I have to turn away from the stage or screen–perhaps even leave the room–if a child is about to die, particularly in his parent’s presence. I simply can’t bear it. In books I can handle it, but visual representations just are too immediate for me to bear.
Likewise graphic rape scenes, though that’s less a case of choosing not to watch it than being unable to bear it.
Anybody else?
Just like in real life, needles. oogy oogy oogy
Male Genitalia.
Like when I watched ‘Postal’ Beginning with absolutely no idea what it was about (or even that it was a comedy) and Suddenly Dave Foley’s wang was in full view… and then he fondled it!
Please no.
Lately, any depiction of war or battles. I quite wanted to watch Generation Kill on HBO recently, but there was no way I’d even attempt it. My son is in the Navy and just spent the last 7 months in Iraq.
Also, any characters dealing with a premature baby in the hospital. I was a fan of ER back when Peter Benton’s son was born prematurely. The episode when the baby was born, I turned the TV off as soon as it became clear what was happening. I skipped all the subsequent episodes from that story arch – didn’t start watching again until the kid was out of the hospital. My daughter was a 27 week preemie and spent 7 weeks in the hospital. That was 21 years ago, but it was also the worst 7 weeks of my life. I don’t need to revisit it.
Children in peril (I thought I was going to die during Syriana).
Eyeball trauma (just watched 28 Weeks Later last night- :eek: ).
Anybody biting a piece off of or out of somebody else.
Torture or any other sadistic brutality. Not violence per se, but sadistic violence.
I love 24 but I fast-forward through any torture scenes.
Anyone harming a cat. Don’t mind if the cat’s already dead (for example, House doing an autopsy on a dead family cat) but anyone actively harming one, especially sadistically–no, thanks.
For that matter, any beloved animal being harmed, like bullies hurting their victim’s pet. Can’t watch it.
Father’s dying in hospital and parents with Alzheimer’s. Hits too close to home.
Any animal cruelty.
I suggest you watch it. There is very, very little in the way of actual battles. It’s similar to Jarhead in that the bulk of the drama is about the interactions of the soldiers and they bureaucracy of the command structure. There are a couple of battle sequences in the later episodes but they are largely peril free for the Americans. This isn’t Black Hawk Down.
Anything dealing with eyeballs. Eyeballs just squick me out.
Ditto. I don’t have a problem with cruelty to humans, although I don’t like watching torture porn. Then again, I like animals a hell of a lot more than I like humans.
Something that creeps me the fuck out is when someone knifes another guy, and then proceeds to talk to him while the guy is dying. I’m thinking Smokin’ Aces and Saving Private Ryan, but there are others. Just shut the fuck up and let the guy die in peace!
:eek: :eek: :eek: :eek: :eek: :eek: :eek: :eek:
I’ve never even heard of this movie, but I already hate it.
Snakes. I get an immediate, automatic “fight or flight” reaction. I scream and look away. Yes, I know they’re not real and snakes on the television can’t hurt me. That doesn’t mean I can handle looking at them.
Pet deaths - whether through cruelty/violence, euthenasia or just illness or old age. Destroys me utterly, every time. If I realize what’s going to happen, I stop watching. If I don’t (like the latest episode of Bones) I lose it completely. For some reason, this doesn’t apply to wild animals . . . .
And, rather ludicrously, people unconsciously humiliating themselves (pretty much every episode [I hear] of The Office, for example) Can’t watch it. I’ll just turn the show off and do something else; it makes me skin-crawlingly uncomfortable.
Children dying. 'Nuff said.
I really find the whole perpetual loser where nothing ever goes right motif to be really uncomfortable. I don’t know why but it makes a show like “Two and a half men” unwatchable for me.
I had some problems with my eyes about a year ago, and since then have had an extreme squemishness about eyeballs. Perfectly logical.
The others aren’t really logical: racial violence and kicking. I can watch movies with people getting hit, shot, and stabbed without even flinching, but throw in a racial motivation or a kick to the body and I curl up into a fetal position and close my eyes. Either is bad, but the two combined are too much. Oddly enough, American History X wasn’t a problem (even that scene). I could only get through about 15 minutes of Mississippi Burning, though, and I never turn off movies before they’re over. Funny thing is I’m the whitest white person on the planet and I’ve never been violently kicked. Nothing in my life would suggest I should be particularly sensitive to such depictions, but I have an actual physical reaction to them.
Anything with animals being hurt or killed. Can’t handle it.
Kids dying doesn’t really bother me, and adults dying? Whatever. If I’m attached to the character, I’ll cry, but not like I will with pets.
There’s a throwaway scene in Stephen King’s IT (the book) where there is a puppy being tortured. I got physically ill (dry heaves) and I had to stop reading. IT is the only book of King’s I’ve ever not finished. And I’ve read all of them.
Just thinking about it makes me want to cry.
Nothing with animals coming to harm, needles, or drug use (so no movies about cats shooting smack, I guess). With the needles or drugs, I will look away or even leave the room, but continue watching again after that part is over. With the animal issue, that taints the entire show and I can’t watch any of it.
I think it’s the opposite reason, but since I stopped smoking, I find it very difficult to watch shows where people smoke – I’m worried that if it looks at all good on TV, I will run right out and pick up the habit again.
I can usually handle gore and blood, but if they show a yellow or green or pussy infection or something like that and it makes me sick.
They’re going to take your evil badge away if you can’t enjoy a little violence towards the kiddies.
I have trouble with fingernail torture, crushing of fingers/toes, or visibly broken limbs (especially but not limited to compound fractures). I can take eyeball stabbings, skin peeling, decapitations, graphic rape or kids being killed, but the torture of Mel Gibson’s character in Payback or the arm-wrestling scene in The Fly with Jeff Goldblum really bothered me.
I can’t stand “humiliation” comedies, where all the jokes are based on people embarrassing themselves. It’s not funny, and I somehow empathize with them much more than say, horror movie victims (though I’m not to fond of those, either). I get this feeling of dread as they build up the obvious misunderstanding that going to cause a major fiasco, or whatever other device they’re using.
Valete,
Vox Imperatoris
ETA: Oh God, don’t remove the fingernails! I shivered just thinking about that. Icepicks!