Natural Born Killers: A Comment on Violence in Film

Does violence in the media ultimately lead to violence in society? In Oliver Stone's opinion, the answer to this question is a resounding "yes." Stone's film, Natural Born Killers, presents to its viewers a world wrought with violence and terror, and the movie quickly reveals that its world is not far from the real world of its viewers. The film presents a fairly straightforward argument: American media and its consumers have become infatuated with violence. Natural Born Killers works under this assumption to give its viewers a slap in the face and force them to see their world in a new light. Within the narrative of his film, Stone directly and indirectly targets a massive group of film viewers ranging from young to old. Throughout this film, this large target audience is asked to completely reconstruct their existing views regarding media within their society. By examining the rationale behind the argument presented and the ways in which it is portrayed in the film, I will determine the effectiveness of the narrative structure of Stone's argument in regards to his target audiences.

The film examined for this essay is the Director's Cut, not the theatrical version, but the action within the film is fairly similar. Although a small number of deleted scenes do appear in this edition, the basic premise of the film remains the same. The theatrical release of the film was surrounded by a variety of violent news coverage. O.J. Simpson was in the midst of his trial for the murder of his wife. Rodney King was viciously beaten by police officers. Tanya Harding was brutally battling for the gold medal. The Menendez brothers were testifying during their parents murder case. The film sets up these contextual events for the viewer by presenting a montage of actual news footage from various televised trials. Through the representation of these real-life violent acts, along with mug shots of Manson and Gacy, Stone sets the stage for the fictional narrative of Mickey and Mallory Knox. The combination of postmodern cinematic techniques, a direct and indirect targeting a large audience segment, and the application a narrative structure to the argument presented influences the effectiveness of Stone's basic line of reasoning.

Through the use of postmodern techniques, Stone challenges the basic ideals of cinematic representation. The aesthetics of postmodernism in film stem from various areas of influence including postmodern art and architecture. "The most commonly identified feature of postmodernism has been its eclecticism - its drawing upon and mixing of different styles, genres, and artistic conventions" (Hill 99). Numerous critics have attempted to explain this relatively new style of filmmaking by discussing such occurances as the rise of the independent film and the move toward a more "dystopian" view of society in recent decades. Throughout its short life, "postmodernism has been used to carry on a tradition of ideological criticism" (Hill 100) that works to challenge the film viewers' ideas about cinematic representation and the critiques of society apparent within many postmodern narratives.

This reconfiguration of ideals plays a major role in the central theme of Natural Born Killers. The cinematography of the scene in which Mickey and Mallory escape from prison offers postmodern techniques that draw attention directly to the violent acts committed. The quick and sometimes obtrusive cutting, along with the extensive use of bright colors juxtaposed with black and white imagery makes the violence throughout the film, and this scene in particular, even more overwhelming. Throughout this sequence, the camera rapidly cuts from one shot to the next while the shades of the screen alternate between bright colors and black and white imagery. By using black and white imagery and fast cutting throughout the prison sequence, Stone seems to be attempting to mask the massive amount of blood and brutality within the scene. These techniques work against his efforts by drawing more attention to the violence; the black and white scenes stand out because they are so different from the viewers' basic ideas of cinematic representation. The fast dialogue between Mickey and Mallory throughout the entire film also emphasizes the importance of violence to the narrative as a whole. When these characters are not talking, they are killing. By stressing the importance of violence in his film, along with the context of the outside world placed inside the world of the film, Stone is ultimately stressing the importance of violence within the mediated world in which his film lies.

