Taboo

Takeshi Miike, scandalous (to Western audiences anyway), prolific, and altogether gonzo Japanese filmmaker, has just had his Showtime Channel MASTERS OF HORROR episode, "Imprint" relegated to DVD instead of the higher profile, Friday night broadcast originally scheduled for the end of this month.

According to Dave Kehr at the NY Times (link at bottom), the episode, dealing with issues too extreme for the network, has been handed over to DVD distributor Anchor Bay, and will be released at some point in the future to an audience willing to spend their dough knowing what they're in for.

Makes sense, I guess... and I really don't have a problem with Showtime for their decision. I assume some will attack them for their "cowardly" move, but they're a corporation, an entity that exists to serve a wide audience, and because of their fears about offending said audience, they said, "no thanks". Perfectly within their right.

I'm more interested in the process that Showtime went through to reach their decision. It appears as though the questionable elements deal with abortion -- a very touchy subject... philosophically, religiously, politically loaded, abortion is one of those things. Nobody likes to discuss it, unless you're an activist, and nobody, but nobody, but nobody likes to SEE it (which I've gleaned Miike has charged his audience to do). I know I certainly would rather not.

It's taboo.

Taboos fascinate me. I'm fascinated by things that people are steadfast in their determination not to see, discuss, hear about, learn about, or otherwise be presented with and then have to deal with. Rape is another one. Infanticide still another. Cannibalism, I guess. Now, please don't misunderstand, I'M not interested in these things, either. I am not interested in forcible sex. I am not interested in parents killing their children. I am not interested in people eating other people. I think we can all agree this is all nasty, ugly stuff.

I AM, however, interested in things that nobody likes to deal with.

It's a reason I like horror movies so much.

I think there are very valid, potentially interesting things that can be addressed concerning taboo subjects. I believe everything should be open to discussion, to debate.

If Miike is making a point, or asking a question, or revealing an insight about abortion, and if SHOWING one graphically adds to that point/question/insight, then more power to him, and it's really a shame we're too small-minded as a society to deal with it. Transgression in art is good.

If he's just exploiting a gory procedure and wallowing in grue to sicken. Then count me out. I got better things to do.

http://www.nytimes.com/2006/01/19/arts/television/19horr.html