Straw Dogs
Monday, August 11th, 2003 01:27 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
robinturnerI have finally seen Sam Peckinpah's "classic", Straw Dogs. This is supposed to be totally shocking and meaningful and art in that way that only really great art can be truly shocking and meaningful and violent and, er, something. If it were earlier in the day, I might have been able to think of something equally shocking and meaningful and artistic to contribute in the way of criticism, but after watching two hours of this, all I can think of is "What a crock of shite!"
We have an American fantasy of life in a British village, livened up for a few minutes by a male fantasy of a female fantasy of rape, then at the end we are supposed to be shocked because when five men are trying to break into our mild-mannered hero's house, he kills them. Here I am reduced to Californianese - "Like, duuuh?" Of course he kills them - that is what you do when people are trying to break into your house and kill you.
I did think the bagpipe music was a nice touch, though, even if it wasn't terribly appropriate for Cornwall. But what the hey, Britain's such a small place anyway - Corns, Scots, what's the difference?
We have an American fantasy of life in a British village, livened up for a few minutes by a male fantasy of a female fantasy of rape, then at the end we are supposed to be shocked because when five men are trying to break into our mild-mannered hero's house, he kills them. Here I am reduced to Californianese - "Like, duuuh?" Of course he kills them - that is what you do when people are trying to break into your house and kill you.
I did think the bagpipe music was a nice touch, though, even if it wasn't terribly appropriate for Cornwall. But what the hey, Britain's such a small place anyway - Corns, Scots, what's the difference?
