"Torture Porn"

The current discussion in our class is about horror or gore films. I'm going to admit something right now... I can't stand horror films. I get scared so easily that I can't sit through 15 minutes of a film like Seven. I threw up when I watched Hostel, couldn't sleep for nights after I watched The Ring. I'm a scardy-cat.

Chances are, you can blame that on my parents.
My parents were very protective of me when I was a child. We didn't have cable, didn't watch television at all. The only time I watched t.v. was while I was staying with my grandparents or at a friends house. When we rented movies they were children's films or family friendly. My Mom threw a minor fit when she found out I watched the movie "Matilda" because it dealt with child abuse.

Of course, they lessened their hold on me as I got older, we watched documentaries about more disturbing events, a few suspense movies, even a couple scary ones... but I never got into horror. It disturbed me far too much, and has always seemed completely unnecessary. My Dad calls films like Saw or Hostel "torture porn," and I agree with him. It's sick. Anyone who can find enjoyment in a bloodbath of violence, rape, etc. is either so desensitized that they forget that murder, rape and other horrors DO happen to people and it ISN'T entertaining, or they're just disturbed. I don't blame my parents for protecting me, and frankly, I'm glad they did. No child needs to see people being torn limb from limb. We're supposed to protect our children from the bad things in the world, not expose them to it all.

This may seem a bit contradictory to people who know me, considering my obsession with the Second World War and the Holocaust. I watch films about the Nazi concentration camps, read book after book and article after article about the horrors that ensued during the years of the war. Make no mistake... I take NO pleasure or entertainment from the terrible suffering of so many people at the hands of the Germans. My interest is purely educational, always has and always will be.

Horror and gore are unnecessary. Sure, make a film with suspense, mystery, even murder... but don't go overboard. Nobody NEEDS to see that (and if you feel you do... you may want to seek some help).