, but if a movie that I think is likely to be good for other reasons includes violence, I don't avoid it. And I appreciate it when violence (if portrayed at all), is done so in a realistic and nauseating way.<br /><br />Cheers.M. Huw Evanshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15608919632549675452noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4571197992337228005.post-1931890446049184372009-09-06T13:28:28.894-07:002009-09-06T13:28:28.894-07:00Ilorien, that is indeed an excellent post. Fine, p...Ilorien, that is indeed an excellent post. Fine, powerful, and persuasive style. But you will never get me to see a film with explicit violence. The only exception I can think of now is "A Clockwork Orange." I liked it once, but was convinvced by a fellow SF fan that its choreographed violence was done largely for the publicity.George Bergerhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02793939519235087339noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4571197992337228005.post-25741794462906119762009-09-06T09:26:55.772-07:002009-09-06T09:26:55.772-07:00Excellent post! I remember the first time I was ex...Excellent post! I remember the first time I was exposed to ACTUAL violence on video; surfing the web I stumbled upon a gruesome high-resolutioon video of a Russian soldier being executed in Georgia by having his throat cut open, and couldn't look away until the video ended and I emptied everything I'd eaten in about a week into a trashcan under my desk. When I recovered, I was appalled, of course, not just by the video but by the fact that I had watched hundreds of people "die" in movies and had had absolutely no idea what it was actually LIKE. I've always avoided Tarantino's films because I felt like he was glorying in horrible violence, but reading this post makes me wonder if he isn't up to something else. Thanks for the viewpoint!Reavehttp://www.econocataclysm.comnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4571197992337228005.post-87153492293909685102009-09-05T16:24:54.088-07:002009-09-05T16:24:54.088-07:00Thanks for the comment Areophany. Actually, I don...Thanks for the comment Areophany. Actually, I don't argue that it's ultimately good for us to be watching depictions of violence on film at all, in an absolute sense, but I do think that if we're getting our kicks from violent action flicks, we should be forced to have our noses rubbed in the reality of it. Also, I do think that as long as our country is so heavily involved in (easily disregarded) violence all over the world, that it is good for us to be reminded of what's really happening. In an ideal, peaceful world, I would probably argue against cinematic depiction of violence at all, as it would be just some wild fantasy, having nothing to do with real world existence. Until that such an impossible Utopia comes to pass, however, yes, I would argue that we should be exposed to depictions of violence and that they should be as stomach-turning and heart-wrenching as possible.M. Huw Evanshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15608919632549675452noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4571197992337228005.post-31018665576658304692009-09-05T15:59:00.450-07:002009-09-05T15:59:00.450-07:00Wow. What a breath-taking post. I think it's t...Wow. What a breath-taking post. I think it's the most original examination of violence in media that I've ever read. There's a pediatrician at UNM who argues that we should censor imaginary violence, on the presumption that doing so would reduce violence in the real world. If I understand you correctly, you're arguing just the opposite -- to discourage real world violence by making the imaginary version exactly like the sordid, degrading reality. Thank you for writing this, it is amazing.Procyon Skyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03842768875936693854noreply@blogger.com