User:Mr pand/Cannibalism in popular culture

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Cannibalism is a recurring theme in popular culture, especially within the horror genre.

Cannibal tribes[edit]

  • Herman Melville's Typee (1846), a semi-factual account of Melville's voyage to the Pacific Island of Nuku Hiva, where he spent several weeks living among the island's cannibal inhabitants, after which he fled the island fearing to be eaten.

Cannibalism in survivor stories[edit]

Cannibalism has sometimes been practised as a last resort by people suffering from famine, and this theme has been used in popular culture.

  • The novel World War Z by Max Brooks features cannibalism not only in the form of zombies, but also amongst the living. Many Americans head north into Canada to escape the undead (whose bodies freeze in the cold). The ill equipped and under prepared survivors are forced into cannibalizing the dead to survive the harsh winters. The Novel also describes "Quislings" Humans who act like as zombies as a way of coping with the psychological trauma of the horror surrounding them.
  • In the book Peeps by Scott Westerfeld, a disease is sweeping the planet, causing most of its victims to become cannibals.

A slightly different example is that of Survivor Type, a short story by Stephen King, which follows a shipwreck victim stranded on a remote island, who is driven to eating his own body parts in order to survive.

Murderous cannibals[edit]

Cannibalism has also been practised by many murderers, especially serial killers, in popular culture. These depictions can either be semi-biographical or entirely fictional.

Fictionalized biography[edit]

Fiction[edit]

Science fiction[edit]


Literature[edit]

Cannibalism in literature, a species of horror fiction, is represented by some significant works:

  • The Republic of Wine: A Novel by Mo Yan, in which cannibalism is practiced by officials in modern China.


  • In Bentley Little's short story "The Washingtonians", the protagonist discovers that George Washington was a murderer and a cannibal. This story was adapted for an episode of Masters of Horror in 2007.
  • In Suddenly, Last Summer a play by Tennessee Williams, the cannibalizing of a family member is the secret at the heart of the story.
  • In the novel Lucifer's Hammer by Larry Niven and Jerry Pournelle, the collapse of civilization follows a massive comet impacting the Earth and one band of survivors turn to cannibalism as both a means of food and as a way of binding members to the band. The breaking of the taboo against cannibalism assures that the band's members will be ostracized by any other groups of survivors.
  • In the Anne Rice novel, Queen of the Damned, two characters, "Maharet" and "Mekare" come from an ancient culture where it is customary to eat the flesh of dead relatives or friends as part of a funeral rite. In the culture, eating the flesh of dead loved ones was seen as being more respectful than burying or cremating them

Film[edit]

Cannibalism has been represented in many movies, especially in the horror genre. Mostly, this cannibalism has been linked to primitive rainforest tribes.

Some horror films, known as 'cannibal films', depict the cannibalistic activities of primitive tribes in Asia or South America. A common premise of these movies concerns the discovery of these tribes by documentary filmmakers or anthropologists. These films were especially popular through the work of Italian filmmakers in the 1970s and 1980s. The first major film of this type was Umberto Lenzi's 1972 film Il Paese del Sesso Selvaggio (The Man from the Deep River). This inspired other filmmakers to create cannibal films, with the genre reaching its peak in cannibal boom of 1977 to 1981. Significant films from these years include Ultimo mondo cannibale (1977), Cannibal Holocaust (1980) and Cannibal Ferox (1981).

Cannibals appear as antagonists in many other horror movies. Sometimes this is in the form of fictionalised biography, such as The Texas Chain Saw Massacre (1974) and its sequels, which fictionalise the accounts of murderer Ed Gein.

The Hills Have Eyes series of films features a clan of cannibalistic savages (mutants in the remake series) who are portrayed as eating people's innards raw.

Cannibalism is not just confined to the horror genre. Dark comedy has also featured it as a theme, in films such as Delicatessen (1991) or Eating Raoul (1982).

Parodies of horror films have also used cannibalism as a theme, whether as a central part of the plot or as a briefly mentioned character trait. The most famous cannibal parody is Cannibal! The Musical, which is a fictionalized account of Alferd Packer's cannibalism, written and directed by Trey Parker. The 1975 musical parody The Rocky Horror Picture Show also features cannibalism, as Dr. Frank N. Furter kills the character Eddie and serves his flesh to his dinner guests.

