Violence has invaded all forms media and entertainment. It can be found in books, film, music, video games, TV shows, sporting events, and even the nightly news. Boxing is too tame for some people so they watch WWE wrestling and Ultimate Fighting Championship. I know people who only watch NASCAR for the crashes and hockey for the fights. The NFL is the most popular sport in America because it's the most thrilling but also because you get to watch 22 men beat on each other for 60 minutes.
I'm not above the violence trend either. I love watching action movies and play games so violent in fact that the inept Jack Thompson has deemed them killing simulators. So what is it about violence that makes it so compelling to watch? Is it a fascination with the unfamiliar, the guilty pleasure of watching something you shouldn't, or something entirely different?
Director Michael Haneke addresses media violence in his film Funny Games. Georg (Ulrich Muhe), Anna (Susanne Lothar), and their young son Georgie (Stefan Clapczynski) arrive at their summer cabin. Georg and Georgie walk to the lake to work on their sailboat while Anna fixes dinner. A young man named Peter (Frank Giering), claiming to be friends of the neighbors, approaches Anna asking for some eggs. After Peter breaks 8 eggs and Anna refuses to give him any more, Paul (Arno Frisch), Peter's friend, arrives. Once Georg and Georgie return from the lake, Peter and Paul take the family hostage, torture them and play "funny games".
What is unique about Games is Haneke's approach. He doesn't subtlety hint at its meaning but blatantly tells you by breaking the fourth wall. He asks the audience directly; why are you watching this? These moments also provide for some terrific thought provoking ideas about manipulation, fantasy vs. reality, and media violence. There is also an interesting dichotomy within these scenes. These sequences are suppose to take you out of the reality of the movie yet at the same time they draw you in. While some will clearly have an issue with this approach, especially when a character uses a remote to rewind the movie after a horrific event there is no denying its effectiveness.
Funny Games isn't a overly violent film, much of it taking place off screen, yet Haneke still manages to create an unsettling, chilling, and compelling film. You sympathize with the family, especially the mother played excellently by Lothar. The sadistic young killers despite being physically unimpressive are still intimidating which makes it all more realistic and convincing.
In Funny Games Michael Haneke condemns the abundance, glorification, and portrayal of violence present in the media. He creates an intriguing film in which the audience isn't just an observer but an accomplice.
3 ½ stars / 4
