Usually I will go for books, films, etc, that tend to be quite fluffy and light in nature, it strikes me that the world is evil and grim enough without seeking it out in your entertainment. Sometimes by accident will see or read something that is dark, dark, dark - here I share my moments of darkness with you.
Beyond Black - Hilary Mantel is an utterly brilliant writer, but this book could not be better named. The heroine is psychic - a medium who, it turns out, has lived through a childhood of unspeakable abuse and horror - but it doesn't stop there, oh no, for anyone accustomed to an Oprah Winfrey-style triumph of the victim, it turns out that she is punished throughout her adult life by being haunted by the ghosts of her abusers. I don't believe in ghosts at all, but her brilliance is such that you absolutely believe in the story. Also paints a truly depressing, but probably quite accurate picture of England as a country of grim new housing developments and narrow-minded, suspicious, closed-off people. Taking in the murder of a homeless man, witch-hunts, dismemberment and torture, starting this book was an act of masochism, because you can't not finish it. The last, cursory page of happy ending does nothing to counteract the darkness. Took me a while to shake off the mood of this.
The Exorcist - I can't go over on Betty's blog at the moment as she's posted a picture of poor old Linda Blair - I know some people see this as a bit of a giggle (Martin Amis said he used to take girls to see it as a first date, as they would be too terrified to sleep alone afterwards.) But it really was genuinely horrifying. Again, a brilliant film, the slow build, the scene with a spinal tap, but also nasty, misogynistic and child-hating (is there a technical word for that?) 15 minutes before the end, and thoroughly not-enjoying it, I wondered why I was still sitting there watching it, and went to wait for everyone outside. The usherette got me a glass of water. 'Why do you wanna watch that? That's the kind of film I like' she said, nodding at a poster of Beethoven (a movie about a St Bernards dog, not the composer.)
And another thing - I think she was about 9 when she made it - what on earth were her parents thinking?
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11 comments:
From the Guardian, Masterworks of misery.
I remembering reading somewhere about The Exorcist being a metaphor for menstruation and emergant female sexuality. Obviously the author didn't intend for that, I'm assuming he's probably only a subconcious misogynist, but watching it having heard that makes it an interesting watch.
The word for the hatred of children is misopaedia.
Billy - hah! I read that today was the 'most depressing day' it must have subconsciously influenced this post. Good article - and Alex Needham is cute. I saw that about the film, it seems a fair analysis.
Thanks Jack. And for men...?
Was going to write more on this post, but it started to bring me down - lalala, raindrops on roses and whiskers on kittens...
I think her parents were probably thinking "Kerching".
With Needham on Jude The Obscure and Requiem For A Dream. Both fantastically miserable. In fact, anything by Thomas Hardy will do. And Requiem makes Trainspotting's portrayal of addiction look more like Balamory.
No no no - I've said this before and I'll say it again, but 'Mayor of Casterbridge' was a hoot! Hilarious! Just when you thought he had plumbed the wells of idiocy, he produces another corking twist! Anything to keep the readers buying the next issue, I know, but it's genius.
Beyond Black was really something. I've never found Mantel exactly easy, but this one snaffled the battenburg. The slo-oo-ooow reveal of what Our Heroine was living through was an endurance test all of its own.
Her parents were thinking "this'll pay for her to go through college."
I walked out of "Silence of the Lambs". I'm not squeamish, I just have no interest in that sort of movie. My date wasn't too impressed - maybe he was trying to do a Martin Amis? (he failed)
hatred of men: misandry
hatred of everyone: misanthropy
To say that the Exorcist is misogynist is a very shallow interpretation of the film. It is a very catholic film and is mostly about faith and sacrifice.
Trivia: The Exorcist is the only horror film to win an oscar - best original screenplay in 1974. It's also supposedly inspired by the true story of of the possession of a boy in St Louis.
I'm more concerned by the picture of Amy Winehouse on Betty's blog.
:(
Significant Other's idea of a first date was 'The Woman in Black' on account of my clutchiness. That said, *blush* it was already too late . . .
15 years on, SO is still, thank goodness, SO.
you want dark - i will give you dark... this is horrible. I don't know if any of you have heard or seen anything about this murder case - Robert (Willie) Pickton - the pig farmer in Vancouver BC that is on charges of murdering 50-60 women on his pig farm and gave them to the pigs - it's a totally surreal investigation - not nice for those searching the property...
http://www.canada.com/vancouversun/features/pickton/story.html?id=03a40fd6-c60d-4184-a3b0-a164bdd898fe
it's pretty dark. I am facinated. And people say Canada is such a nice place:)
BS
Hey Del! You were missed, petal. Yes, Thomas Hardy - more miserable and sad than dark though, I feel.
Mangonel, after Tess I steered clear of Hardy, must confess.
Llewtrah, you're more positive than Del, but I think he's more plausible - can it really have been worth it to send her to college? What about something less damaging to the psyche, like a nice post office account?
Dragon - so many things I want to say in response - but I won't.
Guess I should have said ‘I perceive it as misogynist.’ I don’t think religion and misogyny are necessarily mutually exclusive. And your trivia is not so trivial - ever ask yourself why they changed the boy of the original story into a girl in the fiction? Would an onscreen representation of a prepubescent boy ckufing himself with a crucifix have been somehow less acceptable & caused more fuss?
In fact, you’ve helped me to see a link between my 2 dark stories – both about the evils of abuse, and both delivered through a supernatural theme. Hmmm…
Rad - I know, heartbreaking. Hopefully it's just a phase.
Mangonel, sneaky SO! And, aaaaah! Yes, more mushiness and sweetness and light required on this comment thread, I feel.
Bad Sar - it's the flip side of the people pleasing Canadians. This kind of grim real life is what I watch movies and read books to escape from...
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