Television[edit]

  • The episode "Our Town" of The X-Files is based on several historical and popular myths about cannibalism. The protagonist FBI agents find that an entire community in Arkansas have been kidnapping outsiders and eating them for decades, in the belief that it lengthens their lifespans. They have been taught to do this by the town patriarch, Walter Chaco (a reference to Chaco Canyon), who lived among the Korowai tribe of Papua, New Guinea after being shot down in the Pacific during World War II.
  • Nightmare Cafeteria, the third and final segment of The Simpsons Treehouse of Horror V. To respond to the overwhelming number of students in detention, the teachers at Springfield Elementary School start to eat all the children. This was a parody of Soylent Green.
  • The Doctor Who story Revelation of the Daleks a villain sells human flesh to famine victims.
  • In an episode of The Young Ones the cast decide to eat their least popular member (Neil) when they are trapped in their house, submerged in a flood.
  • In Monty Python's Flying Circus, cannibalism is something of a recurring theme:
    • In the Undertaker's sketch, a dead woman is referred to as "an eater" by an undertaker, suggesting cremation or burial is too "nasty".
    • In the Lifeboat sketch, five sailors in a lifeboat bicker about the menu planning involving who should be eaten first. The skit is followed by the reading of a "protest letter" saying, "As a naval officer I abhor the implication that the Royal Navy is a haven for cannibalism. It is well known that we now have the problem relatively under control, and that it is the RAF who now suffer the largest casualties in this area. And what do you think the Argylls ate in Aden. Arabs? Yours etc. Captain B.J. Smethwick in a white wine sauce with shallots, mushrooms and garlic."
    • In the Expedition to Lake Pahoe sketch, Vice Admiral Sir John Cunningham addresses the audience with the non sequitur "and may I take this opportunity of emphasizing that there is no cannibalism in the British Navy. Absolutely none, and when I say none, I mean there is a certain amount, more than we are prepared to admit, but all new ratings are warned that if they wake up in the morning and find toothmarks at all anywhere on their bodies, they're to tell me immediately so that I can immediately take every measure to hush the whole thing up. And, finally, necrophilia is right out. Now, this expedition is primarily to investigate reports of cannibalism and necrophilia in ... this expedition is primarily to investigate reports of unusual marine life in the as yet uncharted Lake Pahoe." Later in the skit, Sir John has to block our view of a naval rating about to bite into a human leg.
    • In the Restaurant/Intermission sketch, two patrons of a "vegetarian restaurant" which serves "no animal flesh of any kind" are confronted by a semi-naked man in a large serving dish, who informs them, "I'm the special. Try me with some rice." The surprise here is somewhat lessened by the waiter having just asked the couple, "Would you care for a glass of blood? Oh what a giveaway."
  • The 2001 episode of South Park called Scott Tenorman Must Die, is famous among fans of the Comedy Central show. Eric Cartman arranged the murders of the parents of his archnemesis, Scott Tenorman. He then collected the bodies, grounded them up into meat, and fed them to Scott in a chili cookoff. This isn't the first time cannibalism have been seen, in a previous episode, Cartman's Mom Is Still a Dirty Slut, three characters fall victim to cannibalism during the brief period of time that a group of adults became trapped in a television studio during a blizzard.
  • In the Torchwood episode "Countrycide" it is discovered that a whole village of cannibals kill and eat travellers every ten years as part of a "harvest".
  • Some deaths in Celebrity Deathmatch lead to a celebrity eating another celebrity.
  • The 2007 Masters of Horror episode "The Washingtonians" portrays George Washington as a cannibal in a fictional account of alternate history.

Popular music[edit]

  • "Mr. Green Genes" by Frank Zappa (from the Mothers of Invention album Uncle Meat) makes a humorous reference to cannibalism: "Eat the truck & driver / And his gloves / NUTRITIOUSNESS! DELICIOUSNESS! WORTHLESSNESS!"[3]
  • "Timothy" by the Buoys (1971): Written by Rupert Holmes (later to become an accomplished musician in his own right), this is a ballad of three miners trapped by a cave-in with no food. By the time they're rescued, only two of them remain, and they show no sign of hunger. The lyrics don't explicitly reveal the fate of the missing man (the titular character Timothy), but the conclusion to be drawn was so obvious, and controversial, that the song was banned by many U.S. radio stations. In spite of this, "Timothy" managed to crack Billboard's Top 20 and made the Buoys one of the most unlikely one-hit wonders in rock & roll history.[4]
  • "Mein Teil" by Rammstein (2004): Based upon the Armin Meiwes cannibalism case in Germany.
  • Many metal and grindcore bands talk about cannibalism. One of the more famous band is "Cannibal Corpse".
  • Death metal band Bloodbath has a song entitled "Eaten" which tells of the desire of the narrator to be eaten.
  • The 2007 Marilyn Manson album Eat Me, Drink Me was said by Manson himself to have been inspired by the Armin Meiwes cannibal case from Germany. In an interview he stated that he thought the act was "Romantic" but also showed concern that others would not understand his views.
  • Most of Brotha Lynch Hung's songs are about cannibalism. One good example is "The Corpse Came To Dinner". His album EB4 and his film, Now Eat, detail the rapper's fascination with cannibalism and infanticide.
  • "Kiss Me, Hold Me and Eat Me" by Ballboy, an Edinburgh band, features a poignant love affair between two cannibals, who know that their first kiss could prove fatal.
  • Necro's song "Human Consumption" is about cannibalism.
  • "Friends" a song penned by Andy Summers and recorded by The Police. It appears as a B-side on the UK Single "Don't Stand So Close to Me" (AMS7564) and the US single of "De Do Do Do, De Da Da Da" (AM2275).

