Vishnu-Shiva: The Leatherface Diary

[Abishai100]

Here's a politics-oriented mock dialogue between Vishnu (Hindu god of protection) and Shiva (Hindu god of destruction) about the human psychosis that gives rise to 'gore-art' avatars such as Leatherface (the fictional chainsaw-wielding cannibal from the iconic American horror film franchise the Texas Chainsaw Massacre).


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VISHNU: Americans like bank robbers (e.g., Bonnie and Clyde) and psychos (e.g., Charles Manson).
SHIVA: Movies and the media glorify and hype rebelliousness and crime (a form of 'escapism').
VISHNU: The chainsaw-wielding Leatherface is especially unusual.
SHIVA: Youngsters like cinematic images of raw psychology.
VISHNU: They should make a film about a 'Leatherface-copycat' psycho.
SHIVA: Well, the film American Psycho sort of presents a comparable character (Patrick Bateman).
VISHNU: That film requires parental supervision.
SHIVA: Many cable-TV boxes come with parental-controls (monitor switches) now.
VISHNU: Do you think Leatherface should be considered controversial?
SHIVA: 'Gore-art' is never 'cute.'
VISHNU: Art should never be censored, only evaluated and critiqued.
SHIVA: Everyone likes art, so Leatherface symbolizes psychiatry only.
VISHNU: I don't need my psychiatrist to tell me that a sledgehammer is wicked.
SHIVA: There should be a horror-cinema museum in Washington, D.C.
VISHNU: Maybe psychologists should formally study Leatherface.
SHIVA: Well, he is the 'evil version' of Quasimodo.
VISHNU: "The Hunchback of Hell."
SHIVA: Let's go to the drive-in!

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[deannalw]

Texas Chainsaw Massacre was loosely based on the true story of Wisconsin murderer Ed Gein. American Psycho is a poor example of copycat in this instance.The only thing they had in common was killing people.
Americans have always been fascinated by the wicked, the weird and the psycho.We love to scare and be scared

 

[Abishai100]

THE PRIESTHOOD

Texas Chainsaw Massacre was loosely based on the true story of Wisconsin murderer Ed Gein. American Psycho is a poor example of copycat in this instance.The only thing they had in common was killing people. Americans have always been fascinated by the wicked, the weird and the psycho.We love to scare and be scared

Yes, many scholars believe that Leatherface and Ed Gein are connected psychologically (Jungian psychology), but Gein was not an outright brute (like Leatherface) --- he was exactly as eerie though. American Psycho does do a good job of addressing the kind of mania in 'normal people' that motivates them to pick up terrible weapons (hammers, saws, etc.). Maybe America's brand of confluence makes for interesting stories about 'diversified population.' I agree with you that Americans generally like 'fear'

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PRIEST: I wish you would carry a toy water-gun instead of that terrible chainsaw.
LEATHERFACE: No!!!
PRIEST: Are you attached to that weapon?
LEATHERFACE: Bzzzzz!!!
PRIEST: You need to develop your vocabulary, Leatherface.
LEATHERFACE: Woo!!!
PRIEST: I brought you these comic books and a Young Reader's Bible.
LEATHERFACE: Aaarrrggghhhh!!!
PRIEST: Relax and settle down. We'll introduce you to Prozac.
LEATHERFACE: Sick!!!
PRIEST: We know. Don't worry. God is there for anyone (or anything!).
LEATHERFACE: Shiva!!!
PRIEST: Shiva is very symbolic for psychosis management talk (so is Vishnu).
LEATHERFACE: Christ!!!
PRIEST: Jesus taught us the value of teamwork. Who do you admire?
LEATHERFACE: Satan!!!
PRIEST: The Devil does not favor anyone...let's watch American Psycho together.
LEATHERFACE: Woo!!!

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[deannalw]

I'm not sure what you consider a brute, but Gein sure fits the bill IMO. He robbed graves for skin, skulls and other goodies. He went on to murder and hung and dressed out his last matronly victim exactly like a deer. His house was a nightmare maze of atrocities made from grave victims and murdered ones. It,s pretty damn brutal to spray paint a vagina in an attempt to preserve it. He wasn't a wild eyed fellow that went about hacking townspeople with an axe, but he was brutal.
I don't see much of any psychological similarities between he and leather face.They were motivated by completely different reasons to do the things they did. The original movie made it plain tthe family was a bunch of dangerous psychos and while keatherface may have gotten his jollies from severing body parts it was more of a job for him than any psychosexual need.

 

[Abishai100]

The Gates

Job vs. Pleasure
Monster vs. Freak

What is the shape of evil?

These are obviously the right complications to consider. Overall, I'd say Ed Gein represents typical criminal insanity, while the fictional Leatherface symbolizes the more primitive fear of losing control.

Understanding the contours of ugliness/beauty and alienation/criminality helps us analyze 'conceptions of purity.' Isn't that what horror films are all about?


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SHIVA: There must be 'levels' of hell.
VISHNU: That's what the poet Dante suggested.
SHIVA: Each level is 'guarded' by totems of clarity or chaos.
VISHNU: Perhaps the primary gate is one of wrath and agony.
SHIVA: Perhaps the secondary gate is one of deformity and loneliness.
VISHNU: Where does Leatherface fit?
SHIVA: He is arguably situated in a 'matrix' with some kind of arrogance-consciousness.
VISHNU: How is complete mania 'arrogance'?
SHIVA: He who does not fear retribution does not honor evolution.
VISHNU: I see. Perhaps suicide is the clearest form of self-destruction.
SHIVA: Genocide is destruction of the species (a 'complete' self-destruction).
VISHNU: In that case, the 'gatekeeper' is perhaps an 'evil leprechaun.'
SHIVA: I agree, someone who obviously addresses the fear of uncertainty.
VISHNU: Would you watch a horror film on Friday the 13th?
SHIVA: I'm not too superstitious about 'gray zones.'
VISHNU: The primary gate (wrath/agony) is made by Two-Face (DC Comics) and Demogoblin (Marvel Comics).
SHIVA: The secondary gate (deformity/loneliness) is made by Gray Goblin (Marvel Comics) and Quasimodo (Hugo).
VISHNU: Let's watch the fame-dementia Woody Allen film Celebrity!

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GATE 1 (Two-Face and Demogoblin):

GATE 2 (Gray Goblin and Quasimodo):

 

[deannalw]

I disagree