Author: Anderson

Back in December, Crystal posted an editorial about whether or not the upcoming Ender’s Game movie needed to go as far as the book in terms of violence. In Pondering the Fate of Stilson, she argued that having Ender kill Stilson before he even gets to Battle School may not only be not necessary and severely stretch credibility (look a the size difference between Caleb Thaggard and Asa Butterfield), it may also be harmful in that it may lead audiences to despise Ender or even encourage people to commit violence themselves.

Now, Ender’s Game director Gavin Hood has finally addressed the matter in an interview with Cinemablend’s Kelly West. Here is what he had to say:

I think that all those elements of bullying, which is a great theme in the world right now, and how kids deal with being bullied, which we know is so powerful in the book, thatʼs in the movie. But what I try to do as a filmmaker in terms of handling questions of violence, is I donʼt believe in showing violence for violenceʼs sake and repetitive violence. For me, what I have found is an act of violence can be so sudden, whatʼs more interesting is the aftermath. And so, our movie is not, I hope, in any way, really violent. I donʼt want it to be a violent film, but the effect of the moment of violence on the psyche of the protagonist and the people around him is profound as it is in the book. It has to be, and so those key scenes in the book –Bonzo in the shower– are absolutely in the movie, and they shock in their suddenness, but they are not in any way indulgent. Iʼm not interested in showing blood flying around the room or any of, none of that. Whatʼs more important is to see how these young character handle it and thatʼs why I think itʼs an important film. As a parent, I want my kids to go to a movie and not be spoken down to, deal with difficult themes, but be able to talk about it, not celebrate that, just talk about it.

Looks like Gavin Hood has put a lot of thought into the question of how much violence is really necessary in the movie to have the desired effect on the characters and the audience, and how much would really just be violence for violence’s sake. He seems to have a pretty decent grasp on where the thin line runs between dramaturgy and pornography. Sounds like we are going to be sufficiently shocked, without being traumatised by watching graphic displays of kids dying in puddles of their own blood. (my emphasis)

Source: Cinemablend