Has Torture Become Pop Culture?
Posted by anastasia on 01-09-2006
Why does this movie still from "Hostel" make my skin crawl? Is it because the typically gory horror genre has produced a film that features torture over simply hacking people up? Or is it because this image looks strangely familiar. Kind of like the image that came out of the Iraqi prison Abu Ghraib — the one that some people even dressed up as for Halloween.
I guess that pop culture reflects what's happening in the world, but does it also help play a role in normalizing it and making it acceptable? It has become a central feature of shows like "24," and I recently had to cover my eyes when George Clooney's character was being tortured in "Syriana." "Hostel" was number one this weekend at the box office, and I'm pretty sure the theaters were full of teen boys with girls heads burried against their chests, fingers in ears, eyes tightly closed. I just hope that all of this "torture-tainment" doesn't desensitize us to speaking out against the real thing.
January 9th, 2006 at 8:26 am
I too had to shut my eyes during the torture scene in "Syriana." I agree–I hope torture-tainment doesn't desensitize us from reacting to the REAL torture going on out there.
January 10th, 2006 at 8:38 am
I saw a documentary on King Henry VIII this weekend which involved torture. Since he wanted an heir, he wanted to get rid of his wife after she gave birth to a girl* and miscarried a son.
King Henry VIII had his wife and her accused lovers tortured so that they would falsely confess to adultery (some confessed under torture and some didn't.) Then he had them all beheaded, including his wife.
Hopefully, these portrayals will make it easier for the public to think about and stand up against torture, rather than making it acceptable.
* - That girl is now know as Queen Elizabeth I.