Get your lube, because murder turns us on
MONTREAL (CUP) -- TV premiere season has begun, and the dead bodies are already piling up. The murder victims of primetime are interchangeable with disturbing soft-core centrefolds: sexy dead girls wearing lacy bras and bullet holes. Some have their dainty throats slashed, and others develop purple petekia dots. Corpses never looked so good. Murder tunes us in and turns us on.
The dead bodies we see on television dramas are not real. They are actors playing parts. Many of the killings we see in the news media, however, are real. With peer-to-peer networking web sites, murder has become entertainment: the deaths of Saddam Hussein, Iraqi civilians, suicide bombers, and people in the Chechen Wars have all been available on YouTube and attracted many viewers. As the bodies fell from the World Trade Center, we watched from our living rooms; we heard them hit the pavement, and couldn't look away.
Our encounters with deadly explicit television shows are quite recent. The history of real murder taped for pleasure goes back much further. This history is plagued with salacious rumour, false advertising, and titillating promises of real “snuff.”
There is significant debate over what constitutes a snuff film. “CSI” or “Law and Order: SVU” wouldn't make the cut. News broadcasts of wars are closer but don't quite fit the bill. Generally, the term “snuff” refers to a film produced for commercial gain and distribution that shows the real murder of a human being, often with a sexual payoff. Regardless of definition, we love seeing people be killed. Whether the victims are real, whether the killing is deemed to be “murder” or “defense,” whether we download it or watch on the set, our culture is fascinated with watching people die.
When the promise of a real snuff film arises, we are invigorated. According to Wikipedia, there has only been one real snuff film that has surfaced. However, even this is hard to corroborate. There have been many attempts to create snuff films that appear to be the real deal and they invigorate us all the same, regardless of their authenticity.
The 1976 film Snuff generated protests by second-wave feminists against pornography. The Italian director of 1979's Cannibal Holocaust, Ruggero Deodato, had to prove in court that the murders in his film were not real. Paul Schrader's Hardcore, Arnold Schwarzenegger's Running Man, Anthony Waller's Mute Witness, and most recently Nimrod Antal's Vacancy have all profited from the theme of murder on tape.
Once in a while, a tale of real-life snuff hits the airwaves. Back in 2004, the story of 23-year-old Canadian Natel King shocked us. She was a university student who worked in porn to pay for school. She disappeared on Feb. 25, 2004 in Pennsylvania and her body was found a month later still dressed in the bondage gear from the shoot. The note “Snuff Vid” was found on a blank contract in the photographer's camera bag. The photographer was later charged with third-degree murder, admitting that he stabbed her multiple times after he told King he did not have enough money to pay her for modelling.
The Internet was aglow after the King story circulated. Though no snuff film was ever found, bloggers were hot on the trail, hoping to find the violence to fuel their fantasies.
There is supposed to be a difference between seeing real murder and fake murder, but it is hard to find this distinction at times. Whether real rape or fake rape, an actual murder or just for TV fun, we watch news programs and crime shows because they interest us. This interest entertains us. As sordid as it is, murder turns us on.
The dead bodies we see on television dramas are not real. They are actors playing parts. Many of the killings we see in the news media, however, are real. With peer-to-peer networking web sites, murder has become entertainment: the deaths of Saddam Hussein, Iraqi civilians, suicide bombers, and people in the Chechen Wars have all been available on YouTube and attracted many viewers. As the bodies fell from the World Trade Center, we watched from our living rooms; we heard them hit the pavement, and couldn't look away.
Our encounters with deadly explicit television shows are quite recent. The history of real murder taped for pleasure goes back much further. This history is plagued with salacious rumour, false advertising, and titillating promises of real “snuff.”
There is significant debate over what constitutes a snuff film. “CSI” or “Law and Order: SVU” wouldn't make the cut. News broadcasts of wars are closer but don't quite fit the bill. Generally, the term “snuff” refers to a film produced for commercial gain and distribution that shows the real murder of a human being, often with a sexual payoff. Regardless of definition, we love seeing people be killed. Whether the victims are real, whether the killing is deemed to be “murder” or “defense,” whether we download it or watch on the set, our culture is fascinated with watching people die.
When the promise of a real snuff film arises, we are invigorated. According to Wikipedia, there has only been one real snuff film that has surfaced. However, even this is hard to corroborate. There have been many attempts to create snuff films that appear to be the real deal and they invigorate us all the same, regardless of their authenticity.
The 1976 film Snuff generated protests by second-wave feminists against pornography. The Italian director of 1979's Cannibal Holocaust, Ruggero Deodato, had to prove in court that the murders in his film were not real. Paul Schrader's Hardcore, Arnold Schwarzenegger's Running Man, Anthony Waller's Mute Witness, and most recently Nimrod Antal's Vacancy have all profited from the theme of murder on tape.
Once in a while, a tale of real-life snuff hits the airwaves. Back in 2004, the story of 23-year-old Canadian Natel King shocked us. She was a university student who worked in porn to pay for school. She disappeared on Feb. 25, 2004 in Pennsylvania and her body was found a month later still dressed in the bondage gear from the shoot. The note “Snuff Vid” was found on a blank contract in the photographer's camera bag. The photographer was later charged with third-degree murder, admitting that he stabbed her multiple times after he told King he did not have enough money to pay her for modelling.
The Internet was aglow after the King story circulated. Though no snuff film was ever found, bloggers were hot on the trail, hoping to find the violence to fuel their fantasies.
There is supposed to be a difference between seeing real murder and fake murder, but it is hard to find this distinction at times. Whether real rape or fake rape, an actual murder or just for TV fun, we watch news programs and crime shows because they interest us. This interest entertains us. As sordid as it is, murder turns us on.
