tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3939909775405220345.post5277120545061618596..comments2024-03-01T10:16:11.283-08:00Comments on AmericanStudies: October 30, 2013: Symbolic Scares: Last House on the LeftAmericanStudierhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06483077716534996778noreply@blogger.comBlogger3125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3939909775405220345.post-72264314796424148692013-11-02T15:05:06.798-07:002013-11-02T15:05:06.798-07:00Well off of the horror track, but well on the vigi...Well off of the horror track, but well on the vigilante justice track, this post, and your observations of the film's form remind me of *The Outlaw Josey Wales* or *Hang 'Em High*. Two of Eastwood's finest films, each of them begins with a terrifying sequence in which the protagonist is wronged (family murdered in the former, attempted murder in the latter), and the audience spends the rest of the film rooting for him to have his bloody revenge. How thin is this line between hero and villain? The same actions can elicit polarized responses based on how we culturally read the context. This is why I love Eastwood's work, because he explores these things, delves into those uncomfortable areas. The iconic vision of him in culture, whether as a cowboy or a rogue cop, is an idolization of a murderer.Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13160178553626197629noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3939909775405220345.post-16930127468978557122013-10-30T19:06:53.852-07:002013-10-30T19:06:53.852-07:00Good questions, Dan. I haven't seen *Spit*, so...Good questions, Dan. I haven't seen *Spit*, so I can't speak to it specifically; but I know it's been called one of the most distasteful films of all time (by Roger Ebert, anyway). So I think the perception is that it's even worse in those ways, but perhaps that fits into the narratives rather than the realities.<br /><br />BenAmericanStudierhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06483077716534996778noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3939909775405220345.post-58913113898399634472013-10-30T15:58:10.657-07:002013-10-30T15:58:10.657-07:00A short note of potential interest: I Spit on Your...A short note of potential interest: I Spit on Your Grave is talked about significantly less (and remembered far less as well) as far as rape and revenge horror movies go. Is it the simple matter of its content barring it from being distributed as widely? Or is the lack of a familial reaction to the brutal events of the film the piece that is missing? I've thought about it briefly in the past myself, this triggered it again. Worth a thought.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com