For example, I liked the first Saw film, but had no urge to see 2 and 3.

I actually saw Saw 2 first (which sort of spoiled Saw a little, but no big), and I was surprised by how different they were. The first one is just two guys stuck in a room, and there's a lot more psychology to it. The second is a bunch of people stuck in a house with LOTS of rooms, and there's a lot more creativity to it. I don't know what the third one is like.

I personally am not interested in a work where the author is permitted to create a character and then have randomly selected things happen to them, pointlessly.

So you didn't like Lost in Translation either, huh? *ducks*

I think saying there are works where an author doesn't put their own opinions into the plot and characters is disingenous. That's part of writing. Even if the cause and effect isn't overt, it's ALWAYS there. It's there in choosing which actions to put onscreen and which not. It's there in the story's POV--the choice to make The Sopranos from the POV of Tony rather than the FBI or a victim of the Family is a choice which reflects what Chase is trying to say and effects how we feel about Tony.

Pulp Fiction , for another example, is a very moral film. All the gore and motherfuckers make it feel dangerous and dark, but each of the characters is faced with a choice in the film and if they make the morally "right" choice--like going back to rescue Marcellus--they get rewarded. If they make the "wrong" choice--like staying as a hitman after the Miracle--they get punished or killed. The entire film is structured to make a moral point. Tarantino's opinions color every frame, but that's what an author does.

Maybe you meant that creating characters ONLY to make a moral judgement is bad writing, and that can be true. Not always, though--most of Shaw's plays were written to illustrate theories, but he was a wonderful writer nonetheless.

As a side note: I've had nightmares two nights in a row since watching Hostel Part 2.

Yeah, that's because you DESERVE them.

Hee.

Well... I have been bad. But I haven't had sex lately so I should get to live as long as I don't say, "I'll be right back." uh oh.

Hee!

I have to agree with Robin and Bon Bon. The idea that a writer should have no say or opinion, expressed in the work itself, on any character they've created, is ridiculous. That's what all of writing is about.

Also?

I want to hear the characters' stories, not the author's inbred thoughts on the characters' stories.

I'll make a note to stop sleeping with my sister before I write again. Maybe that will help.

Question: Even though Hostel may not be torture porn, they are definitely marketing it as such. Okay? Not okay?

I personally am not interested in a work where the author is permitted to create a character and then have randomly selected things happen to them, pointlessly. That's not really art-- that's just life.

Doesn't that also describe horror movies? At least the first 20 minutes? Somebody's got to be Doomed Red Shirt Guy, you know!

Question: Even though Hostel may not be torture porn, they are definitely marketing it as such. Okay? Not okay?

Don't know. Personally? Not so okay. I know I really had a problem with the infamous Captivity billboard.

The ads for Hostel didn't bother me so much, possibly because the victims were men, but I can't say for sure. It still intrigued me at the same time as it put me off.

The ads for Hostel 2 bother me more, again possibly because this time the victims are women, but there's parts of the story hinted at in the ads that also intrigue me (possibly even more than Hostel 1), at the same time it's churning my stomach.

But a lot of horror movies over the years have had similar effects on me. Evil Dead is a perfect example. And at the time it came out, it was very sensational for the graphic, horrific violence in it, and it bothered a lot of people, and many of the victims were women (remember the "raped by a tree" scene?). It put me off at the time, but intrigued me as well. Eventually I saw it, and now it's one of my favorite movies. (Yes, I know this last paragraph is sort of tangential to your question about advertizing, but it's where I rambled to, and now I'm rambling further, so I'll shut up)