That's Disgusting! - Page 2

Articles in this Topic Discussions in this Topic

Page 2

Nov 29, 2002

As feeling human beings, we tend to express our disgust freely, but sometimes subject ourselves to it out of an almost morbid fascination. Some people get a real kick of out watching "slasher" movies, while others are glued to the television set when real-life medical shows are on. Wilson has some interesting thoughts as to why people will willingly view what they find disgusting. "This is a tough question since it leads immediately to another kind of topic. Play. Gregory Bateson observes that small animals usually learn adult skills through play. They practise hunting and fighting, but they do this by substituting nips for bites," Wilson explains.

"Looking at horror, or seeing a terror film, or experiencing disgust through reading or viewing certain films, can all be explained (at least partly) by the nip versus bite distinction. We want the experience but not the real experience. You should note that learning how to put up with, or survive psychologically, the representation of disgust in film or fiction is a lot different than learning to deal with the real thing, as firemen, doctors, soldiers, and others do."

Wilson's goal with The Hydra's Tale was not only to write something fresh and new, but also to demonstrate that "a pluralistic approach is possible - nothing has to be the exclusive turf of any single way of doing, or looking at, things.

"Writing [the book] has made me even more suspicious then previously about entrenched positions, established certainties, to (in a word) anyone's exclusive turf. Northrop Frye put it neatly: your definite certainties are your definite weaknesses. If writing The Hydra's Tale didn't teach me that, it certainly re-enforced the lesson."

Go To Page: 1 2

The copyright of the article That's Disgusting! - Page 2 in Canadian Literature is owned by Paula E. Kirman. Permission to republish That's Disgusting! - Page 2 in print or online must be granted by the author in writing.