Response: "'American Horror Story' Goes Too Far'

11/13/2011

I was surprised today to read Yahoo News’ headline, “‘American Horror Story’ Goes Too Far’”. The gripe? Tate’s back-story.

For those who missed it, the episode offered every gory detail about his massacring several classmates before committing suicide by cop. What the article’s author found to be going too far, however, I found to be a thoughtful and creepy commentary on the dynamics involved in such heartbreaking and ghastly events. Any murder/suicide—let alone teenage murder/suicide—is a tragedy. It is horrific. That’s precisely why last week’s episode of American Horror Story was so powerful. It’s obvious why viewer response has been so strong.

What makes the series so good is its willingness to take chances, to show the ugly along with the artful, and the mesh the fantastic with gritty realism. To me, that’s what makes good horror. What do you think? Is it still “too soon” to cover a Columbine-type storyline? Did AHS go too far?

19 Comments

Jen

11/14/2011 02:12:03 am

I don't know. It was a tough episode to watch for me. I don't like being made to sympathize with the bad guy. It was kind of a mind screw.

Shelley

11/14/2011 03:17:26 am

It's been over 12 years since the Columbine massacre. Get over it. There are many more things out there right now that are much less PC.

Gary Imperial

11/14/2011 05:23:44 am

This show is not for everyone, just like some sit-coms are not for everyone. But for the people that enjoy a good story told with dark ink then this is the show for you. I appreciate that it goes darker than your "network" shows. Or more simply put this is Heath Ledgers Joker, not Jack Nicholsons.

Anthony

11/14/2011 12:42:52 pm

I appreciate your post and I have to agree with your criticism of the article. While the show does seem to delight in "going too far" as it were, its provocative subject matter is excused, at least in my opinion, by its profound approach to rather difficult social issues. In addition to your argument I would add that the line drawn by the author is completely arbitrary. As other blog responses have suggested, the show is packed with gruesome subject matter and undertones of an even more depraved ideology. So to take a shot at a school shooting just because it is a rather accurate depiction of one indicates to me the guy was really just trying to raise a few eyebrows on an otherwise slow day in entertainment news.

Tre Bell

11/15/2011 05:24:15 am

dude fuck that. Killing children should never be incorporated, whether it's a show, movie, whatever. Are you that desensitized, really? I don't care if it's about a school shooting or a bus exploding, can you really sit and watch that kind of shit and get enjoyment out of it? I'm a god damn bastard, but even I know that's fucked up.

Sandra Mitchell

11/15/2011 07:16:59 am

Do you live under a tree, Tre? Watch any given episode of CSI, Cold Case, or Criminal Minds, and you stand the risk of seeing the incorporation of children being hurt or killed. The good thing about it is it's TELEVISION and eventually gives a moral to the story, justice served, etc. I didn't see the episode in question so maybe it's worse than I realize, but really?!

Lisa Lane link

11/15/2011 07:46:17 am

I think we're all intelligent and mature enough to discuss this without resorting to personal attacks and judgments....

You all have made some great points.

For those who were offended by the episode: how long is long enough (or might Tre Bell have a point about what society has made of TV)? For those who felt it was permissible: how far is too far?

Tre Bell

11/15/2011 10:48:41 pm

Did I ever say that it was not incorporated into any of those shows? Any show at all? You have proved my point Sandra, because all you saw was an attack on your favorite television shows, not the fact that my point was that the complete opposite. We see that shit too much, and eventually it just becomes a normal everyday part of our lives, like on your favorite tv shows, like CSI, Cold Minds, or Criminal Case. I live under a big sycamore in Anmoore, West Virginia.

Catherine Stine link

11/16/2011 12:58:15 am

I just watched that last night. Scary as sh*t episode, but it happens and it terrifies kids. I agree that the show takes chances, and that's what makes it good. It goes beyond simple sensationalism. I mean, check out the very fine acting of Jessica Lange, for one. It's such a treat to see her in something weighty after so long. And really, what I found MOST disturbing was when the pregnant mom ate that brain. Yoooorccch!

