on sex and violence in movies
after watching sin city last night, a movie which i thoroughly enjoy, i came to a sort of epiphany on the use of sex and violence in movies.
many people say that there is too much sex or too much violence in films or on tv. some say both. some say one and not the other. most people, i think, tend towards the "too much sex" instead of "too much violence," but i think they'd admit there is some tie between the two.
no matter.
it is not the quantity of the sex and violence in films in my opinion. it's the quality. if the sex or violence in a film is meant to solely stimulate the senses and present the watcher with a "rush," then, in my opinion, it is most probably unneccessary. Naturally, everyone likes a good rush, but what is this? However, I think both sex and violence can be portrayed in beautiful ways. Ok, sex in a beautiful way, violence in a meaningful way.
That's the gist of it. I felt Sin City did an excellent job of portraying this. Movies such as, well, Mission Impossible are obviously just in it for the thrills. As are movies like Gone in 60 Seconds or Gladiator. That being said, I thought Gladiator had a very moving message. But was all the violence necessary? Did it advance the thought of the film and move the viewers to better live their lives? Or did it simply incite them to use violence at times?
Sin City showed violence as gruesome, horrible, and hateful at times. It did not make the violence rosy and did not paint it as acceptable. It merely said, "here it is. it is bloody. it does not make you surge with emotion. deal with it." It showed the dark sides of life, and dealt with sacrifice, honesty, and death.
The nudity and sex in the film, in my opinion, was done just as honestly. It was not captured long enough to prolongue a fantasy or build false emotions, but simply to tell a story well and capture the thoughts of the characters on the screen.
I believe the rampant disregard for any sanctity in sex and violence that permeates modern media also permeates modern culture. The two are indistinguishable. This is why I love movies that present what it real and do not make it something false. The stories in Sin City do not have happy endings. They have, in some aspects, real endings. Hard choices and self sacrifices. Uncompromising love as seen through death, despair, and unacted love.
Humanity is defined by its ability to say no for some deeper reason which we can hardly define. We act constantly as though there is something more to love and then run from the mystery which offers us a possible answer. It is simply remarkable.
I saw X-Men 3 over the weekend. The violence was there, but it was, well, X-Men...the violence wasn't really -real-. I liked the movie because it lives in a reality where the beings access some higher power and must live within the real world. I like its parallels to Christianity if we accept the truly untapped and unimaginable power that is GOD. In some people's eyes, we may become mutants by acting as such. In our eyes, we become more fully ourselves.
many people say that there is too much sex or too much violence in films or on tv. some say both. some say one and not the other. most people, i think, tend towards the "too much sex" instead of "too much violence," but i think they'd admit there is some tie between the two.
no matter.
it is not the quantity of the sex and violence in films in my opinion. it's the quality. if the sex or violence in a film is meant to solely stimulate the senses and present the watcher with a "rush," then, in my opinion, it is most probably unneccessary. Naturally, everyone likes a good rush, but what is this? However, I think both sex and violence can be portrayed in beautiful ways. Ok, sex in a beautiful way, violence in a meaningful way.
That's the gist of it. I felt Sin City did an excellent job of portraying this. Movies such as, well, Mission Impossible are obviously just in it for the thrills. As are movies like Gone in 60 Seconds or Gladiator. That being said, I thought Gladiator had a very moving message. But was all the violence necessary? Did it advance the thought of the film and move the viewers to better live their lives? Or did it simply incite them to use violence at times?
Sin City showed violence as gruesome, horrible, and hateful at times. It did not make the violence rosy and did not paint it as acceptable. It merely said, "here it is. it is bloody. it does not make you surge with emotion. deal with it." It showed the dark sides of life, and dealt with sacrifice, honesty, and death.
The nudity and sex in the film, in my opinion, was done just as honestly. It was not captured long enough to prolongue a fantasy or build false emotions, but simply to tell a story well and capture the thoughts of the characters on the screen.
I believe the rampant disregard for any sanctity in sex and violence that permeates modern media also permeates modern culture. The two are indistinguishable. This is why I love movies that present what it real and do not make it something false. The stories in Sin City do not have happy endings. They have, in some aspects, real endings. Hard choices and self sacrifices. Uncompromising love as seen through death, despair, and unacted love.
Humanity is defined by its ability to say no for some deeper reason which we can hardly define. We act constantly as though there is something more to love and then run from the mystery which offers us a possible answer. It is simply remarkable.
I saw X-Men 3 over the weekend. The violence was there, but it was, well, X-Men...the violence wasn't really -real-. I liked the movie because it lives in a reality where the beings access some higher power and must live within the real world. I like its parallels to Christianity if we accept the truly untapped and unimaginable power that is GOD. In some people's eyes, we may become mutants by acting as such. In our eyes, we become more fully ourselves.