Shock, Nudity And Violence: How TV Today Is Darker Than Ever
Crafting the pilot episode of a new TV show is one of the most crucial stages in determining the whole project’s success. It’s got to be intriguing, diverting and most importantly, have the audience hungry for more.
I can imagine an apprehensive Charlie Brooker trawling through these essential criterion, carefully thinking of the best premise to ensure their fulfilment for the pilot of Black Mirror.
And then he has his eureka moment.
“I’ve got it!” He exclaims, his pen to the paper. “I’ll have a man forced to rape a pig.”
This will end up just being the setting stone for a series cluttered with intensely distressing scenes involving rape, prolonged torture, suicide and a multitude of psychologically disturbing themes.
There we have it. The final, unoriginal and abused ingredient of today’s onscreen entertainment: gratuitous shock value.
A few years ago, I reluctantly agreed to watch the first episode of Game of Thrones.
I was physically sick.
In one episode alone, I was forced to confront the reality of a show that mounted a great deal of its violent action upon the stage of women’s bodies. Whether it was a male character undressing his sister and fondling her; multiple women used for the sole purpose of providing background nude entertainment; or a young girl having her bare body exposed for the camera as she is then brutally raped.
It ultimately sent me whirling down a deep, dark and internalised battle as the horrific truth of TV today was unmasked right before me.
Game of Thrones came to build a disturbing reputation for exploiting traumatic scenarios for a quick, sharp punch of shock… and then merely sweeping the matter under the carpet. We were expected to just forget all and suddenly jump on ship when Daenerys learns to love her cold rapist. Then we were told by directors that a man forcing sex on a woman as she continually pleads for him to stop isn’t rape because ‘a power struggle ultimately turns them on’ (S4, E3).
To me, that is one of the sharpest insults. Least of all to the millions of people who are forced to endure the consequences of those distressing events in real-life.
My failure to comprehend the necessity of bombarding an audience with such horrific antics was often dismissed as a failure to understand the purpose of the show. As the series’ writer, George R R Martin commented: “If you don’t portray [sexual violence], then there’s something fundamentally dishonest about that […] I wanted my books to be strongly grounded in history and to show what medieval society was really like.”
I get that. I am fully aware that sexual violence was a huge problem in the power dynamics within our history. And of course, I’m not doubting Martin’s grasp on history for a second. I just simply must have missed the history lesson in school that detailed Queen Elizabeth I arriving at Tilbury mounted on a 40ft dragon.
I’m also dying to know how all of these women that Martin violated managed to maintain such a conventionally attractive appearance. Every single objectified body is milky smooth; untouched by the fiercely common scarring illnesses such as smallpox and leprosy. I also take it that the Black Death and Dysentery conveniently swerved the ‘strongly grounded in history’ world of Westeros?
Let’s just cut the bullshit. Nitpicking and omitting various elements of history is not historical accuracy. It’s not being fundamentally honest. The excess sexual violence and rape is there because Martin simply wanted it there. Because he, among many others, understood that throwing in traumatically dark scenes were the key to marketing.
Some shows will even attempt to brainwash you into thinking that their dark and distressing content is in fact, incredibly vital to be exposed to.
Take 13 Reasons Why, for instance. Producers of the Netflix series stressed that its primary target was to address the harrowing issue of teenage mental illness and suicide, and as a result, to speak out to and help vulnerable youngsters. Sounds great so far.
It was reported that during the production stage, 4 mental health organisations were consulted for advice on how to best portray such a sensitive topic onscreen. So far, so good!
And then they completely and utterly ignored it.
Turns out that cutting an extremely graphic and mentally triggering scene of the protagonist taking her own life (as strongly advised from professionals) just wasn’t on the show’s agenda. Suddenly, producers (now apparently mental health experts) claimed that displaying such material would educate others on the ‘horror’ and ‘ugliness’ of suicide.
Or, in other words, including the graphic depiction would maximise profits and discussion surrounding the show/scene.
When it comes to light that the show negatively impacted some viewers (shocker!), and indeed, sadly led to a dramatic spike in suicide rates (study by AACAP), Netflix issued a statement warning ‘vulnerable’ and ‘impressionable’ viewers against watching.
Aren’t these the same viewers the show was initially claiming to reach out to? What kind of a slap in the face is that?
These aren’t topics to be taken at liberty; they’re not pieces of entertainment to be thrown in at the glimmering prospect of extra marketing. These are people’s lives.
I’m not talking about the viewers who obtain a quick fix of dramatic sensation from watching it. I’m talking about the vulnerable people at risk; the people who’s issues the show exploits at their very own expense.
Recently, Netflix removed the controversial scene from the show; finally succumbing to what was right all along. But why does it take this long to admit that extremely dark and graphic scenes is completely unnecessary to portraying a valuable and powerful message? 2 years is 2 years too late.
TV today is dangerously harrowing; it crushes down a thin line that tips traumatic boundaries. And for what? What reputable purpose does it ever serve?
I will not fall for the belief that having your mental boundaries pushed to distress is synonymous with exposure to intelligent and powerful content.
Sure, tossing emotionally distressing content in certainly makes you feel. But just because it makes you feel doesn’t always mean it’s a creditable source. It can make you feel for all the wrong reasons.
