PANIC ON THE STREETS OF HATFIELD.

I thought my blog was mediocre to good, alas, I have just seen a few other blogs. Inadequate springs to mind.

So I thought I'll waffle on a little more....

Bill raised an interesting point about whether violent films/video games. How do we know when something is exploiting violence, or when something is about or questioning violence? Itchy and Scratchy is a good example, because its pretty plain within the context of the Simpsons that it is satire.
It's a bit of a difficult one, and I'm no philiosopher. My favourite film may be Pulp Fiction (average to low violence by todays standards) but I really don't see how people can watch films like the Saw series and say they find them funny!? What on the earth is funny about gratuitous torture and relentless brutality?! Maybe this is just a reaction to my own personal response and average threshold, but I honestly cannot fathom the minds of those that find humour in such things.
Perphaps it relates to the idea that it is easy to watch these things in a safe environment, from a distance. People crave the darker side of humanity, but don't necessarily wish to explore it in their lives, so can live it out in these films and games. Especially the likes of the single view pointer games. They are indeed marketed and the general working population, and always have been ever since the publication of the Wild Boys of London. But there's a certain interest in watching these sorts of things, otherwise sadomasechistic porn wouldnt be such a huge internet hit. I can't count the number of times I've been over at a 'gathering' and someone has logged onto the internet to show us all woman having sex with a horse or pumping a football up in her arse. They watch it through their fingers, but they just love to feel disgusted and repulsed.
I feel like I've tailed off a bit here, so excuse me whilst I review my notes...

Ahem..

I have noted, that there are two ways of seeing things...
1. Identification - to be
2. Object cathaxsis - to possess

This is really interesting and one I can totally identify with. When it came out, I went on a date to see 300 at the Imax (how romantic) and when I came out, I was filled with all the rage of the Spartans. It was a bit bizzare actually. But in a good way. It's the same after watching Walk the Line. Not just because Joaquin Phoenix is positively gorgeous, but you build up a relationship with the character and want to change them and 'posses' them as though you were a part of the story. Actually, speaking of which, in year one of primary school, we had to write a weekly diary of the weeks events. After watching the Little Mermaid, my weekly entry consisted of ...'When I grow up, I want to be a mermaid.'.... along side countless pictures of what can only be described as one legged people. Men get a James Bond complex, but he'd never last 5 minutes in the real world methinks. Far too chauvenistic.