Cinematic shots and cuts: on the ethics and semiotics of real violence in film fiction

In this article I discuss a few ethical and semiotic problems related to reality's ability to actually take place within, and break through, fictional representations. I am particularly concerned with the presence of material bodies in the performing arts. I consider Hideshi Hino's Flower of Flesh and Blood (Ginî piggu 2: Chiniku no hana, 1985) as an initial example of purely fictional film violence. From a brief presentation of traditional theatre semiotics and the concept of a fictive stance, I then discuss two specific films where the body of the actor functions not only as the carrier of symbolical meaning but also as an indexical reference to a factual situation: John Waters’ Pink Flamingos (1972) and Ruggero Deodato's Cannibal Holocaust (1980). My main interest lies in the occurrence of real violence, and particularly animal killings, in exploitation cinema. By considering directors’ own statements on the matter, I suggest that such violence can not simply be dismissed as ethically flawed; rather, it carries a potential critique of the ideology of meat as pure commodity.

Abstract licence: CC BY-NC

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