"Since the emergence of New Hollywood in the late 1960s it has been common to note in Hollywood films an increasing stylistic self-consciousness …and quotation from other styles" (Hill 101). While the aesthetics of postmodernism deal with the deconstruction of basic editing techniques and the defamiliarization of reality, satire and parody are fundamental elements of postmodern narrative. These characteristics appear within Stone's film to challenge the audience's views of America's mediated society. Although Stone chooses to satirize a tabloid news program, instead of an authentic television news show, the critique of both types of programming seems to be at the center of his argument. "Tabloid television news suits Stone well, for one of his objectives seems to be to lay bare the thin line dividing news from entertainment. The primary difference between real news and pseudo-news is that pseudo-news is more readily willing to compromise journalistic integrity for the sake of entertainment" (Weinberger). While the violence in Natural Born Killers is much more gratuitous than a show like Hard Copy, the arrangement of the fictional news stories of American Maniacs throughout the film show a striking resemblance to real tabloid news programs. American Maniacs is equipped with rapid cutting, reenactments of the murders, and an Australian anchorman who is more interested in ratings than integrity, making it simple for the film's audience to make the connection. By challenging these normative views, Stone's basic argument is strengthened.

By introducing Mallory's childhood traumas in the form of a family sitcom, Stone moves from a critique of American news to a critique of the country's entertainment television as well. I Love Mallory offers a grotesque view of this type of television and calls into question the integrity of the medium as a whole. The superficial actions of basic sitcom characters appear within the characters throughout this segment, but these actions mask a more vulgar connotation of the nuclear family. Stone takes the previous interpretation of familial love and affection apparent in these types of television shows (I Love Lucy, Leave it to Beaver) to a new level, and attempts to reconstruct the opinions of the audience in regards to the film's immediate context. By introducing such controversial topics as molestation and the murder of one's parents into such a common setting, Stone offers a horrific view of family that is probably not apparent in most of his viewers' minds. "The scene being played out is grossly inappropriate for a sitcom family but all too unfortunately reflective of many families in the real world. It serves to remind us that the world of a sitcom is still, despite its feeble attempts at verisimilitude (e.g., an unemployed father or a gay friend), a fantasy world" (Weinberger). Although the majority of the film criticizes violence in the news (tabloid news in particular) this short segment of the film helps emphasize his point about the practices of television as a whole. The placement of this exaggerated violence in a familiar and normally nonviolent setting attempts to shock the viewer into contemplation.

Through its use of postmodern film techniques, Natural Born Killers seems to be catering to a younger demographic who is accustomed to the quick cutting and bright colors of music videos, as well as the idolization of anyone who appears on television. This is the part of the country's demographic whose life is permeated with media influence because they have never lived without television. It becomes fairly obvious that this group is the target of the majority of Stone's attacks after considering the influence that mediated society has on this demographic.

One of the most disturbing sections of the film is a segment from the fictional news program, American Maniacs, in which interviews of adolescents from around the world are shown. In each clip these young people gush with love for the serial killers. By donning shirts saying "I love Mickey and Mallory" and holding signs stating "kill me Mallory," these young people put the killers on a pedestal above film and television celebrities. This segment is extremely potent because the interviewees throughout the clips seem to represent the target audience of the film itself. Since the film is directed toward a younger demographic, the overwhelming nature of violence and corruption throughout the narrative is understandable. Due to the escalating violence within media throughout recent years, many younger viewers may be impervious to the standard portrayal of violent acts on television. The exaggeration of brutality within this particular film becomes necessary to capture this group's attention.

Throughout the film Stone targets his audience by criticizing their actions. While the majority of direct attacks occur toward a younger group of film viewers, Stone indirectly criticizes an older generation of viewers as well. While the postmodern techniques and gratuitous violence that occur within the film speak more directly to the younger demographic, the editing techniques throughout Natural Born Killers indirectly targets an older group of viewers. When the clips from American Maniacs are shown, they are edited next to clips of people watching television. The "audience" of this show, however, is from past decades. By editing the film so the violence of the fictional television show is placed next to clips of people watching television in the 1950s and 1960s, Stone seems to bring this older group of television viewers down to the level of the young people whom he is directly criticizing and, in turn, lumps them into his target audience as well.

