So here goes...
Carroll's reason for why we enjoy horror is the narration and the the disgust we feel from the monster is the price we pay for this joy. This fits the Saw series perfectly. The best part of EVERY Saw movie is the last 10-15 minutes. That is when Jig Saw's (the monster of the Saw movies) full plans are revealed. For those who haven't seen the films Jog Saw is an older man that was diagnosed with terminal cancer and after a bout with death in a car wreck realizes how important life is, how great a second chance is, and most importantly that not valuing your life is a crime worthy of being punished by death. So Jig Saw take people with various moral issues (drug dealers, corrupt people in power, thieves, drunk drivers that killed people, junkies and other "scum of the earth type people") and puts them in a ironic situation where they comfort their fears and issues or die.
This is where the amount of gore turns off a decent amount of people. But its not the gore that make me love the Saw movies, you can find that in about any horror movie nowadays. Its the last 10-15 minutes when threw a series of flash backs and forwards Jig Saw's full plan is revealed. These aren't your run of the mill mouse trap plans either. These are plans that are highly intricate, detailed, and always surprising. It's the film equivalent of narration. So by Carroll's own definition in the Saw movies the gore of the victims being killed is the disgust that we have to put up for the enjoyment we get from the revealed end plan of Jig Saw (Carroll's narration).
So ibso facto the Saw movies are too horror movies!
3 comments:
Is the monster in the Saw films an impossible being in Carroll's sense? I confess to being too disturbed by the gore and violence to find out, which probably disqualifies me from teaching a course on the philosophy of horror in the first place.
The monster is not so much of a deadly beast as in other things we discussed, but I do believe it Jig Saw falls into the category of moral monster that disturbs or moral beliefs. I would guess a person like Jig Saw would be physically possible but I would say he is a highly unlikely character to ever encounter in real life.
Although I am not a fan of gore (and not necessarily a fan of the film), I definitely think an argument could be made for the Saw franchise fitting into Carroll's concept of horror. Looking beyond the character of Jig Saw, I think one could argue that the narrative of the first film in particular features characteristics of Carroll's Complex Discovery Plot, as there are clear moments of onset, discovery, confirmation, and confrontation.
Of course, there is also a lot of gore...
Post a Comment