We want to start of by saying this episode contains some 
pretty graphic stuff, so if you are not up for that..
you can best go to one of our other episodes.
Still here? Okay, let's talk about violence.
More specifically: let's talk about the way 
movie director Quentin Tarantino..
displays violence in his movies and find out what his style..
has in common with a 16th century style in art history: 
Mannerism.
What do great artists throughout the centuries have in common?
They all did something different and often, 
had a very distinctive style in their work.
Quentin Tarantino is no exception to this rule.
Whether you missed the opening title or not..
you'll immediately know that your watching a Tarantino movie.
There are a lot of factors that make his work so recognizable..
Like, trunk shots!
and we could do an entire series analyzing them, but for now, 
let's focus on his use of violence.
When it comes to this subject, two things stand out:
1) there is a lot of it.
2) It is really, really, brutal.
and a little over the top, maybe?
Take this scene from Kill Bill II for example.
It is one great choreographed violent dance..
that lasts a whopping 7 minutes and 49 seconds.
Blood is gushing abundantly, people are screaming in agony..
and you are sucked in to the scene and will 
leave it….feeling...exhausted. .
Although Tarantino uses a lot of graphic violence in his movies..
it isn't merely to shock the audience.
It's part of his art so to say,
a way to express himself.
In that way, the violence used by Tarantino 
is a means, not the end which it is in movies like Saw.
This is what Tarantino says about violence in his movies:
"I think in particularly when it comes to the violence.."
"I think the main reason is the fact that I'm so unapologetic,
about it."
"I'm a cheerleader towards violence in cinema."
Tarantino's violence only exists within his medium: the movie itself.
And Tarantino knows that: he is exploring the artistic 
boundaries of that medium with every single scene.
Because his use of violence is cinematic, it is not realistic. 
It's even funny sometimes.
And since it's so over the top, your experience as a viewer..
is probably more distant than when it comes to violence 
scene's by director Shane Black for example.
which can be viewed as more realistic.
It's raw, clumsy, emotional..
an more in line with how violence in the real world will probably be.
If you want to learn more about his style, 
check out Nerdwriters great analysis.
We'll drop a link below.
Tarantino's extravagant ways are very similar to a style in art history called 'Mannerism'.
The term 'Mannerism' refers to the style in art 
history that succeeded the Renaissance.
Around 1520 ad. a number of Italian 
artists tried to equal the style..
or maniera of their predecessors..
celebrated masters such as Raphael and Michelangelo.
They studied the muscular bodies and complex poses 
in Michelangelo's frescoes in the Sistine Chapel..
and then went a step further, also exploring the 
boundaries of their medium, just like Tarantino does.
Bodies with exaggerated muscles, extreme 
torso's and small heads were the result.
Mannerists expressed emotions and drama 
through their newly developed style.
In so doing their style became 'mannered', 
and that is why it is called 'mannerism'.
Mannerism spread rapidly throughout Europe.
Dutch artists, including Hendrick Goltzius and Cornelis van Haarlem..
introduced it into the northern countries.
It was Cornelis van Haarlem who used this style to paint one of the 
most violent paintings that you will find in the Rijksmuseum:
In this distorted Mannerist style, he depicts one of the most disturbing 
scenes from the old testament:
he massacre of the innocent, painted in 1590.
When Herod, the King of Judea, learned that a child destined 
to become 'King of the Jews' would be born in Bethlehem..
He ordered the slaughter of all boys under the age of two.
The painter portrayed the massacre as a gruesome nightmare..
he chose to leave nothing out.
Horror follows upon horror..
at lower left a soldier slits a child's throat, 
while above them a woman gouges out a soldier's eyes.
And just like in the kill bill scene from before, 
he violence goes on and on..
it literally extends to and fades out in the background.
There is violence everywhere!
Cornelis van Haarlem was not the first to paint this biblical scene..
but his take on it is certainly one of the most violent,
pushing the boundaries of his medium.
And this goes for Tarantino as well:
he was not not the first to use violence in a movie..
but pushed this form of storytelling within his medium to new extremes.
Great works of art provoke a certain feeling, 
whether it's in film, a painting, or in music.
And the best artists always find new ways to interact with our emotions..
even the emotions that we rather not have..
But what do you think? Is This Art?
Let us know whether you think Tarantino's work is art or not..
and let us know your suggestions for future episodes of Is This Art? 
Thanks for watching!
