I was serious about Gilligan. He always got the short end of everything, something I was quite sensitive about when I was a lad. Still colours my view of that series, and any other series that uses a whipping boy as comedy.
Though, it’s not an extreme “too uncomfortable to watch” type feeling. More of a “I don’t really see this as funny and it annoys me to watch” feeling.
Towelhead. Culture clashes, parent-child estrangement, domestic strife, racism, puberty, menstruation, and child molestation all rolled into one. Exceedingly painful to watch.
In addition to some others already mentioned here (Bastard out of Carolina, Six Feet Under kidnapping episode, etc.), I can’t watch anything that will involve a person with Alzheimer’s. I think films like The Savages, Iris, Away from her, The forgetting fall into this category. My dad had ALZ, so it’s too close to home.
Yeah, I hear you. My mom had ALZ and took a long, long time to die from it. I can barely bear to read the name of this disease in print now, much less watch a movie full of the agony. I recently read a description of post-traumatic stress disorder and realized with a shock that it just about described me and my current avoidance of the subject to a T.
My own contribution: I can’t tolerate scenes of characters being trapped underwater to drown. Titanic, Casino Royale and Pearl Harbor have particularly harrowing scenes. I have to jump forward in the film to skip them.
I hate those. See also, the Prestige.
I also hate thinking of stuff like Chappaquiddick–being in a car slowly filling up with water. Scuse me, off to pop some Xanax.
Event Horizon has always deeply bothered me. Not only is it pretty violent, it’s also got a good mix of psychological thriller/horror aspect in there that really stick with you.
That Metal Show. Jim Florentine just grosses me out. I hated Crank Yankers, too, another Florentine venue.
The rape scene in the recent version of The Last House on the Left was uncomfortable as hell.
Wolf Creek. It’s a brilliant film, but at the same time it’s disturbing to the point of being unenjoyable.
Any chat show where a guest is off their face.
For anyone else who didn’t know:
Heh, sorry. I usually remember to translate when posting.
Back on topic: Things involving young children and babies dying, going missing, etc.
I just finished watching The Soloist and was very nervous during the scenes of the homeless people outside the Lamp Community in L.A.
I’ve always wondered how 'in on it" these people are. I mean aside from the person on the street bits surely they must have some clue what they are in for. Aside from the obvious crackpots that is, for whom I don’t have much sympathy. I always get irritated when people take great umbrage on shows like the chef one or Howard Stern or judging shows like American Idol or Dragon’s Den or whatever - have they not seen the show? Do they not know what they are in for before they go on?
Strangely, in movies I get much more anxious from suspense related to a character getting in trouble / found / found out than from that related to potential injuray or death.
Schindler’s List. It’s just too close: some time ago, I found some letters showing that my grandparents tried to rescue some Jews in the run-up to WW2.
Happiness, yes. Totally cringe-worthy and squirmy. Also, In the Company of Men, which just, ugh. Ugh. I get a bad taste in my mouth just thinking about that movie.
Anything were religion of any sort, including atheistic and nontheistic religions, is central to the plot or plays significantly and repeatedly into subplots.
delete
The torture scene in the car -“Man on Fire” Denzil Washington.
Fight to the finish in the belltower-“Saving Private Ryan”
I’ve only been disturbed by one scene on The Simpsons. That would be the clock tower scene in “Homer Loves Flanders”.
I remember literally crawling under my friend’s pillow during Blade Runner when Rutger Hauer committed hand mutilation. I freak at the mere thought of hand damage.
sits on hands
My wife and I saw that in the theater. Not the kind of move we usually watch; we both enjoy action movies and don’t mind some gore if necessary, but it left us both really wired and raw. Stepping out of the theater, we were surprised to hear local church bells ringing.
Because the Pope had died.
Neither one of us are Catholic, but we both suddenly felt like going to confession.
I can’t watch anything dealing with child molestation. I remember back in the 80’s every now and then one of the sitcoms would do a “very special episode” dealing with the topic. My family used to watch Webster and they had one where a friend of his was getting molested. I started feeling physically ill and went to my room to play by myself. I wanted to stay with my family, tried to just ignore the TV, but couldn’t take it.