I've always been pretty open in my taste of books, movies and music. Very avant garde, up for whatever. I've never really been a big fan of horror or slasher movies, but I didn't mind them.
But since I had my baby last year, I just can't do violent movies any more. All of a sudden they really deeply disturb and upset me. I'm still totally fine with weird, dark or sexy movies (I think I actually enjoy sexy movies more than I used to), but hardcore violence, I have to turn it off or look away.
We were watching "Sweeny Todd" last night. I love Johnny Depp and Helena Bonham Carter, and I love weird gothic movies about old London, so I thought it would be great. But about the time he started slashing everyone's throats and the blood was splashing everywhere and the corpses slid down the chute and crumpled on their heads -- oh my god, I was literally feeling sick and I had to turn it off. Before I had the baby, I would have thought it was darkly humorous. I would have thought that someone who was turned off by it was being silly and suburban.
Even in really good or artistic movies, I find scenes of violence more hard-hitting now. I watched City of God recently, about the boy growing up in the slums of Brazil. It was an amazing, gorgeous, powerful film. But there's one scene involving gang violence against children, and it really focuses on the terror the children felt. That scene stuck with me for weeks and I couldn't get it out of my head. It was horrible.
I still like scary, creepy and eerie. But not terror and violence. I think that nowadays, now that I'm a mother, when I see violence in movies I think of the on-screen victim as more of a human. I've also become even more staunchly anti-war in my political views.
But since I had my baby last year, I just can't do violent movies any more. All of a sudden they really deeply disturb and upset me. I'm still totally fine with weird, dark or sexy movies (I think I actually enjoy sexy movies more than I used to), but hardcore violence, I have to turn it off or look away.
We were watching "Sweeny Todd" last night. I love Johnny Depp and Helena Bonham Carter, and I love weird gothic movies about old London, so I thought it would be great. But about the time he started slashing everyone's throats and the blood was splashing everywhere and the corpses slid down the chute and crumpled on their heads -- oh my god, I was literally feeling sick and I had to turn it off. Before I had the baby, I would have thought it was darkly humorous. I would have thought that someone who was turned off by it was being silly and suburban.
Even in really good or artistic movies, I find scenes of violence more hard-hitting now. I watched City of God recently, about the boy growing up in the slums of Brazil. It was an amazing, gorgeous, powerful film. But there's one scene involving gang violence against children, and it really focuses on the terror the children felt. That scene stuck with me for weeks and I couldn't get it out of my head. It was horrible.
I still like scary, creepy and eerie. But not terror and violence. I think that nowadays, now that I'm a mother, when I see violence in movies I think of the on-screen victim as more of a human. I've also become even more staunchly anti-war in my political views.
: EXACTLY how I feel. And I always made fun of my own mother for being this way growing up!! What an amazingly life-changing experience motherhood is, no? 
