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Joshua Hinckley-Porter part of writers, directors, and actors, ENG 105 whereas simple violence requires Online relatively little of these things. What Dr. Beatty motivates filmmakers to put in all that effort to replace a “cheap thrill” with a Thrilling and Killing - Why So Often sophisticated one? Why do extremely Synonyms in the Film Industry? talented writers and directors still take advantage of violence and its effects? As we speak, there is a man The answers vary from genre to genre holding a gun to the back of your head. and film to film, but in essence boil The cold muzzle stings the tender skin of down to one fact: violence is an your scalp and blood trickles to the floor undeniable and irreplaceable part of a from where the handcuffs have cut into faithfully told modern story. If a film your wrists. Your heart, sensing death attempts to be as “realistic” as possible, approaching, struggles in vain to slip as many psychological thrillers do, it through its cage of ribs and run will more likely than not contain screaming into the night, much like how violence simply because violence is a the scream just behind your eyes makes part of our reality. your vision blur and muscles twitch Just because a good spastically. But perhaps you know the psychological thriller does not man behind you. Does that make you necessarily require violence to be intense more or less afraid? Perhaps there’s no and suspenseful does not mean that man at all. Perhaps it’s you who’s violence is always an indication of holding that gun. Maybe that gun isn’t trashy cinema. What discriminates there either. Is such a thing possible? A between the instances where film loud BANG is your only answer. violence is powerful and where it is just Now you stand up, brush the so much bloody fluff is the flecks of popcorn off your shirt, and accompanying moral and emotional leave the theatre. Tomorrow, when you context. A journalist quotes author and tell your friends that the movie was film critic Stephen Prince as saying, exciting, thrilling, and heart-stopping “nearly all filmmakers are concentrating you’ll most likely be describing one on the visual, physical aspects of thing - violence. Never mind the violence and not on the emotional or unanswered questions of identity; it’s the spiritual dimensions of it” (Harris 2). A gun that made your heart race, the blood good question to determine the value of that made your hair stand on end. Does a particular instance of violence might this mean you can’t be thrilled without be, “Is the violence a part of the story, or violence? Certainly not. What it means is does the story exist merely for the that violence does thrill. Aside from purpose of exhibiting violence?” Most being a biological fact, it also happens to often, if the content is critically be one which filmmakers have learned to integrated into the story, the “emotional expertly exploit. When properly or spiritual dimensions” are being employed, almost any object or action addressed to a far greater extent than if can set the heart thumping and send a the story is simply a backdrop for cheap chill down the spine, but to do so eye-candy. requires greater-than-average skill on the A number of excellent examples 2 of such “meaningful violence” can be viewers. seen in the movie Memento, written by As Prince says, “The lack of Christopher Nolan. His screenplay opens consequences is one of the damaging quite bluntly, with “A POLAROID messages that get sent” by film violence PHOTOGRAPH, clasped between finger (Harris 2). Psychological thrillers, rather and thumb: a crude, crime scene flash than failing to show the consequences of picture of a MAN’S BODY lying on a violent action, often focus more on the decaying wooden floor, a BLOODY consequences than on the action itself. In MESS where his head should be” (Nolan Memento the murder of Lenny’s wife 1). Graphic? Yes. Unnecessary? (which is only briefly glimpsed during Absolutely not. As the viewer comes to flashback sequences) brings his entire discover, the picture is taken by Lenny, a life crashing down around him, and his man unable to form memories. quest for bloody vengeance robs him of Photographs and scribbles become his what little he has left, leaving him at the only means of remembering anything mercy of certain individuals of new, including his own actions, and even questionable morality. In Vanilla Sky, his own murders. Tom Cruise’s character lapses into And Lenny’s murders are critical despair and self-loathing after a car to the story. After his wife is raped and “accident” mangles his appearance. In killed in a seemingly random crime, the Donnie Darko, much of Donnie’s crime to which his memory also fell sufferings are the result of an act of victim, Lenny vows to find and wreak violence that he is fated to commit, vengeance on the man responsible. although he and the audience are Already we can see the plot is wrought unaware of it for most of the movie. This with violence, yet it is not portrayed focus on consequences serves to without serious emotional consequences reinforce the films’ realism. As we all (Klein 2). Because of his inability to know a murder may take only a few make new memories, Lenny is minutes, but its consequences can last a constantly plagued by the never-fading lifetime. phantom of his wife’s death, and is One notable exception to this driven to seek revenge by his constant trend of realistic consequences is the grief and pain. Lenny does not employ movie Fight Club, and the exception has violence by choice – it is simply a step been well noted by fans and critics alike. on the path toward what he truly seeks: While violence certainly plays a critical relief from his suffering. Likewise, good role in the story, its consequences come psychological thrillers do not include across as positive bordering on desirable. violence for the sake of violence; they Even so, it tends to be overlooked that include it because it must be included in the film’s portrayal of violence remains order for the story being told to be “real,” which is why it is so effective. “true”. In this regard, most psychological Punches produce black eyes, kicks thrillers do not (or perhaps more produce limps and head-buts result in accurately, should not) suffer one of the missing teeth. The dead are mourned by major accusations leveled against other friends when they fall. This type of film genres that employ violence, which violence is blatantly different from the is that their portrayal of violence is truly unrealistic and consequence-less unrealistic and potentially harmful to types show in such movies as The 3

