Explicit or Implied?

After watching Se7en with the rest of the class on Friday, the lesson was concluded with the question: "Explicit or Implied?"

Many thriller and horror movies will have to ask the same question when filming - some may feel more shocked at the sight of gore and explicit images, whereas others may feel more affected by the use of implied footage. The creators of Se7en - in my eyes - made the right choice by deciding to withold a gruesome image of the character Mills's wife's severed head. By using the effect of an implied image, the audience could focus more on the absolute grief felt and conveyed by the detective instead of having to still overcome shock from seeing such a horrific clip; they could fabricate their own picture of the contents of the parcel - which may disturb viewers more than simply seeing inside.

In contrast however, films like Saw and - more realistically - shows like This is England '86 (sorry to mention it, again!) show extremely explicit images to emotionally connect with the audience. For example, an incredibly disturbing scene of sexual abuse was publicized on Channel 4 for This is England. In this case, the explicit footage shown would have affected each and every one of the thousands of viewers watching the programme; whether they were just a little shocked from the sight or pouring their hearts out and shouting violently at the screen as I did..

On the whole, different people will be affected by different styles of filming; some bloodthirsty viewers may yearn for the showing of a brutally tortured body in order to empathise with the character, wheras others may feel more affected by the implied idea - which can be interpreted as far-fetched or dramatically gory as their minds make it.