Feminist writer Simone de Beauvoir defended the Marquis de Sade’s infamous 120 Days of Sodom in her essay, “Must We Burn Sade?” because she saw the value in exploring the darkest reaches of human sexuality. Yet it’s hard to see her rushing to the defense of Pier Paolo Pasolini’s retelling of the sordid tale, Salo or 120 Days of Sodom. For most people, once is enough when it comes to that sort of creative output. In the film, Pasolini updates de Sade’s wretchedly dark tale by substituting Italian Fascists for French libertines. The overhaul still reflected Sade’s interest in the basest of human behaviors, including whipping, raping, scalping, and much much more. While thanks to so-called “torture porn” films like Eli Roth’s Hostel franchise and the Human Centipede, modern audiences have become inured to the most degrading of images, those films are created in the name of horror. In Salo, Pasolini was aiming for art, which makes it all that much more affecting, disturbing and unshakable.
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