At this point questioning the solution to the problem presented becomes necessary. While Stone never explicitly states his solution to the growing problem, it is clear that he expects something to be done. Although the movie attempts to reconstruct the views of the film's audience in respect to violence in the media, the narrative nature of Stone's chosen medium hinders the possibility of a solution.

Although Stone's story as a whole offers its audience a strong argument, the basic elements of his narrative seem to be working at odds with each other. While the setting of the film is common when compared to other American movies, the techniques used to display this setting work to distort the audience's views of reality. When the characters are placed inside a room or vehicle, the outside world is never shown. The windows of these various settings reveal television and film footage ranging from extreme violence to mundane activities. This unique effect not only pushes the film world even further away from reality, but also emphasizes the extent to which Stone views the infiltration of media into society.

The argument over which aspect of cinematic viewing derives the most pleasure has occurred throughout film criticism. "The mass of mainstream film, and the conventions within which it has consciously evolved, portray a hermetically sealed world which unwinds magically, indifferent to the presence of the audience, producing for them a sense of separation and playing on their voyeuristic fantasy" (Mulvey 201). Through extracting pleasure from the voyeuristic tendencies of film viewing, the audience also obtains pleasure from identification with the characters on screen. The roles of the protagonists within cinema are that of Lacan's "image ideal." This "ideal-I" occurs in the mirror stage (the point in a child's life when he is able to separate himself from those around him). As the source of secondary identifications, the "ideal-I" presents an image of relative perfection that the subject strives to be but can never achieve (Lacan, 1-7). In order for the film's narrative to be accepted by the audience, the viewers must identify a character on-screen as their "ideal-I". By placing this descriptor onto a particular character, the film viewer is accepting the character as their own "perfect" image. When the characters are placed in such the chaotic atmosphere of Natural Born Killers, it becomes difficult for the viewer to make this identification with any character in particular. The antagonists of this film are the most rounded characters, making them the most identifiable. By forcing the audience to identify with these two characters, Stone forces his audience to see Mickey and Mallory as an image of their own "ideal-I," resulting in a more subdued version of Mickey and Mallory's gushing fans.

The characters in this film also pose another problem; they lack substance and development. Within Stone's alternate world, the "good" characters are just as flawed as the bad ones. The anchorman of the fictional news program, American Maniacs, is more concerned with his show's ratings than saving any lives, and the prison warden works harder to gain publicity for his prison than to control his maniacal inmates. The most humble character within the film is the character who has never come in contact with the media. The Native American's short appearance speaks more about Stone's views on mediated society than any other filmic technique. Not only does this character see how horrible Mickey and Mallory really are, but he helps them despite their imperfections. The death of this pivotal character seems to represent the death of a solution to Stone's proposed problem. The combination of flat characters and a chaotic atmosphere draws attention away from Stone's argument and places the attention onto the entertaining aspects of violence.

Stone's use of postmodern techniques throughout this narrative help to deconstruct his argument even further. "The postmodern use of 'parody, simulation, pastiche and allegory' may be seen 'to deny the primacy or originary power of the "author", who is no longer required to 'invent' but simply 'rework the antecedent' or rearrange the 'already-said'" (Hill 100). By introducing various narrative elements of his story through parody and satire instead of direct description, Stone not only exposes the imperfections of the narrative structure, but also debunks his credibility as an auteur to some extent. On the surface these parodies expose the flaws of mediated society, but underneath they uncover the flaws of the film as a whole.

By using parody and satire so extensively and forcing his large target audience to relate to the anti-heroes of his film and the violent acts that they perform, Stone seems to perpetuate his own societal critique; he makes gratuitous violence entertaining and ultimately calls into question his own credibility. Now, more than ten years after the release of the film, American televisions still show the types of violent acts that Stone condemns throughout his film. This past decade has shown us school shootings, husbands murdering wives, terrorist attacks, and war, all in their explicit violent detail. It is clear that the problem Stone presents in his controversial film still remains today. While the use of a narrative structure to describe this problem seems to hinder its effectiveness, Natural Born Killers does offer its audience a strong point of reflection.