free 2 be marlo

Monday, April 4, 2005

Posted by Evil Schmoo @ 8:30 p.m. ET

Boys, boys, boys. You're discussing Japanese poo-porn without involving The Schmoo in the conversation?

Amateurs.

Try this.

IF YOU DARE.

Don't say The Schmoo didn't warn you.

PS: Yes, it's a subscription site. They all are. But that'll give you some idea of how pervasive scat porn is.

In general, scat is vastly more common in Asia, and somewhat in Europe, than here. Japan, in particular, is the world center of scat. As to why, well, there are many theories, but specifically:

Cultures frequently fetishize that which is taboo in their culture. The Nips, God Bless 'Em, are one of the cleanest people on Earth. For example, most of their religious rites feature washing of the hands and body repeatedly; there is of course the removal of shoes before entering a dwelling, which due mainly to shoes being considered unclean; and so on. There are legendary stories about their soccer fans taking their own trash bags into foreign stadiums to clean up the trash they make during the game. Anyway, point remains: Japanese love the clean.

Which, then, makes sense that the opposite of clean -- washing yourself with and/or eating poo, vomit, or gallons of semen -- are all well-known and well-documented Japanese fetishes.

We, on the other hand, do not fetishize the act itself, but are just as fascinated by the pure disgust, by the visceral response engendered within our bowels, of such images. Which is why we return to them, over and over and over again.

There are dozens of examples of this: Italian gore flicks (giallo), the Zarqawi beheadings, Le Grand Guignol, public executions, rotten.com, etc.

The Schmoo points you to the famous Goatse vs. Tubgirl debate for further ruminations. And here is a pretty well-written academic take on the giallo of Argento and Bava.

My question is, which is worse: fetishizing the act, or fetishizing the image?

God Bless America.

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Replies: 4 comments

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