MovieChat Forums > Benny's Video (1993) Discussion > Sexuality

Sexuality

posted 16 years ago by nyxzt
7 replies | jump to latest

Or rather the lack of it.

I think there is something interesting here.

Conventionally, we would expect a 14 or 15 year old boy who takes a girl home and has her alone in his room to make some sort of sexual advance, or at least for events to lead in that direction.

Instead, he kills her.

He later moves her dress so as to make sure she's decently covered, which seems to display a total lack of interest on his part.

Also, I think his murder of the girl, which allows him to experience 'the real thing', acts as a sort of coming of age for him, whereas traditionally sexual conquest is a major part of the 'coming of age' of a young man.

Discuss?

Some velvet morning when I'm straight...

[–] mariomaniac2 16 years ago

Why not draw an awesome parallel with Full Metal Jacket in which the privates are systematically hypnotized into replacing there sex drive with violence (giving their gun a girl's name, shooting the female sniper, "*beep* her!") by western society, singing the mickey mouse club anthem at the end (did you notice the mickey mouse clock on Benny's wall?).

Yup; watch Hollywood movies and you WILL kill your girlfriend, people!

"He who laughs last thinks slowest."

[–] killerby3 15 years ago

This is definitely an interesting point about the film, one that was certainly intended by Haneke. In a sense, he does sexualise it. However it has nothing to do with the girl who he sees not as a person but as a pig, and has about the equivalent in sexual interest in her as he would a pig. Instead he sexualises the violence by rubbing her blood into his naked body. He undresses himself, but he is not getting off on her, and he does not masturbate, but there is something pseudo-sexual about what he is doing in this scene. It definitely makes him a more disturbing character.

I'd like to revive this topic as it hasn't got nearly the discussion going that it deserves to.

[–] Last_Entrance 15 years ago

Definitely a sexual aspect. It would have been very easy to have him masturbate over the violence or molest her in some way, it was good of Haneke to keep it the way it is, because it's more subtle and a lot more disturbing I think. Great acting.

"The task of art today is to bring chaos into order." - Theodor Adorno

[–] mulhollandpsycho 14 years ago

Haneke has never been one to shy away from sex in his films. This film had some disturbing sexuality, just not with the dead girl (which I was expecting).

I'm suggesting everyone watch "Dogtooth" and see if you feel comparisons in style with Haneke.

[–] bokibongbing 13 years ago

Superficially, Dogtooth borrows a lot from Haneke's early style and mood, but it lacks the discipline of a Haneke movie. Dogtooth has a shallow pretentious meandering feel, like an indulgent actor's improvisation session. In contrast, Haneke's early movies are cold, analytical, and meticulously structured.

I saw Dogtooth before seeing most of Haneke's films, and for me, it's a pale imitation.

[–] matheusmagalhaes10 13 years ago

Based on that scene, after the killing, where he's rubbing blood in his naked body, it's very surprising that a lot of people seems to think that Haneke tried to portray Benny as a regular young boy that accidentally killed someone.

Your mother cook socks in hell!

[–] CinemaDemon989 (1286) 5 years ago

I noticed that too. I think it just shows Benny's utter indifference in regards to connecting with other humans. He can't even form basic relationships, let alone experience sexual attraction.