Over the holiday season, it was suggested to me that my viewing tastes veer towards a liking for things brutal. This amused me, because whilst my viewing tastes are certainly very catholic, I had never thought of myself as having a particular taste for brutality. I asked my accuser for evidence, and it was explained that the comment stemmed from the fact that I had once made a recommendation that ‘Game of Thrones’ made excellent viewing.
For those not familiar with the show, it features a barrage of vividly depicted decapitations, flayings, maimings, burnings, disembowelings, rapes, tortures, beatings, and any number of other physical atrocities that are an accurate depiction of the obscenities that we humans are totally capable of performing upon one another – and do.
It is quite true that I greatly enjoy the show, despite it being one of the most brutal things on TV at the moment. But when I revealed that I find guts and gore it revels in, not in the least off-putting, and dismissed the programme’s endless violence as nothing more than fantasy, it was pointed out to me that there is a danger in becoming inured to what we see and find acceptable.
This is also quite true.
It is appalling that we can emotionally cut ourselves off from the horrors that are around us and not be moved or disturbed by them. But in my defence, I am quite able to distinguish between what I see on TV and the harsh realities of the real world. Whilst I accept that we do these things to each other, seeing them portrayed as part of a TV show does not cause me to flinch at all. I know it’s not real. I know it’s presented in the name of entertainment, and although I accept that it is at least moderately appalling to find such things entertaining, they’re not done without reason: those upon whom these terrors are wrought are usually getting their comeuppance.
I know that even fantasy violence is awful, but I don’t believe it’s being glorified. It just reflects what is, and I’m quite certain that if I were to see any of these things ‘for real’, I would recoil in horror and go into shock.
So, all in all, I’m not apologetic for my enjoyment of the show, and I don’t think that my blasé regard for its unpalatable elements is an indication that I am inured to the brutal.
But there is something else that gives me certainty that I’m not becoming a cold and callous individual:
During the course of an average week I am presented with, and watch, at least one video from an animal rights organization such as PETA.
For those not familiar with this type of video, they feature a barrage of vividly depicted decapitations, flayings, maimings, burnings, disembowelings, rapes, tortures, beatings, and any number of other physical atrocities that are an accurate depiction of the obscenities that we humans are not just capable of, but perform upon animals.
There’s nothing of the realms of fantasy about these videos. They’re real.
And every time I see one I flinch. I recoil in horror, shame and pity. I feel like my heart is splitting in two, and I cannot watch one without tears starting to flow.
It never gets easier, and I never feel less than I did on the first occasion on which I forced myself to watch what we make them go through.
I’m not becoming inured to violence. Instead, I am becoming increasingly conscious of the vile, needless horrors we allow to go on.
Are you?
What are you doing about it?
PS. If you take issue with any of the decriptors used to cover the brutalities wrought upon animals, do let me know. I can explain them for you in graphic detail, and send videos.
For those not familiar with the show, it features a barrage of vividly depicted decapitations, flayings, maimings, burnings, disembowelings, rapes, tortures, beatings, and any number of other physical atrocities that are an accurate depiction of the obscenities that we humans are totally capable of performing upon one another – and do.
It is quite true that I greatly enjoy the show, despite it being one of the most brutal things on TV at the moment. But when I revealed that I find guts and gore it revels in, not in the least off-putting, and dismissed the programme’s endless violence as nothing more than fantasy, it was pointed out to me that there is a danger in becoming inured to what we see and find acceptable.
This is also quite true.
It is appalling that we can emotionally cut ourselves off from the horrors that are around us and not be moved or disturbed by them. But in my defence, I am quite able to distinguish between what I see on TV and the harsh realities of the real world. Whilst I accept that we do these things to each other, seeing them portrayed as part of a TV show does not cause me to flinch at all. I know it’s not real. I know it’s presented in the name of entertainment, and although I accept that it is at least moderately appalling to find such things entertaining, they’re not done without reason: those upon whom these terrors are wrought are usually getting their comeuppance.
I know that even fantasy violence is awful, but I don’t believe it’s being glorified. It just reflects what is, and I’m quite certain that if I were to see any of these things ‘for real’, I would recoil in horror and go into shock.
So, all in all, I’m not apologetic for my enjoyment of the show, and I don’t think that my blasé regard for its unpalatable elements is an indication that I am inured to the brutal.
But there is something else that gives me certainty that I’m not becoming a cold and callous individual:
During the course of an average week I am presented with, and watch, at least one video from an animal rights organization such as PETA.
For those not familiar with this type of video, they feature a barrage of vividly depicted decapitations, flayings, maimings, burnings, disembowelings, rapes, tortures, beatings, and any number of other physical atrocities that are an accurate depiction of the obscenities that we humans are not just capable of, but perform upon animals.
There’s nothing of the realms of fantasy about these videos. They’re real.
And every time I see one I flinch. I recoil in horror, shame and pity. I feel like my heart is splitting in two, and I cannot watch one without tears starting to flow.
It never gets easier, and I never feel less than I did on the first occasion on which I forced myself to watch what we make them go through.
I’m not becoming inured to violence. Instead, I am becoming increasingly conscious of the vile, needless horrors we allow to go on.
Are you?
What are you doing about it?
PS. If you take issue with any of the decriptors used to cover the brutalities wrought upon animals, do let me know. I can explain them for you in graphic detail, and send videos.