Video games[edit]

  • Digital Devil Saga depicts demonic tribe members devouring each other should his or her opponent be defeated.
  • In Grand Theft Auto: Liberty City Stories, media tycoon Donald Love has Toni Cipriani kill Avery Carrington and bring him to his private jet in order to eat him on the trip.
  • Jade Empire features cannibals as one of the game's enemies.
  • Mr. Grimm, a main playable character in Twisted Metal Black, is a cannibal.
  • In the Grand Theft Auto 2 mission "R. S. L. Bows!" the player is required to collect members of the public in a bus, before driving them to a meat-processing plant to be slaughtered for human consumption by soldiers of the Russian mafia.
  • Paxton Fettel, the main enemy in the computer game F.E.A.R. eats his victims in order to absorb their memories.
  • In Mortal Kombat the Tarkatan eat their victims after a fight (The only character that actually does that in game is Mileena).
  • In World of Warcraft, players can choose a Horde race called the Forsaken, a faction of sentient undead with a racial ability called "Cannibalize". The player consumes the corpse of a Humanoid or Undead enemy to regain health.
  • The Tribesmen from Tomb Raider 3 attempt to eat Lara. Fortunately her arsenal vanquished the tribe. They also attempt to eat a castaway pilot - who they are supposed to have eat for the dessert (as white flesh is said to be a delicacy in those parts) of a special feast, named: "The Feast of Spies". He only had one leg - as he awoke late one night to find "One of those little fuckers snacking on his leg". He wrapped it in bandages - hoping to survive up to the feast, in which he will be eaten alive.
  • Cannibalism is a recurring theme in the game Fallout 3. An interesting game mechanic in which players can cannibalize corpses to regain health is featured. Heavily radiated wastelanders called feral ghouls also eat flesh to sustain themselves. Likewise, a small yet corrupt settlement of cannibals can be discovered.
  • A 1998 canceled Playstation fighting game entitled Thrill Kill featured a murderous redneck cannibal from Kentucky named Cleetus. He was shown carrying a torn leg and used it as a blunt object in fighting. Cleetus could be seen also eating the leg during fighting, as well as has attacks where he bites the flesh of other fighters.

In other media[edit]

  • Aboleths in the Dungeons & Dragons setting the Forgotten realms are said to consume their parents on birth & in doing so receiving their parents memories (as well as any other races they eat).
  • Underground, a role playing game in which a popular restaurant chain called "Tastee Ghoul" serves food made from human flesh.
  • Zhu Yu, a Chinese conceptual artist, became famous for his staging of many photographs of himself eating a cooked human foetus. Though he himself has claimed in interviews that the foetus was real, obtained from an abortion clinic, some reports indicate that it was likely duck meat mixed with parts from a baby doll. Yu briefly found himself the subject of a chain e-mail backlash that singled out Asian communities for allegedly taking their "unusual" cuisine tastes too far. The chain eventually reached the FBI and Scotland Yard, both of whom performed full investigations into the pictures.
  • Long Pig, a fast food chain in the graphic novel known as Transmetropolitan, for which humans are cloned without brains-- to be guiltlessly prepared as meals.
  • Famed Mexican muralist Diego Rivera claimed in his autobiography that during a period in 1904, he and his companions ate "nothing but cadavers" purchased from the local morgue. Rivera was fully aware of the shock value of this tale. Rivera claims that he thought cannibalism a way of the future, remarking "I believe that when man evolves a civilization higher than the mechanized but still primitive one he has now, the eating of human flesh will be sanctioned. For then man will have thrown off all of his superstitions and irrational taboos." Readers may be reminded of the savage satire of Jonathan Swift's A Modest Proposal.
  • Oswald de Andrade's Cannibal Manifesto was an influential work of Brazilian modernism, comparing literal cannibalism to the postcolonial reappropriation of European culture, art, and ideas.

In multiple media[edit]

References[edit]

  1. ^ http://akas.imdb.com/title/tt0910548/
  2. ^ http://dir.salon.com/story/ent/movies/review/2002/03/06/trouble/index.html
  3. ^ Uncle Meat
  4. ^ Timothy by The Buoys Songfacts

See also[edit]

Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=User:Mr_pand/Cannibalism_in_popular_culture&oldid=303996154"