Death on the big screen used to be much simpler. A few bullet holes with a pack of fake blood, a heart attack or maybe some painful poison would do the trick. It doesn't work that way anymore. Now deaths seem to require blown off body parts, bullets exploding through chests and heads or spurting blood for an effective death. The gore is not limited to murder though. It shows up in violent beatings, explicit rape scenes and the gruesome pencil stabbing in "La Femme Nikita."
"La Femme Nikita" (1990), an extremely violent film directed by Luc Besson, is the next to be shown by the University Film Series. The free movie will be screened in Pruis Hall at 7:30 p.m. on Monday. It will be shown in French with English subtitles.
There are two main types of violence in film. Explicit violence leaves nothing to the imagination. Everything is shown so there can be no question of what happens. Television shows such as "CSI" are known for the graphic images and sounds of a murder victim's last moments.
"Implicit violence is imagined violence," telecommunications Professor Jim Shasky said. "If someone is lying on the ground being beaten by a hammer, it is better to see the person swinging than the person being hit." Implicit violence forces the viewer to fill the blanks with details and imagine what is happening.
Films have always had both of these forms of violence, but they have not always been presented like they are today. Some of the most influential work in film violence began with Sam Peckinpah. Peckinpah, known as Bloody Sam according to the Internet Movie Database, is famous for his brutality and blunt approach to death.
"He was controversial because he made death scenes too mesmerizing. The editing was very sophisticated. He created a dance of death," telecommunications professor Wes Gehring said.
The new wave of film violence began in the 1960s and 1970s with the loosening of regulations on violence. Previously, restrictions had been set on both national and state levels discouraging graphic violence in mainstream cinema.
This was also a period when many controversial topics, including the war in Vietnam, were part of everyday life.
"When the country has social and political unrest, it has advancements in art. When things happen, they are reflected. The arts don't exist in a vacuum," Gehring said.
Violence is often used as an inexpensive effect in a movie to add shock appeal or to boost ratings and profits from a movie. According to Media Awareness Network, a leading company in media education, this encourages directors to add violence quickly and inexpensively with a computer program rather than increase plot complexity.
Adding blood and gore does not give a movie instant success or staying power though.
"It all boils down to the story. The story has to be there or it doesn't matter how violent the movie is," Shasky said. If the violence does not advance the storyline, it does nothing to add to the success of the film.
Guns, fighting and blood are all important parts of "La Femme Nikita" and create an unusual look at the "femme fatal" character that became popular after the production of the film. While most of the violence is not stomach turning, it is extremely explicit. There is no mistaking gunshot wounds, fatal or not, and vicious kicks, bites and punches.
Theatre Professor Rodger Smith, who saw "La Femme Nikita" when it was new, recently gave it another look and compared it with three other important films during the 1970s to 1990s: "Clockwork Orange" (1971), "Nineteen Eighty-Four" (1984) and "Fight Club" (1999).
"Each of four had same idea," Smith said. "Their main characters are doers with independent expression in a world where authority rules. They are all numb and use violence to wake themselves up."
In the film, Nikita, a violent girl living on the street, is convicted of murder and believes she is sentenced to life in prison. Instead she is recruited into a secret government organization. They break and mold her into a sophisticated assassin and then set her free and contact her when they have a job.
Because of the strength of the script, a remake, "The Point of No Return" (1993), and a USA Network series "La Femme Nikita" (1997-2001) were both made following the same storyline. Senior photojournalism major Aaron Fuller saw all three versions of the story and said he "liked the remake because it had big money. I liked the series because it developed the character past one facet. It got old though seeing the character getting dragged out to the end."
Despite the success of the remakes, Fuller is a fan of the 1990 version and said, "I liked the original because it was the original idea."
Read More
Three Air Jam teams take home the win
October 12, 2012Nineteen teams shimmied, shook and flipped for a sold out John R. Emens Auditorium on Thursday night during the 25th annual Air Jam.
Bill Clinton Speaks at North Central High School
October 12, 2012Former President's Speech Could Have Effect on State Senate Race
