MovieChat Forums > The Loss of Sexual Innocence (2000) Discussion > Stabbed in the desert

Stabbed in the desert

posted 18 years ago by flamencoprof
8 replies | jump to latest

I thought this was a pivotal scene, a collision between the complex (foreigners) and the simple (desert people), a metaphore for the expulsion from Eden scene. I don't say this lightly, initially I was going to say the scene was a CONTRAST, but now I think of it as PARALLEL; the Tuareg as the complex in that environment, and the "sophisticated" foreigners were the simple. This scene shocked me the most in this movie. It shows that without organised "civilised" systems, human "justice" boils down to the old "eye for an eye". As I watched the scene the movie made me wonder just what the landrover people could do without a cultural framework shown to be so complex in earlier scenes. Then they cut.

The trick, William Potter, is not minding
that it hurts.

[–] 18 years ago

[deleted]

[–] la-fee-verd 17 years ago

I understand how you came up with this theory of "the first loss of sexual innocence" and the adam and eve scene, but I think it had a very different meaning than that. Innocence and sexuality are only related this day and age because religion made sex dirty and made being unaware of sex innocent. Even the human body is considered dirty. In the biblical adam and eve story, when they ate of the tree they gained knowledge of good and evil, they did not loose they're sexual innocence. Anywho... the main reason I so assuredly disagree with you is because when they are chased into the gated town (with a giant glowing cross, der der) they are jeered at by the towns people and have clothes thrown at them. These biblical people are making them conform to their ideas of propriety, etc. and this is what brought about the loss of sexual innocence. You see, without religion, sex is innocent.

Now the stabbing scene.... I don't wanna even get into that. The person who started this mentioned eye for an eye-- that's sounds religious to me.

[–] theyuffie 12 years ago

I interpreted it to be I've only seen it once and was shocked by it, an amalgamation I think it's called of how the "media " those bottom of the barrel nuts at least over where I'm at in Missouri in the "United States" as being stupid crazy psychopaths who know nothing etc, Ie the inadvertent or the (advertent) of the teller showing their "true" face so to say... IE the poor people or the desert people rather being NOTHING but psychotic extremists ETC. with no face or morality or discention Ie the media if you even want to call them that portrayal of what are termed foreign cultures IE their own ASININE STUPIDITY. NOTICE THE THING WITH THE YOUNG LOVERS SO TO SPEAK BEING HARASSED AND KIND OF DESTROYED NOTICE THE GIRL CAN'T GET THE SHIRT ON RIGHT AWAY, LIKE A RAPE VICTIM BEING HARASSED BY THEIR ABUSER. AND THE WHOLE BOTTOM, OF THE BARREL PAPRRAAZZI LOOK OF IT ALL IE Their evil attitudes RUIN EVERYTHING THAT EVIL NEO NAZI VIOLENCE PERIOD. IT'S A SAD OF RAPE IN WAY A RAPE OF ENTIRE PEOPLE PORTRAYAL Like they're not "human" or whatever that means- IE like their "photographers even you could call them that IE a kind of Spanish INQUISITION ie note OF "THE ?DAILY DAIL AND MURDOCH'S nonsense IT'S A CLEAR INDICTMENT

[–] jdadson 17 years ago

I saw it coming half a desert away. I wrote a review for IMDb, which has not showed up, in which I tell how the sequence reminded me of an urban legend. Read about it on Snopes and tell me it's not basically the same story: http://www.snopes.com/critters/edibles/tourist.asp

[–] tampaMr 17 years ago

It also coincides with nic's dream

[–] itsbeaners 16 years ago

it does, I was just think that before i read your comment. I was referring to the desert people as "smurfs" It was 5 in the morning when I was watching this, so Sleep deprivation is the cause of my nonsense. I love how after they stabbed her, they were all standing around like "what I do?!" haha.

[–] inkybrown 14 years ago

I don't know why, but this scene stands out for me as one of the most surprising and visceral scenes I've ever seen in a movie. I did not see it coming. The culture clash involved shows a loss of "cultural" innocence!

[–] Geovibe 12 years ago

This is the scene I walked out of the theater. It wasn't shocking to me, it was contrived. The fact that they hit a blue kid while driving in a wide open desert is really absurd. Yes, I know they were having an argument and they weren't paying attention.

Also, all the tribe people magically appeared after the boy got hurt. They just showed up out of nowhere.

Last but not least, the choice to leave the woman out there was non-sense. The guy that hit the boy was obviously a weasel, he's the one that should have stayed with the tribe. Then again, if he was stabbed the audience wouldn't really care.