Hi Folks,
Now that we've done cute, let's get scary. Many politicians like to blame Hollywood, or violent video games for the troubles of today's youth. I don't for one minute buy that, as I think bad parenting is more dangerous than Grand Theft Auto, but it makes me ponder my own entertainment-based emotional scars, and in the vein of Turtle's recent poll type blogs I have a question for y'all. What early movie watching experiences had the most harmful effect on you? I'll lead off with my two biggies:
1. When I was very young the movie Papillion was on tv. I remember being mostly bored, but there was one scene where a prisoner on Devil's Island is hauled, kicking and screaming to the guillotine and executed in graphic(especially for the era) detail. Even now I get the heebie-jeebies just thinking of it.
2. The year:1975. The place: Middletown, CT. I was 11, and the family went to see Jaws. Now, my mother and I have very different memories of the event. I distinctly remember asking to stay home. I did not want to see that movie. My mom says that never happened, and in her defence my brother, and two step-brothers were very excited about seeing it, and my protests probably got drowned out in the din. Then, after the first gruesome death I begged to wait in the lobby, and was again rebuffed.(now, as a parent, I understand why that would have been a bad idea) To say that movie traumatized me would be an uderstatement, although I love the film now. But after that I was nervous in the bath tub, and the swimming pool was absolute terror. Ultimately it lead me to first hate, then study, and now love sharks, but at the time it was one of the most horrifying experiences of my young life. There is a funny side to this, however. My three siblings all ran to sit in the front row, because they heard that if you looked closely you could see just how naked the first victim was. The all quickly ran to the back with us after her grisly end.
Ok, your turn.
Marius
3 comments:
1. Jaws, definitely. I saw it right before we left to spend the summer with my grandparents... in Miami... less than 2 miles from the beach. I didn't swim in the ocean for at least 3 summers.
2. I actually don't recall the name of the movie. (Possibly "Magic"?) I was 13 and it was a late night while I was babysitting. I was in a basement rec-room watching TV. (Most likely SNL, with the original cast.) I remember the commercial had something like a ventriloquist dummy saying "Fool me once, shame on you. Fool me twice, shame on me!" With additional cackling and spooky music. Scared the crap out of me.
3. Age 10. Spending weekend with my aunt & uncle. Bored me, bored uncle. He turns on the TV and finds "Blazing Saddles". Yes, it was heavily edited for TV, but there was more than enough to get him in trouble with my mother. I wasn't traumatized though - unless you consider a love of Mel Brooks' movies to be harmful. :)
Wow, I'd forgotten about those commercials for Magic. That damned dummy was totally creepy. I understand that the movie itself was pretty lame, but the ads were scary as hell.
Whew! I'm glad I wasn't the only one totally freaked out by that commercial. I wouldn't know about the movie because I still won't watch horror flicks. The real world is scary enough, thank you very much.
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