The word desensitization has been used often to describe the sense of satisfaction we as a society get from increasingly pushing the envelope within our media. We enjoy watching and experiencing entertainment that both shocks and excites us, and the scope of what shocks and excites us has become vastly more disturbing with every passing generation. Recently, within both the realm of film and television, graphic scenes of torture and dismemberment have become very popular, the latest in this need to push the envelope of what we as a viewing public can handle. The timing seems very strange, with the recent very public actions of the US Military, as well as other controversial corporal punishment and arcane torture methods being decried and exposed throughout the world. Yet, shows and movies of this theme are more celebrated than ever. I don’t for one second claim that media such as this should not be made. On the contrary, I am all for gore and blood and guts in movies, and enjoy seeing the creative landscape explored, even if it may be a little unnerving. Putting a stop to media such as this is not the answer, as stifling creativity never is, but perhaps we should examine exactly why we need to push things this far. Have we become so desensitized that simple murder just isn’t scary enough anymore? Is it enough even to be frightened now, or must we also be shocked and psychologically disturbed to actually feel fear from a television show or a horror movie? The prevalence of psychological and physical torture and abuse in our media today would suggest yes.
The movie Hostel, released early this year, is a prime example of this. Although you hear things about the movie being gory and a little disturbing, there is no mention in the actual rating system itself of just how graphic and realistic the scenes are. The movie seemed to deviate at the end from the plot point and simply concentrate on being as violent and sickening as it could possibly be, which is becoming an annoying trend in the newer horror films. When I saw the film, I knew somewhat what to expect going in, but there was a montage of five or six consecutive extremely graphic and distressing scenes toward the end that I wasn’t prepared for. Numerous people got up and left the theater during this little montage, the film obviously too much for them too handle at that point. They did not fully know what they were signing on for, thinking, and perhaps rightfully so, that nobody would put those kinds of things in an R rated movie. The most disappointing thing, though, was that in the end the hedonism, gore and shock value of the movie seemed to be more of the point than the actual plot, which is actually a very dark and interesting story.
This I found also to be the case with Saw II, as it had some very interesting plot twists and story ideas, but in the end also relied heavily on sadistic torture traps and ultra-violence to push it through to its climax. The first Saw was an enjoyable movie because the plot was excellent and the twists unique. It was also very graphic and disturbing, but that wasn’t what carried the film, and therefore, wasn’t the ultimate takeaway of the movie. Saw II could have also been an excellent film, had they concentrated more on character development and the actual story line. But there was an air of desperation in the film to get to the gore, and, once attained, to keep it coming in fresh and freakish ways, to continually shock and disgust. Even our old safe haven of family programming, prime-time television, is moving in this direction. At least with movies there is a ratings system in place to keep children away from these explicit images. Television is much more wide open, and therefore, much more dangerous.
CSI Las Vegas, a show that is fantastic in many ways, recently aired an episode in which people were being subjected to arcane and torturous experiments, in what appeared to be a troubled scientists’ quest to build a perfect Aryan specimen. The episode depicted scenes in which people were branded with hot irons, a man was lobotomized through his eye, and a woman chewed her own arm off in an attempt to escape. CSI as a rule is a frailly graphic show, so these scenes don’t come as much of a surprise. But look around; on 24, Jack Bauer frequently tortures people in violent ways to gain information, and people often torture him. Recently, on the show Lost, the character Sayid has begun the torture of a possible enemy, this after they showed his background as a torturer with the Iraqi forces. It appears not even prime time television can provide an escape from the new wave of shock and torment that is now so popular and seemingly necessary in our media.
The bottom line is the bottom line. The media has always adhered to the public because we pay the bills, and they will continue to give us what we want. Stopping the media, or protesting it, is not the answer. It isn’t the media itself that is the cause. It is our desires as consumers. The hypocrisy of celebrating these horrors while they occur in reality escapes us. In today’s world, all we want is as much human misery as we can handle presented in the most vivid ways possible. The trend has begun, and there is no end in sight. How long before we need to push it that much further? How long until, perhaps, acting just isn’t realistic enough anymore? It is a bone-chilling thought, but, the most frightening aspect is, it may not be that far off.

Sir Smittius