48. Evil Genius

Synopsis - Everyone agrees that De Puta Madre is an exceptionally made film and ticks all the boxes when it comes to art and creativity. But most want it banned for it's content. The moral story is deplorable and inhuman. So should the film be banned? Will there be a common ground?

Off the bat, there are many examples when among contemporary blockbusters that defy local moral and ethics. I use the word local because not all mankind respects the same morals and ethics. There are many ambiguous and amorphous factors that surround the acceptance of art. Many cultural notions affect and define the limits and bounds we treat as acceptable. Brokeback Mountain was critically acclaimed from artistic angles but the subject matter was a tricky one and the film was not freely screened in many countries. Of countries and inevitably, governments, someone or some people decides generally what's good for their population and possibly in their self-interest.

As mentioned, Keats wrote 'beauty is truth, truth is beauty' and in some cases the truth hurts. Is watching how depraved we can be on film a relfection of humanity? Perhaps it is. Sometimes the truth is stranger than fiction. (Cliche but contextually useful) It might be a learning to experience a darker side of the human psyche on screen instead of real life. But the limits are once again to be set by those who know better. We rely on parents to tell their children to go to bed when something not right is on TV. We develop our sense of morality and ethics as we grow up. So as we see these immoral and unethical deeds are performed by actors in a film, we're not corrupted. Affected yes but not corrupted.

The film described deals with social conditions and hierarchy. Perhaps it will give an insight to another side of humanity, of what could have been. But if the subject matter was closer to some hearts, let's say it was about religion, I am sure even a beautifully made film will not make public consumption in some societies purely because it offends the masses and flips socially accepted norms. It already happens for less serious reasons. Art loses.

Film is art and art is meant to move the soul. If art doesn't make an impact, then it has failed. The fact that critics can find the film beautiful in execution but nasty in content means that this piece of art has worked to some extent. Despite this, the issue of general consumption, I feel, is a different one altogether and a debatable one.