Theories are divided in three categories according to the ways enjoyment of violent
entertainment happens.
The first category features theories that propose that violence
has inherently appealing properties, meaning that one might enjoy a violent movie or
performance precisely because the violent images per se evoke pleasure.
The second category of theories suggests that one might be attracted to a violent film but find the
violent scenes themselves to be unpleasant.
And the third category deals with the
appeal of post- viewing gratifications, meaning that one enjoys a violent movie
because of the “various gratifications that are indirectly related to the viewing of the
images and are actually experienced after the images themselves are viewed” (Sparks
& Sparks, 2000, 74). Chapter B is a case study on Kill Bill Vol. 1 by Quentin
Tarantino to discover the applicability and pertinence of these theories. In this
Chapter, I provide with a study of those elements of the film that make it interesting
for me personally to watch it. Chapter C is a research on the psychophysiology of an
audience member while watching Kill Bill with a specific focus on his somatic
responses during the violent scenes in order to draw an inference about the appeal of
violence. The final product of this research is included in a DVD at the end of the
thesis under the title: Where did Violence (almost) go? or the footage missed by
Alejandro through blinking while watching Kill Bill.