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or the early Britney Spears-comment on the use of the image of the young as a sexualized bait for consumerism. And the exploitation of the young themselves, in all kinds of ways. It's amusing to see an Abercrombie & Fitch catalog after watching this.

In a world where the Yugoslavian rape camps have existed, however, an attack like this on that brutal part of human nature has a valuable place in aesthetic discourse. This is an image of that brutality at the base of everyone-that should be controlled, not indulged, and an image of the toilet, the abbatoir the world becomes when our worst selves are unleashed and power is all, and takes its gloves and pants off. Abu Ghraib is only one example, and the resemblance of some scenes to images from that prison is startling.

And fortunately, nobody has to make it again. It is a pure, unforgettable nightmare, and for all its clumsinesses and heavy-handedness, it fits in the progression of Pasolini's worldview up to that time, as misanthropic and heterophobic as that image is.

But as long as vile homophobic hate films like CRUISING are still available on video, I sympathize with any gay filmmaker (even, say, Todd Haynes or Gregg Araki) regardless of the hate level-and it is high in this film. Be warned-it is true to De Sade, including a scene featuring a coprophagous banquet. (people like to think of him as the guy who was into inflicting pain, but in fact that other thing was more his obsessive focus, which is probably why more like to talk about him than have actually gotten through his gross and horribly-written books) Remember it's chocolate and it almost might be funny, but I can't watch that part myself. Pasolini's anger either limits or focuses his vision. This occupies a place that needs filling, but only a very small part one doesn't always want to see, nor should one, necessarily. Nevertheless, worth one look. That part of us should be understood. Unseen it begets monsters, like this film, say...

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