Civilization's Mirror

What's up with all these horror films depicting brutal scenes of violence and torture over the past few years? Every few months there seems to be a new crop. Just today I read another article about the trend. To be honest I've never seen any of these movies: Hostel, Saw, hell, even the Passion of the Christ. I have no desire to experience torture even if I can stuff popcorn (coated in chemicals of course) in my face all the while.

In fact I have an overall low regard for the practice of torture. It serves no purpose but to harm other beings, both human and non-human; certainly it is not entertainment unless this is a psychopathic culture.

I remember seeing a documentary that linked a Hollywood explosion in horror movies with direct US involvement in wars. During and after the Vietnam War, there was an explosion in horror movies like the first Dawn of the Dead and Night of the Living Dead (who are the zombies?). Now with Iraq and Afghanistan are we seeing a return to this form of expression? It seems that our civilization's overt violence makes a fine film canvas.

And maybe these torture and captivity-focused films demonstrate that things are much worse now than they ever were previously. The violence more pervasive in our lives. Not just brown people like the Vietnamese, Afghans and Iraqis, but anyone could be disappeared for reading a library book; that's right, even white people could be tortured!

I'm all for horror movies and have fond memories (if you can refer to them thus) of Halloween, Friday the 13th, Psycho and Invasion of the Bodysnatchers. I think being scared is a good thing every once in a while; it reminds us of the predators that should be hot on our heels. But bombarded by two hours of torture? Count me out.

Besides if you want to see real violence just pick up a newspaper. The planet is dying because of human beings. This winter was the second warmest on record in Canada; bad news for polar bears and any being that lives in polar regions. Globally, species are disappearing so that we can "develop". Water and air, the foundations of life, are being compromised for our hubris.

And last of all (but hopefully before it's too late), civilized humans will depart this earth when cancer becomes a birthright and we still demand the right to pollute, torture and kill ourselves for ethereal things called money and status.

We do this blindly of course. Much like the victim on the cold slab, we pluck out our own eyes to persist.