The Shakespeare Conference: SHK 12.2150  Wednesday, 12 September 2001

[1]     From:   Don Bloom <This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.>
        Date:   Monday, 10 Sep 2001 15:35:21 -0500
        Subj:   Re: Italian Horror Film "Opera" and Macbeth on DVD

[2]     From:   Paul E. Doniger <This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.>
        Date:   Monday, 10 Sep 2001 21:15:58 -0400
        Subj:   Italian Horror Film "Opera" and Macbeth on DVD


[1]-----------------------------------------------------------------
From:           Don Bloom <This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.>
Date:           Monday, 10 Sep 2001 15:35:21 -0500
Subject: 12.2139 Italian Horror Film "Opera" and Macbeth on DVD
Comment:        Re: SHK 12.2139 Italian Horror Film "Opera" and Macbeth on DVD

Richard Burt's latest post, enthusing over the "Italian Horror Film
'Opera,'" has finally spurred me to respond to this matter. To me, the
kind of violence that his blurb for the film describes is highly
sadistic and reflective of mental illness. That does not mean I think it
shouldn't be discussed and studied, but I do wonder about enjoying it.

If you enjoy the horror, pain, and suffering of the victim then you are
presumably as sadistic as the writer / director, who is, presumably, not
far away from the certifiable (though fictional) character who is
perpetrating it. If you don't, then I wonder what the attraction is.

I have the same feeling about hard-core pornography,
Shakespeare-oriented or otherwise. Aside from indulging in mentally
diseased fantasy what is the point of it?

(To be quite frank, I know almost nothing about such pornography. A good
many years ago, in the interest of educating myself, I walked into a XXX
bookshop. But I couldn't stand it for more than about five minutes. It
made me not only physically ill but excessively edgy. For what it's
worth, I got that same edginess just a few years ago when I went into a
gun shop, doing some background research for a play -- that same feeling
that these people had both very different values and ideals than myself,
and much less contact with sanity.)

I am not suggesting that Professor Burt is in any way like this
himself.  But the topic strikes me as highly dangerous -- in the way
that nitroglycerin is dangerous. What worries me is that his own
familiarity with it has made him much too casual about its instability
and danger.

Regards,
don bloom

[2]-------------------------------------------------------------
From:           Paul E. Doniger <This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.>
Date:           Monday, 10 Sep 2001 21:15:58 -0400
Subject: Italian Horror Film "Opera" and Macbeth on DVD
Comment:        SHK 12.2139 Italian Horror Film "Opera" and Macbeth on DVD

I'm not familiar with Eario Argento, which surprises me, since I am a
fan of modern music. Could this be Dominic Argento, or is he from a
younger generation?

Paul E. Doniger
_______________________________________________________________
S H A K S P E R: The Global Shakespeare Discussion List
Hardy M. Cook, This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
The S H A K S P E R Webpage <http://ws.bowiestate.edu>

DISCLAIMER: Although SHAKSPER is a moderated discussion list, the
opinions expressed on it are the sole property of the poster, and the
editor assumes no responsibility for them.

Subscribe to Our Feeds

Search

Make a Gift to SHAKSPER

Consider making a gift to support SHAKSPER.