Quentin Tarrentino, enough already

[R. Scott White]

Are you a fan of "Pulp Fiction"? "Kill Bill"? "Death Proof"? "Reservoir Dogs"?
Good. Don't read this blog.
Because I've had enough after hearing about "Inglourious Basterds" which I'm refusing to see.

Have we become so insensitive and isolated as a society that violence as a humorous diversion is acceptable?
Well, not for me. Violence in entertainment bothers me. And while critics, many moviegoers and marketers poo poo it, there is enough people out there like me who need to speak up.

Quentin Tarantino is not the only director who has attempted to use violence as his comedy relief. He is the most worshiped by movie critics however. But now, if reviews for "Inglourious Basterds" are truthful, he is using violence not only for humor, but humorous revenge - completely bypassing the truth of the Nazi era and instead glorifying his dream vision of it.

That just can't pass without comment.

We know that children and teenagers react to violence on screen whether it's television or film. The vast majority don't attempt the same violence on themselves or others, but they very often imitate it in pretend games and such. It has already been shown that even this form of imitation has created a generation where violence is more tolerated and even approved. If violence is now going to be considered something to laugh at, won't this also affect society?

How did we let this happen?

Are we going to continue accepting violence without question? Are we going to use humor in an attempt to impress the public with it?

My answer is NO! I've HAD it. I will no longer accept it. I will no longer go to films that glorify it. I will no longer attend events that try to excuse it. I will no longer listen to news media personalities advocate it even in passing. I will no longer accept film reviewers that don't think it's all that big a deal - critics that apparently have seen WAY too many movies.

Wake up folks!! Violence is NOT acceptable!

[Snagg]

...Speaking as a guy raised on a steady diet of "Road Runner" and "Tom & Jerry" cartoons, I can say with some certainty that I am one of the LEAST violent people you'll ever meet.

I am a parent of a highly intelligent 25-year-old, and I limited her early exposure to violent-content entertainment by allowing her to first see movies that stressed the stupidity and the pointlessness of violence - "The Ox-Bow Incident", "Of Mice And Men", "To Kill A Mockingbird" and similar movies, while making sure that she understood that these were movies - "Entertainment", and therefore not "real", even if the moral points they made were.
It was only after she understood that crucial distinction that I allowed her to watch movies that either use over-the-top violence as an inescapable component of the story - "Aliens", or "The Godfather", or that satirize over-the-top violence - "From Dusk 'Til Dawn", "Raising Arizona" and similar movies.

She's currently finishing college with honors, plans on pursuing a career as a biology and math teacher, is a swimming instructor for preschoolers at a local health club and works for a Scope program in the public school system where and her kids LOVE her - And she laughs her ass off at zombie movies, Quentin Tarantino movies and similar gory silliness.

She understands that that kind of stuff, when done right, is an intentional joke. I don't think that you do.

Film, TV and videogame violence are not the problem - Irresponsible, negligent, stupid and lazy-assed parenting is. (And, unfortunately, sometimes the sad fact is that the child being "corrupted" is an idiot to start with. Can't blame the movie for that.)
If you think it's the violent content that is the true problem, and are hot to "protect" not only your own kid but the children of others, then you might as well cover all the bases and blame Aesop's fables, as well as the bible - It's packed to the brim with storied that essentially insist that Might Makes Right. God knows the Brothers Grimm soaked their stories in gore and violence - Maybe you should try to get your local schools to ban those books, as well as the local library.

[Alendar]

My son plays some violent games. I accept it because he separates it from his interpretation of real life. I would not let him watch Pulp Fiction, even though its a great film. It thrilled me, rooted me in the chair. Even the most difficult scene I was able to survive. I felt the birth of a new film style that would be difficult for people to absorb. The complex interplay of characters, the perfect jumping back and forth in time, the actors, the music, and best the scene balance, especially the dance scene. Credit must be given for a perfect symmetry and balance.

I have not seen anything about the new film, but the glorification of Nazism is a dangerous thing. I believe in complete Freedom of Speech, not because I think all speech is acceptable, but because I don't believe in the ability of society to edit the speech of its members without destroying itself.

I believe if film turns Nazism into a fantasy image for young boys there will be a price to pay for all of us. But I'll defend anyone's right to say it.
Perhaps Tarentino is merely mirroring a hidden current in our society. If so, then its best to bring light onto it. Many a dark fantasy burns off if exposed to the light of thought and open consideration.

I think evil needs to be shunned and feared in order to grow. Exaggerated delirium dreams may help release the energy.

[Nick Danger]

Are we going to continue accepting violence without question? Are we going to use humor in an attempt to impress the public with it?

So what is your solution?

Censorship? Yeah....that's it. Movie makers can no longer make movies that have any violence in it. We'll have nothing but Doris Day and Julie Andrews clones from now on. And nobody will hurt anyone else, ever again and we will live happily ever after. Thank you Dr Pangloss

The End


Personally, I think that Tarantino is vastly over-rated as a film-maker, recycling a bunch of third-rate C-movies and presenting it as "art." But that's just my opinion and, like anal cavities, everybody has one. If you don't want to see the tarantino flick, you are certainly free to chose not to do so. But why is it necessary for you to foist your opinion on me and the rest of the movie-going public? If the public doesn't think that Tarantino's movie is any good, it will vote by not spending its' dollars on seeing it and the producers will maybe think twice about spending these kinds of shekels for b;od and guts and veins in your teeth. (Meanwhile, the Fridat the 13th and Halloween franchises continue to rake in the bucks so ,i>somebody must be watching these movies)

But meanwhile, the question remains, why is your view of what makes a good movie "viewable" any better than anyone else's? You claim that, "We know that children and teenagers react to violence on screen whether it's television or film." Got any citations on that because just about every major study done has shown virtually no correllation between violence on the screen (including computer screens) and actual violence. Has there been a major finding that only you know about because if there were any actual evidence, the courts would be flooded with lawsuits. To my knowledge, this hasn't happened.

So, in essence, what we are left with is your opinion, which you present as fact. So I'll ask the question again: why is your opinion worth more than someone else's?

Oh, and by the way, humor is as good a way to depict violence as anything else because nobody is going to think they can duplicate the process. Or is humor verboten as well?

[Quinn]

I think we're all aware of the violence R Scott, but I take responsibility for my own actions, I don't find someone else to blame. And those poeple who commit acts of violence and say it's because they saw it on TV on heard it on the radio? If those outlets weren't available to them, they'd find someone or something else to blame.
Don't watch or don't listen to what bothers you and hope that you raise (or raised) your children well enough that they don't commit crimes.

[R. Scott White]

"You know I used to play cops and robbers when i was a kid"...
And where did that idea come from?

I thought I mentioned in my post "The vast majority don't attempt the same violence on themselves or others, but they very often imitate it in pretend games and such." Oh, look, sure enough.

You either are naive or aren't a parent. I don't have a teenager, but if you think you can keep pictures of violence away from that age group (other than by being with your child 24 hours a day), you have got to be kidding me.

And no, I don't expect people like you to "just up and follow you". But I do want people to be more aware of the violence and its effects on the people around them. And if it's not acceptable, then do something.

I can't believe you think you can keep today's constant stream of violence away from teens, I mean really!!