Replies

All subject matter is fair game but you have to earn the right to deal with it with insight into the material. If you just ban depictions of pathologies the only thing that will disappear is the depiction...the pathologies will remain (you'll still have the Raskolnikovs of the world but you just won't have 'Crime and Punishment').

I don't have a problem with anyone depicting these situations, and whether or not I approve of the depiction isn't important. All I can do is support those who treat the subject(s) in ways I approve of, and hope that those whose moral perspective isn't in agreement with mine fail so badly at the box office that there will be no follow-ups. To expect Dostoevski-level treatment from the current crop of filmmakers is to set oneself up for huge disappointment. Lillian Hellman is one of our most acclaimed writers (not by me) and her treatment of controversial subject matter is typical of how US culture treats this stuff--as a gimmick, with no insight, no moral foundation, just this free-form "leave people alone" glibness.

The only American writers who dare inject judgment into these situations are few, and their point of view is usually something as 'stunning" as "leave people alone to live their lives as they see fit, if they're consenting adults". Yawn.

Sometimes I just want a movie to entertain and sometimes I want to be challenged to think.

I watched To Kill A Mockingbird Sunday afternoon for umpteenth time. While perhaps not as graphic as what is described in this movie, it is still disturbing as it was meant to be and I’m a better person for it because it makes me feel and then think.

From when Atticus shoots the rabid dog to the perceived menace of 'Boo' Radley’ to the stalking of the children, Scout and Jem in the dark woods and the very real menace of racism at it’s vilest, the novel and film deals with rape, murder, intimidation, vigilantism and violence with young children in the middle of it all and in harms way. It also is a story about the importance of rule of law and justice for all, of a father's wisdom and love and the goodness of most people and in community.

I think it all depends on whether a rape scene is relevant and important in telling the story and what the story is saying about us as a society or whether it is done to merely shock or titillate. I don’t know enough about this movie to pass judgment on it’s possible redeeming qualities despite it’s disturbing content.

I also remember studying Greek Mythology in school at about 12 and that was some pretty sick stuff too…rape, kidnapping, adultery, lust, murder… BTW - sounds a lot like many stories in Bible too.