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Blood and Gore
Did you see Hitchcock's classic
PSYCHO when it was first released?
That was back in 1960--
Before our thirst for blood increased.
Hitchcock teased us with the camera
And was a master at building suspense,
Which for many who saw the movie
Turned out to be too intense.
The unforgettable scene in the shower
Made some viewers too afraid
To shower when staying at home alone
For years after the film had been made.
The intensity of that frightening scene
By modern standards is shallow or thin.
They say there's only one split second
That shows the knife touching skin.
In movies now heads go flying,
Bodies explode, throats are slit,
Blood gushes, sprinkles, and splatters--
The butchery never seems to quit.
Eyes pop out, insides ooze,
Bodies are sometimes split in half
Or burnt to a crisp before our eyes.
After a shriek, the viewers laugh.
Are we more sophisticated
Or just immune to blood and gore?
Scenes that scared us way back when
Do not scare us anymore.
It's refreshing when directors use
Restraint and wisely resist temptations
To show it all and leave so little
To the viewers' imaginations.
(11-5-15)
PSYCHO when it was first released?
That was back in 1960--
Before our thirst for blood increased.
Hitchcock teased us with the camera
And was a master at building suspense,
Which for many who saw the movie
Turned out to be too intense.
The unforgettable scene in the shower
Made some viewers too afraid
To shower when staying at home alone
For years after the film had been made.
The intensity of that frightening scene
By modern standards is shallow or thin.
They say there's only one split second
That shows the knife touching skin.
In movies now heads go flying,
Bodies explode, throats are slit,
Blood gushes, sprinkles, and splatters--
The butchery never seems to quit.
Eyes pop out, insides ooze,
Bodies are sometimes split in half
Or burnt to a crisp before our eyes.
After a shriek, the viewers laugh.
Are we more sophisticated
Or just immune to blood and gore?
Scenes that scared us way back when
Do not scare us anymore.
It's refreshing when directors use
Restraint and wisely resist temptations
To show it all and leave so little
To the viewers' imaginations.
(11-5-15)
