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bipolarber -> RE: Reactions to Hostel (10/22/2007 1:01:31 PM)
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The thing is, "torture tales" were no originated by Mr. Roth and Mr. Tarintino. The Grand Gulinol tratidtion has been with us since the beginning. "The Pit and the Pendulum" by Poe is little more than a description of a nameless protagonist trying to survive the tortures of the inquisition. "Hostel" is just the next story in this line of horror tales.
I, like some other posters, just found the movie a bit frustrating, because we just don't get a clear story arc. Did the main character change in any way? Did he learn anything about life in his escape? Or was it just sensational titillation for the sake of making a quick buck at the box office? Seems to me there is very little art to this film. Not much characterization, not much subtext, no "truth" to hold onto as you exit the darkened theatre.
Could it happen? Hell, it already does. Only in this case, the ones we know about are agents of the U.S. Government, kidnapping people off the street, shipping them overseas, and torturing them in "black prisons." Freezing rooms... sleep deprivation... water boarding... electrified scrotums... binding their hands behind them and releasing gaurd dogs on them... anal rape... Of course, other, even more barbaric governments, do it too. (Doesn't make you proud knowing we've joined that club?)
Oh, and LA? I found your comment about how we, in BDSM, are a hairbreath away from becoming like the sadistic, rich yuppies in the movie... Well, that's a valid point, but I come to BDSM as a means of working out those nasty dark impulses. By reducing it to a sexual game, it keeps me from ever crossing that line. Comparing us to the actions in the film, I think is a bit like comparing the Tet Offensive with a game of afterwork paintball. From the outside, I suppose the actions seem similar, but the outcomes are utterly different. One is reality, with a goal of death and destruction, the other is a game with cathartic uses. I play paintball as a way of freeing myself from the frustrations I feel at work. It keeps me from ever wanting to solve things with real violence. BDSM, for me, provides a similar function. BDSM is my refusal to ever be that kind of a bad person. (Just my take on it.)
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