Gender and cinema wondering.

[prog]

Based on the dismissively tiny survey of friends I have so far taken (me, one male friend, two female) I wonder if women tend to find the live-burial scene intrinsically and deeply upsetting in a way that men don't. Not to say that I felt no suspense in watching it, but that it certainly didn't carry the same raw-nerve discomfort that my female pals desribed. I find this more interesting because the character wasn't in immediate peril (compared to other scrapes she gets into), but this gets singled out as an especially harrowing scene. Part of me suspects that it's playing on something hardwired, there. Thoughts? Refutations?

(Would it have been different if the scene were the same length, but Thurman's character kept her cool from the start, instead of fighting to regain it after spending a minute panicing? Even if that alone the triggering factor, I'd still bet there's a gender-reaction split here.)

Comments

[treacle-well.livejournal.com]

I didn't find the live burial especially upsetting or harrowing. Like you I thought it was interesting, and especially so because of the lack of "immediate peril,"--and the climb out through loose dirt which I thought was brilliantly done.