Seeing as I had a lot of fun writing the last post on here about boredom, I've got a new one.
This covers desensitisation.
For those unaware, desensitisation is quite simply what happens when things don't really scare you anymore. If you spend a lot of time playing war games or watching horror films, the time can come when real-life horrors on the news don't really affect you.
It's a sad problem that's growing in today's society. With loads of younger children getting their hands on high-age-rated games/films/graphic novels, they grow up into their world where a 'headshot' isn't disgusting, it's an extra 50 points to your team.
I am desensitised. And I can remember clearly when it happened; when my mind just went: "Okay, that's it. Nothing more can shock me."
It happened when a friend and I, ridiculously, decided to have a SAW film marathon. I was very grossed out watching the first, disturbed in the second, slightly miffed by the third and by the rest I could watch someones' head explode and find myself laughing. It is a horrible state of mind, and at the same time, a difficult one to escape.
But here's where my theory comes in; if you get into the desensitised mind frame, can something you saw before that still scare you?
For this, I need to create a time-tipping point, so let's place the moment where my innocent mind hit the eject-button as 'Point S'.
My theory has it that anything scary/gory/disturbing seen before Point S will, if watched again, still freak you out; and contrariwise, anything new seen after Point S won't scare you.
Maybe this theory, like many others of mine, is complete rubbish. Maybe it's just simply to do with that wonderous thing: growing up. Or maybe it only works if you do watch every SAW film. But rubbish or not, I shall provide evidence.
Before 'Point S', I saw, among many other things, Pan's Labyrinth, Shaun of the Dead and Watchmen. And to this day, despite seeing so much blood and limbs on SAW, there are parts of those movies that make me cringe more than someone listening to Jimmy Carr's laugh.
- The 'leg-amputation scene in Pan's Labyrinth. The noise alone can set me off, but with the visual is just...
- Dave's death in Shaun of the Dead. He gets dragged out a window and literally ripped apart by zombies while he, and everyone else, watches
- Rorschach's cleaver skills in dealing with a paedophile in Watchmen. Meat-cleaver-to-the-brain death is quite something to behold.
So these pre-Point S moments can get me on edge, but everything I've seen since then has no effect. Gory deaths in BioShock. LOADS of gory deaths in Kill Bill, plus the "Eye-Stamp" moment. The Joker's "Pencil Magic Trick" in The Dark Knight - which may sound odd to those without context.
It's an oddly interesting consideration. It came to me last night whilst watching Pan's Labyrinth, having cringed at the leg scene. Yet I watched Kill Bill volume 1 earlier in the day and laughed. Far, far, FAR too often.
Maybe it's SAW's fault. Those films are an intense thing to experience, especially all at once. Maybe if I'd gotten desensitised a different way or watched them anyway but at a slower rate, maybe now I could watch horror films and appreciate the scare tactics. Or maybe I need to watch something truly horrific to snap my mind into action and say "Come on now; some of this is unacceptable. Make me care."
Antichrist did a fairly good job at doing so *shudders*. Plus I've heard plenty of horror stories about The Human Centipede films and A Serbian Film. Loads of infamous rumours and hushed stories about them. Maybe it'll take something as dark and awful as that to bring a bit of sanity and compassion back into my life. God help me to get into this kind of situation.
Anyway, just some other ramblings of mine for you to consider. Do you feel things that used to scare you still do - and new, similar things don't somehow? Do you feel desensitised, and why?
And lastly, try and think of the one thing that truly terrifies you. Truly puts the fear of a thousand into you.
Got it?
Great. There's no reasoning behind this, I just wanted you to end on something scary - which you introduced yourself.
Peace out!
