Sex and Violence on the Big Screen, what ... - SAE Institute UK

Realism, therefore, appears to be one of the central cinematic tools that Gaspar Noe uses
when confronting violence within his films, as we are able to see in the fire extinguisher
scene in which the depiction of the violence is how the audience would imagine such a
scene to play out. As Noe himself suggests in regards to the rape scene (Sterritt, 2007) he
could not think of portraying a rape scene that was not excruciating to watch otherwise
you are not representing rape realistically. Of course this begs the question, what is
acceptable when portraying sexual violence? Audiences are essentially shocked by the
depiction of the violence due to the fact rape is still a taboo subject which along with the
unconventional way of depicting the rape causes for the audience to experience the
violence like nothing they have experienced before.
Something that also becomes incredibly shocking in its depiction of violence is the fact
that we are shown these violent scenes in the film as we are introduced to our main
characters, the reverse chronological order of things allows the audience to witness the
excruciating acts of violence before we really get to know the main characters <strong>and</strong> to see
the caring, loving <strong>and</strong> more importantly, human side to them. We only witness this at the
end of the film, ironically so, because it is before they have become polluted by the
violence they experience in society. Using Alex as an example, although the audience
sympathizes with Alex as she is forced to experience the torment of sexual assault, it is
not until later on in the film (in other words, earlier on, before the violence) that the
audience are presented with the softer side of the characters, most notably, the
penultimate scene is which Alex <strong>and</strong> Marcus share their love for each other, as well as
Alex stating that she is pregnant. Through this technique, Noe shocks the audience
through the use of sympathy as opposed to graphic depictions of violence, the audience
begins to sympathize even more for Alex now that they are aware of the loving gentle
side only shown to us after the violence takes place as well as the important fact that she
was carrying a baby at the time.
The most striking similarity between both of these shocking depictions of violence is the
use of sound mixed with graphic visual imagery, as we can see in the fire extinguisher
<strong>and</strong> rape scene. Noe uses sound to aid the violent depictions on screen, manipulate a
range of different emotions within his audience, by amplifying sexual sounds during the
rape scene <strong>and</strong> using punching sounds that sounds incredibly realistic as opposed to some
mainstream films. The depiction of violence therefore, appears much more realistic that
instead of glamorizing the violence, allows the audience to become physically repulsed
by it. It is by this process that Noe conditions the audience to experience disgust <strong>and</strong>
unease whenever presented with violence throughout the film, which justifies accusations
made by Village Voice (Sterritt, 2007) that the film aims to solely inflict nausea <strong>and</strong>
moral indignation.
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