(no subject)

1. Stumbled across a list of the most horrifying books of all time. Which in turn led to the 65th scariest movie of all time...which lead to this odd entry in Wiki about the film Salo or 120 Days of Sodom

"Salò, or the 120 Days of Sodom (Italian: Salò o le 120 giornate di Sodoma), billed on-screen as Pasolini's 120 Days of Sodom on English-language prints[3] and commonly referred to as simply Salò (Italian: [saˈlɔ]), is a 1975 political drama art horror film directed and co-written by Pier Paolo Pasolini. The film is a loose adaptation of the 1785 novel (first published in 1904) The 120 Days of Sodom by Marquis de Sade, updating the story's setting to the World War II era. It was Pasolini's final film, released three weeks after his murder.

The film focuses on four wealthy, corrupt Italian libertines in the time of the fascist Republic of Salò (1943–1945). The libertines kidnap 18 teenagers and subject them to four months of extreme violence, sadism, genital torture and psychological torture. The film explores themes of political corruption, consumerism, authoritarianism, nihilism, morality, capitalism, totalitarianism, sadism, sexuality, and fascism. The story is in four segments, inspired by Dante's Divine Comedy: the Anteinferno, the Circle of Manias, the Circle of Shit, and the Circle of Blood. The film also contains frequent references to and several discussions of Friedrich Nietzsche's 1887 book On the Genealogy of Morality, Ezra Pound's poem The Cantos, and Marcel Proust's novel sequence In Search of Lost Time.

Premiering at the Paris Film Festival on 23 November 1975, the film had a brief theatrical run in Italy before being banned in January 1976, and was released in the United States the following year on 3 October 1977. Because it depicts youths subjected to graphic violence, torture, sexual abuse, and murder, the film was controversial upon its release and has remained banned in many countries.

The confluence of thematic content in the film—ranging from the political and socio-historical, to psychological and sexual—has led to much critical discussion. It has been both praised and decried by various film historians and critics and was named the 65th-scariest film ever made by the Chicago Film Critics Association in 2006."

The critical discussion towards the bottom is kind of surprising.
( critical reception towards the film )

Considering the subject matter - this kind of shocked me? Well not in regards to Waters, maybe.

I couldn't watch the film, the description of it is bad enough - albeit not as bad as the description for the Human Centipede (let's face it - horror is an interesting and somewhat...unsettling genre?)

But this is the part, that I wanted to point out and why I'm posting about it?
( Salo is considered a critique of consumerism and fascism )

That last sentence that I put in bold is what intrigued me. Not enough to see it. I don't need those images ingrained on my brain, thank you very much.

2. Listening Circles or Righting Wrongs the Maori Way - Beyond Prisons

This is the root or source behind the Restorative Discussion Practices that I was discussing a few posts back.

The Maori have developed a listening circle to handle massive conflicts within their communities. The way it works - is the facilitator reads from a script, and you go around the circle, with each person telling their story, and everyone else listens without comment. You don't comment on the other person's story, nor do you ask questions. You just listen. It's not therapy. You don't provide advice. When it is your turn, you tell your story or answer the question the facilitator has provided. There's set rules, and the goal is to listen.

It reminds me a little of blogs like this - in which we each post our own story. Except we do comment on them, so maybe not?