cannibalism Tagged Articles at Cinematical

Now that the big stink over The Da Vinci Code is winding down, it is time for the next film to step up to the controversy plate and hit another home run powered by the bad-news-equals-marketing-gold strategy. Unfortunately for Superman Returns, there are no real Kryptonians to take offense at the film's representation of their species. But Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest, well, there's a movie worthy of some complaints. In fact, the blockbuster sequel already faced some protests last year while shooting on the island of Dominica. The Carib tribe that is indigenous to the island had a big problem with being portrayed as cannibals, particularly in a scene that has Johnny Depp strapped to a skewer. The tribe's chief Charles Williams was especially outraged that many of his people sold out their heritage for $95 per day as extras.

Now comes the real picketing-style protesting. The Garifuna American Heritage Foundation United of Long Beach, California is staging a protest at Disneyland on Saturday afternoon in response to their own problems with their ancestors being depicted as cannibals. The non-profit organization is devoted to the preservation of the Garifuna culture and history, so their interest in the matter is obvious. I wonder, though, if anywhere in the film is it said the cannibals are on Dominica. Not that it would really matter since there is no proof that cannibalism ever existed in the Caribbean, and the movie's encouragement of the stereotype probably suggests that all native Caribbeans as well as the African-originated Garifuna share a cannibalistic past.  

A couple of years ago, you may have heard something about a guy in Germany who killed and ate a man he met on the internet. OK, so that happens around here at least once a week - but what was so demented about this particular bit of cannibalism was that the "victim" wanted to be eaten. Like, he went to the man's house fully understanding that he would be killed and devoured, and actually, um, ate his own penis with the guy before he died. (Hey, I'm just the reporter. Don't blame me.)

Anyhoo, needless to say, the story fascinated all of Germany (the cannibal, a computer repairman named Armin Meiwes, was sentenced to eight-and-a-half years in prison), and a film version was pretty much inevitable. Entitled Butterfly - A Grimm Love Story, that movie (which stars Keri Russell, Thomas Kretschmann and two German actors) - ostensibly a fictional story "inspired" by the real events - was set to open in Germany next week, but its release was halted by a judge this morning. Finding in favor of Meiwes, who had filed suit against the movie claiming it violated his rights and could affect his on-going retrial, the court ruled that "Meiwes' personal rights outweighed the right to artistic freedom"; it's unclear how the German ban will affect the film's release in other territories.

Man, this story is going to be with me all day now. I'm so sorry I brought it up.