Terminator and Triple-X. It is these to other people’s violent experiences types of violence that quickly produce through news and entertainment media the numbing effects that are forever simulates the effect far too well. Telling debated in the media, not the types a faithful story set in today’s society encountered in the psychological thriller. without violence consequently becomes I mentioned earlier violence in quite difficult, and the rewards for doing connection with realism (at least for the it are relatively few (Piluso 1). Rather viewers and context of today), and this is than avoiding violence and viewing it as of particular import when examining a negative influence, many violence in psychological thrillers. In psychological thrillers have been able to order to be effective, this genre of film use it (in combination with many other must successfully merge the audience’s factors) to stir deeper emotions and on consciousness with that of the the whole create more engrossing films. characters, which is at very best a Let’s go back to Memento and daunting task. A psychological thriller see firsthand how realism and violence that fails in this regard is doomed to are used to enhance the character-viewer forever sit on the back shelf of the video bond. The characters are all quite real, store, to slip through the cracks of the complete with flaws and weaknesses. public’s fickle memory and fade away to They can’t be clearly categorized as make room for more appetizing big- being either “good” or “bad,” because screen offerings. This is where violence like real people they have unique and as a means to the end of realism comes personal motivations for their actions in. that often have little direct relation to There are numerous strategies for Lenny’s story. Combined with the securing a film’s place in the minds and modern “anywhere, USA” setting, this hearts of its viewers, but realism seems sets up a good foundation for sympathy to be by far the most effective. As Robin and identification but doesn’t go much Wood, a scholar of Hitchcock’s works further. The actual linking of character states, “We tend to select from a film and and viewer is accomplished through stress, quite unconsciously, those aspects violence. Lenny has suffered a loss that that are most relevant to us, to our own many of us fear; the loss of a loved one problems and our own attitude to life, while we are unable to do anything to and ignore or minimize the rest” (Wood help. It is not until we see the flashback 102). The more the setting of the film where “the wet plastic shower curtain looks like a place you know, the more pulls taut across a gasping, thrashing the characters do and say things you female face” (Nolan 69) that we truly might do or say, the more they find understand the horror and significance of themselves facing the same fears that his loss. Scenes such as this serve to strike you when you hear the floor creak merge Lenny’s viewpoint with that of in the middle of the night, the more the audience until it’s not just Lenny that closely you will identify with them. wants to avenge his wife, but the Sadly, violence has become one of those audience as well. things that we today are intimately As we’ve see in Memento, familiar with. Even though many people violence can help bring the characters don’t actually deal with violence and audience together, but this only personally on a daily basis, our exposure works when certain other conditions are 4 met. Problems arise that begin to hurt the context, so why is it only within the last effectiveness and significance of 40 or so years of filmmaking that violence when the characters aren’t easy violence has come to the forefront? to identify with. Take for example Social pressures had much to do with it; Vanilla Sky, starring Tom Cruise as a before Penn and Peckinpah, most millionaire playboy who happens to “realistic” portrayals of violence, i.e. suffer a number of strange and life- those including any sort of blood or altering changes after being the victim of graphic suffering were cut from scripts a car accident. While this fits the mold of for fear of rejection by producers and a Greek tragedy quite nicely, the audiences (Piluso 1). Writers of characterization of the protagonist seems psychological thrillers such as Hitchcock to be out of place in the modern had to work much harder to bring the psychological thriller. The film has viewers into the story while still received notoriously bad reviews, most maintaining a certain standard of visual likely because of this fatal flaw in cleanliness. characterization. The average audience Hitchcock took what today might will find it much harder to identify with be considered a creative hindrance and “Citizen Dildo’s” (as Cruise’s character created what Wood refers to as his first is referred to in the film) fall from masterpiece, Rear Window (Wood 100). economic and