SERBIAN FILM Raises The Bar On Lowering Standards
Three long years ago I wrote an article which discussed the exploitation of the media by torture-porn producers like Eli Roth. In it I said the following:
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In the end, the people who complain about these types of films and especially their advertising only fall right into the game plan of these sleazy lowlifes. Eli Roth doesnt care one bit about artistic merit or the values of a percentage of the population. His entire machine runs on the promise of grossing people out for one weekend, and walking away a rich man.Apparently some things never change. The SXSW film festival is currently being rocked by a little film called Serbian Film. The odd title replaces, for American audiences, the original-language title, which references the film's pornographic interests. This new title, however, will not mask the filthy machinations of the movie. Most of the critics stumbling out of the SXSW screening have been left speechless, describing such atrocities as child pornography, mutilation, necrophilia, and, most disturbing of all, sex with a newborn baby. While it's safe to say the film won't be playing at a multiplex near you (at least not in Puritanical America, for which I am, for once, thankful), the film is garnering a significant amount of buzz thanks to its potent shock value. The film is so grotesque that many critics have questioned whether this is simply a way to gain extra publicity. The film's screenwriter, Srdjan Spasojevic, denies that the film is preying on emotions to promote itself. He said, "This is a diary of our own molestation by the Serbian government. We're giving this back to you." What's the Serbian word for "bullshit"? While I realize that many atrocities occurred during the Serbian/Bosnian war in the nineties, there cannot be any justification for a grown man having sex with a newborn baby. There is no subtext, no greater meaning, to scenes of women being graphically mutilated while being raped. I'm a fan of many types of gross-out films, but my psyche does not need to be stimulated by acts such as these. I realize that, somewhere in the world, these types of diabolical, stomach-turning events are happening to the innocent and the helpless. That doesn't mean that I should revel in it, or support its exploitation. And that's the key word here. These filmmakers have made the most offensive type of film imaginable simply so that people will talk about it. While it's doubtful that they will be able to release something this noxious to the general public, the film will likely enjoy a long underground distribution much like the fabled Faces Of Death films that became so popular in the seventies and eighties. The filmmakers stand to make a lot of money distributing such garbage to people interested in the challenge of taking this moral litmus test. Like Eli Roth, the primary and only operating principle is to make the most money capitalizing on exploitation and shocked word of mouth. I am discussing this only as a warning to the unsuspecting and those sitting on the fence about this film. I will not post the revolting trailer to this film, nor provide any links to a site that promotes it. Understanding the mechanisms these types of chum-tossers use to make money will enlighten intelligent movie lovers to reject exploitation in favor of challenging, stimulating entertainment. Only by avoiding it altogether can we neuter the effects of such exploitations and make such nauseating and worthless forms of "entertainment" go away.