Cannibal Holocaust and the Understanding of Sensationalism
Cannibal
Holocaust should be revered because it is one of those rare films that takes a
hard look at the
potential for real human cruelty. Unlike any other film of its kind, it uses a
fictionalized event to take a deeper look at what the news or documentaries
show us and not just the glossy surface. As a huge fan of horror films, I
possess a certain amount of desensitization when it comes to gore on film. Be
forewarned, if you have not seen Cannibal Holocaust, it does depict actual
animal killings. These were, for me, the most disturbing thing about this movie
which has been banned in countries the world over.
It was my
pleasure to watch Cannibal Holocaust for the first time this evening for the
sole purpose of writing this essay. The beginning of the film opened with New
York and a young film crew setting off to shoot a “documentary” about the cannibalistic
tribes in an uncharted portion of the Amazon forest known as The Green Inferno.
We just see a small segment of the four person camera crew before they set off
and then we are introduced to our main character, Harold, who is sent in after
them to determine what has happened. We see his trek through the jungle, his
interactions with the natives, and the eventual retrieving of the “found
footage” from the previous crew whom we have discovered, fell prey to the
cannibals. What is most important about the first part of this movie is to note
how Harold’s interactions with these tribes, denotes respect for their customs
and he tries to relate to them on their level of understanding and this is
exactly how one should approach these sheltered tribes. As a viewer you get to
see exactly what makes each of these tribes tick and you get the impression
that things with the first crew just went terribly wrong.
After Harold
returns to society and the footage has been given to whatever film or news
group wants to air it, we start to see bits and pieces of what happened with
the first expedition. The protagonist, Harold, has been asked to “host” this
footage and he wants to see what his efforts in the jungle brought forth. What
follows is most disturbing in its realism and especially when applied to how
today’s media wars are fought. Without wasting a lot of space on graphic
detail, it shows the four person camera crew staging horrific acts, terrorizing
the tribes, and in the very first encounter anyone has had with the elusive
“tree people” they rape and torture to death a young tribal woman and stage her
death to make it appear as if a barbaric people has done these atrocities all
for the sake of becoming famous for exposing these primitive cultures. The irony of this last act was not lost on
me, it was in fact very barbaric people that committed these horrendous
violations against an untouched people, but those barbarians were us. While
watching this movie I couldn’t help but to wonder about documentaries I’ve seen
and news broadcasts all over the world, always predicting and depicting doom
and gloom. These same people are ready to proclaim war on or cry foul on any
group of people that appears to think differently, act differently, or believe
differently than themselves. How much of what we see in real life is staged for
sensationalism? All of this was in the forefront of my mind while watching
Cannibal Holocaust. This movie is very thought provoking and yes, cringe worthy
in places (watch out for the turtle death) but the parting line says it all, “I
wonder who the real cannibals are?” The camera very aptly pans over a street
sign in New York which its boldest word proclaims “America.”
Thank you very much Erin for your entry. There will be more to come as the month of September rolls on. For more info regarding the essay contest and The Madness just click the link below...
1 comment:
Being more civilized doesn't necessarily make humans better people.
While I still have zero desire to see Cannibal Holocaust, I perceive it in a different light after reading your review.
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