Anthony

11/16/2011 01:37:57 pm

Mr. Bell, your perpetual hostility dilutes the profundity of your argument. I admire your passion but don't you think there is a more productive (and quite frankly articulate) way to convey your point? The notion that humans become desensitized after over exposure to horrific happenings is relatively probative, but I think it assumes more than is justified. For example, what if we as a society didn't observe (and for that matter didn't permit the observation of) scenes depicting some of the subject matter that gets under our skin? Would the world really be a better place if we were under-sensitized in a manner such that we could display no empathy when traumatic events did unfold? Consider some of the real tragedies you know of: the holocaust, the shootings in Colorado, the recent shooting of Congresswoman Gifford; and consider the respective culprits in those cases. As a society, couldn't one argue we are better equipped to handle such things, and maybe even preempt them, if we are exposed to and understand the various elements leading to them? Of course the knee-jerk reply to such a thought (if I am arguing on your behalf) is desensitization via the insensitive media is in some way the proximate cause of such behavior. But I find that hard to believe considering humanity's rich history of violence that stretches eons before mass media. Rather, I think shows like AHS make some of the more nuanced psychological tendencies that underscore such evil behavior accessible to the masses in a way that arms the thoughtful with tools necessary to facilitate the development of a more peaceful society. A society that understands people like Tate, and can help him before he breaks. I admit though, that is but one way to view it...as the show helpfully pointed out last week, an intelligent person should know "there are realities other than the one we see." If we replace the word "realities" with the word "ideologies" and the word "see" with the word "possess" (which I assume was the point the point though I have no scholarship to quote as the show is but seven weeks old), we have been hit with a powerful notion indeed.

Ms. Lane, thank you for replying. Far enough and long enough, in my opinion, are ratios that measure provocation in proportion to profundity, rather than linear measurements that track the distance some theme treads toward the periphery of the aggregate of social sensitivity. Admittedly, such a formula purports its conception in objectivity only as far FOX or CNN may purport to be genuinely objective in their own subjectivity (a little cynical I confess, but the metaphor works). However, it helps me to view the morality of broadcasting as a balancing act. If a provocative show is proportionally probative, even if I disagree with its ideological underpinnings and/or am uncomfortably with the subject matter in the abstract, I am obligated to accept, respect, and condone it. If however, a show is pushing my buttons to sell me a ticket, I find it neither socially beneficial nor worthy of my time. Anyway, thanks for the forum, I love talking about this kind of thing. If I may ask, what are your thoughts on the matter?

Lisa Lane link

11/17/2011 01:53:20 am

Tre Bell, I can understand where you're coming from, but it does seem to me that ignoring issues such as those raised on AHS will not make them go away.

Catherine Stine, I agree that Jessica Lange is brilliant in her role.

Anthony, thank you for sharing such a thoughtful and astute response. As an artist, I must view others' work from the artists' point of view. Writers make sense of the world by writing. I see episodes like last week's AHS as others' attempt at processing and understanding such evils. I do the same thing all the time in my writing.

Tre

11/17/2011 10:33:14 am

Well, when you're right you're right, but take the fact that me saying fuck a few times bothered you. I say it, hear it, fuck man, I do it all the time. Haha. Anyway, if you grew up around the people I grew up with me and my friends instead of, well, whoever you grew up with, it wouldn't faze you. Repetition. And I don't give two shit's about adults dropping dead, that's what we do best, but not kids. It's just me, but anything about that turns my stomach. Gotta be a sick bastard to enjoy that shit, but this is my last post so have fun enjoying your show.

Tiffany

11/23/2011 02:03:46 am

This show is, and will forever be one of my favorites. It has always kept me on the edge of my seat.

Estelle

6/26/2012 05:47:46 am

The school shooting scene was pretty obviously meant to be a strong Columbine reference. The kids were killed in the library, he asked one girl if she believed in God before he shot her... Those were all things that very specifically happened at Columbine. That said, I don't think it was done tastelessly.

Technical Writing India link

9/27/2012 05:14:59 pm

Very exciting post….really informative…..of all the blogs I have study on the same subject, this one is actually enlightening….I was longing to study such type of useful write-ups from a very lengthy time…good to know that such type of articles are there to help ignorant and novice individuals.

Lisa Lane link

9/28/2012 05:25:29 am

Thanks. If you're interested, I wrote weekly responses to this last season of BREAKING BAD for Fan Pages (which I will continue when the series finishes next summer): http://fans-pages.com/breaking-bad-defining-the-bad-guy/

I am currently gearing up for the upcoming season of THE WALKING DEAD, also for Fan Pages: http://fans-pages.com/review-the-walking-dead-compendium-one/

Starting this week, I will be posting analytic responses to the final season of FRINGE here at The Cerebral Writer, and I also plan on covering the upcoming season of AMERICAN HORROR STORY, so stay tuned!

West Albany adult link

10/24/2012 12:11:56 pm

Was just taking a break and wanted to post here

Philadelphia BDSM link

10/11/2013 03:10:41 pm

Great blog post.

Leigh M. Lane link

10/12/2013 07:41:30 am

Thank you.

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Response: "'American Horror Story' Goes Too Far'

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