Last week during group forum discussion for this course, we examined a 2010 article by Rebecca Hill entitled, "Gritty, Tough, Edgy, and Controversial: YA Authors Who Tackle Forbidden Subjects and Why They Do It", which basically relates Hill's examination of the issue of library book challenges and library censorship. Hill interviews several YA book authors who are known for writing these kinds of books--namely Judy Blume, Laurie Halse Anderson, Joni Richards Bodart, Ellen Hopkins, and Alex Sanchez--who provide insight into their own motivations for choosing to write "gritty, tough, edgy and controversial" books. The final few lines of Hill's article are especially powerful (don't you agree?):
Bodart says that as educators, we have to acknowledge the real role these books can play in a teen's life: helping them meet the monster face to face or asking for the help they need to overcome it. Anderson believes that when we acknowledge this fact, "our culture will move forward and support teachers and librarians by respecting their professional expertise, and [embrace] the wisdom that good stories offer teens, instead of fearing books that reflect reality."
Today the BBC featured an article about the Italian film director, Ruggero Deodato, whose 1979 horror flick Cannibal Holocaust is notoriously controversial because of its realistic graphic violence (including sexual violence) and footage of the unsimulated killing of seven animals.
Apparently, after the 1979 premiere of this film in Italy, Deodato was arrested on obscenity charges and even faced "snuff film" charges because of false rumors that human actors had been killed on camera. Even once the rumors were dispelled, Cannibal Holocaust was banned in perhaps as many as 50 countries. Released on DVD with nearly six minutes of some of the more graphic parts of the film cut in 2001, to this day, some countries maintain a ban on this hard-core cult classic.
The basic plot of this mockumentary-style B-movie is that a documentary film crew shooting footage of indigenous tribes in the Amazon has gone missing and a second film crew finds the first crew's footage which tells the tale of their horrible fates, which includes (as you can imagine) death by cannibalism.
In 2006, Cannibal Holocaust was named by Entertainment Weekly magazine the 20th most controversial film of all-time. There are several different versions of the film--from unedited versions to versions edited to various degrees, and today the BBC is reporting on this story because on this very night in London at Brunel University's Cine-Excess V Cult Film Conference, Deodato is premiering a new version he created himself. Deondato will also be contributing to a public debate on the topic of censorship this evening. (I hope to read more on this later.)
Similar to Rebecca Hill's article on the YA authors who pen controversial books, Masters examines the question, "Had Ruggero Deodato known about the level of controversy caused by the release of Cannibal Holocaust, what would he have done differently?"
To this question, Deodato remarks, "I think the cuts of the new edition are right. If I had the chance to go back in time, I'd have avoided the animal killings. I paid a high price for that, such as losing the pleasure of introducing Cannibal Holocaust to the UK public."
Nice job, Deodato, of kissing up to the audience, btw (-;
While I've yet to see Cannibal Holocaust (as a fan of the horror genre in general, and over-the-top graphic violence specifically, it's been on my "to watch" list for a long time now), I am interested in whether I will think it is a well-made social commentary on the modern world in that it compares Western society a cannibalistic society, or maybe I'll agree that it explores "...the rape of the natural world by the unnatural; the exploitation of 'primitive' cultures for western entertainment" (Wikipedia citing Mark Goodall's book, Sweet & Savage: The World Through the Shockumentary Film Lens).
Perhaps I'll be so impressed that I will also believe it is "one of the greatest horror movies ever filmed" (Wikipedia citing Mike Bracken, TheHorrorGeek.com), or at least one of the ten greatest Grindhouse films (Wikipedia citing IGN.com).
Likely, I'll be able to relate to Eric Henderson (Slate Magazine) who has said that the film is "...artful enough to demand serious critical consideration, yet foul enough to christen you a pervert for even bothering."
Given the controversy caused by this film, it might be quite easy for someone in the position of choosing movies for a library's collection to focus only on the reasons to refrain from purchasing any version of Cannibal Holocaust.
However, in line with the ALA's philosophy of "intellectual freedom, I agree with the statement of Dr. Robin Moeller in this week's lecture that you should, "Ask yourself how this material is going to make your collection more balanced as opposed to thinking of reasons why you should exclude it."
Dangerous Questions?
Would you agree with Dr. Moeller in this case? I'm especially curious if you aren't a fan of these kinds of films. Afterall, we have the children to protect...
What do you think about the ALA's stance on advisory labels on audiovisual materials (including movies, of course), which the ALA examines in "Access for Children and Young Adults to Nonprint Materials: An Interpretation of the Library Bill of Rights"?
(Check out WorldCat for libraries that do hold this film in their collection... HERE'S THE LINK!)
Addendum to my original post:
Bradley's comments below alerted me to the fact that I left out that Deodato has adamantly claimed that the animals that were killed onscreen were actually fated to be slaughtered by the local Colombian people that were part of the movie cast. After the filming, they were ultimately eaten by these tribespeople.
Sources
"Access for Children and Young Adults to Nonprint Materials: An Interpretation of the Library Bill of Rights." American Library Association (Online). Web. 26 May 2011. <http://www.ala.org/Template.cfm?Section=interpretations&Template=/ContentManagement/ContentDisplay.cfm&ContentID=31870>
"Cannibal Holocaust." Wikipedia. Wikimedia Foundation, Inc. Web. 26 May 2011. <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cannibal_Holocaust>.
Hill, Rebecca. "Gritty, Tough, Edgy, and Controversial: YA Authors Who Tackle Forbidden Subjects and Why They Do It." Voice of Youth Advocates 33.1 (2010): 30-2. Education Full Text. Web. 26 May 2011. (Also hosted at http://s640if.wikispaces.com/file/view/Gritty,+Tough,+Edgy.pdf)
Masters, Tim. "'Video Nasty' Director Deodato Debates Censorship." BBC (Online). 26 May 2011. Web. 26 May 2011. <http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/entertainment-arts-13550879>
"Only the suppressed word is dangerous."
- Karl Ludwig Börne, German journalist (1786-1837)