pretty-boy grace than to On screen violence plays a very small identify with someone like Lenny of part in the film, and yet it still manages Memento or the unnamed protagonist of to be suspenseful through the expert use Fight Club. Both of the latter examples of other techniques. In a way, the are preferred by audiences for several exclusion of explicit violence is reasons. Neither possesses much beneficial – the less that is shown, the material wealth, neither is satisfied with more the audience has to guess at. We their life, and both undergo intense can also see in this film one of the first internal struggles for control and and best attempts to force the audience meaning. When characters such as these completely into the mind of the lash out in violence we sympathize and protagonist. “Rear Window is understand, knowing that we might very Hitchcock’s most uncompromising well have acted the same way under such attempt to imprison us, not only within a difficult circumstances. When the fallen- limited space, but within a single from-grace pretty-boy lashes out, consciousness” says Wood. He goes on however, he makes a far less to explain: “From the beginning of the sympathetic character for the reason that film to the end, we are enclosed in the even in his fallen state he remains very protagonist’s apartment, leaving it only different from most of us. Without when he leaves it. With one brief proper characterization, then, violence exception, we are allowed to see only loses its power and meaning and what he sees, know only what he knows” becomes something objectionable rather (Wood 103). This confinement is a that something that’s a “real” part of the brilliant strategy on the part of story. Hitchcock, but while it may be an We see from these examples that excellent example of character violence can be an effective and immersion without violence, it is less powerful tool when used in the proper applicable to many films of today that 5 need a broader scope to hold the modern perfecting the reality of violent scenes is viewers’ attention. far greater than in most other genres, Penn and Peckinpah’s original where character depth and audience intent for graphic violence based on the immersion might not be as critical. reasoning that “if films showed the Violence in many of the films I actual results of violence, audiences have described is a good thing. To would be cleansed of any urges in that exclude it would be to empty out all the direction” is no longer valid today truth and turn these films into pale husks (Harris 1). The film industry has been of lies of not much value to anyone. marketing graphic violence for decades, Violence is real, and thus has a place in and most would agree that no such any film attempting to portray modern aversion to violence has been reality. Whether or not accurate successfully created. Violence is no portrayals of reality are good for a longer there to teach society a lesson; it culture is another matter entirely, but for is there because it has become a part of the sake of the psychological thriller society itself. such portrayals are undeniably Despite the rapid influx of thinly- beneficial. Due to their very nature, disguised gore and profit orgies on the these films act as a type of cultural big screen, there remain a number of mirror; they are forced to depict the type films (as small as that number might be) of events and atmosphere to which we, that are able to use violence in a the audience can best relate. For people beneficial way, both for the story and the of today, violence goes a long way viewer. This tends to happen more toward relating the fictional world of frequently in psychological thrillers than film to the real world, so violence in one in other genres due to the greater return will naturally lead to or reflect violence on the investment, in a manner of in the other. Who can say what the speaking. Since the quality of a people of tomorrow will see as the psychological thriller is based almost defining factors of their reality? For now, entirely on its ability to immerse the violence exists in psychological thrillers audience in a character’s experience and because to us, it exists as a part of our since violence is such an effective way very selves. of doing so, the payoff in film quality of 6

Works Cited

Harris, Sally. “Original Purpose of Escalating Violence in movies Backfired, Virginia Tech Film Critic Says.” Virginia Tech News and Information, Oct 1999. Mar 2004 .

Kelley, Richard. The Donnie Darko Book. Faber & Faber, 2003.

Klein, Andy. “Everything You Wanted to Know About Memento.” Salon.com Arts Entertainment June 2001. Mar 2004 .

Nolan, Christopher. Memento: A Screenplay. Oct 1999.

Piluso, Robert. “Ah, Bloody Hell: Violence in Film”. Script Magazine Dec 2003. Mar 2004 .

Wood, Robin. Hitchcock’s Films Revisited: Revised Edition. New York: Columbia University Press, 2002.