Carnographic Culture: America and the Rise of the Torture Porn Film
In: The Domination of FearSearch for other papers by Beth A. Kattelman in
Current site
Google Scholar
PubMed
Purchase instant access (PDF download and unlimited online access):
This chapter examines how a recent spate of mainstream, graphically-violent horror films reflects societal stresses circulating in the United States as a result of the 11 September 2001 attacks on the World Trade Center, and posits that the popularity of these films has been fueled by the American public’s increased awareness of the threat of terrorism and a fear of random violence. These films have been variously labeled ‘carnography’, ‘gorenography’, or ‘torture porn’ by critics due to their emphasis on extreme violence presented in lingering close-ups and the prurient element that may be involved in their viewing, thus aligning them with pornography. The chapter looks specifically at James Wan's Saw (2004) and Eli Roth's Hostel (2005), two of the films credited with starting the current carnographic trend, and shows how they satisfy an audience through narratives of contained violence and retribution. In addition, the chapter draws a parallel between the current trend of graphic films and a similar one that took place during the early 1970s at the height of America’s involvement in the Vietnam War.