*Content Warning: This essay discusses cannibalism, addiction and references gore
Like many people I’m always intrigued by what a film is trying to get at, what the writer and director are trying to tell me. During halloween season I watched quite a few movies where cannibalism was involved and it was very intriguing how this topic possesses a range of metaphors, so it brought me here! I decided to write this essay talking about some of those films.
*Author’s note: My interest in this topic maybeee because as an ex-Catholic girlie I was raised on the belief of transubstantiation, which the church says isn’t cannibalism but hmm debatable (I’m so going to hell for thinking this).
Some context
The practice of human cannibalism across cultures and through history has been largely debated, whether it was out of necessity or just part of a culture and it’s often linked with serial killers like Jeffrey Dahmer. Recently there’s been evidence of cannibalism as a funerary practice. Instead of people burying their dead, they were eating them and in some cases modifying the remaining bones to create new objects (DIY going way too far).
In popular culture, cannibalism is dated as far back to Greek mythology. One of my favourite art pieces depicting this topic is Francisco Goya’s painting Saturn Devouring His Son (circa 1823). This painting tells the story of the Roman God Saturn who fears he will be overthrown by one of his sons so eats each of them when they’re born. Here, cannibalism can be seen as a metaphor for a tyrannical father who’s obsessed with control and power.
In film it became popularised during the 70s and 80s in horror films (specifically the exploitation sub-genre). Cannibalism in these movies was used as shock value and to represent ‘the other’ who were usually from Asian or African descent and were shown as “primitive” and “animalistic.” Interestingly, as this sub-genre progressed so did the cannibal, one of the most famous examples of the subversion from ‘primitive cannibal’ was Hannibal Lecter. He was an upper class white man who was ‘civilised’ and educated, films like this showed audiences that evil can be much closer than you think and isn’t designated to a specific type of person. Evil can be disguised as highly intelligent and cultured, this redefined cannibalism in popular culture.
Now let’s dive into the various metaphors for cannibalism. In this essay I will be referencing the following films so spoiler warnings ahead.
- Fresh (2022)
- Raw (2016)
- Bones and all (2022)
- Society (1989)
#1 Fresh (2022)
“Fresh” directed by Mimi Cave, follows Noa (played by Daisy Edgar-Jones) as she experiences the horrors of the modern dating world. She meets Steve (Sebastian Stan) who seems totally normal and cute but she soon finds out he has an unusual appetite.
Mimi Cave explores the horrors of modern dating and how in a world full of dating apps women are now experiencing a digital objectification and she goes all the way left and uses cannibalism to showcase the male gaze.
Before we dive more into the film and its prominent metaphor let’s define the phrase the “male gaze” and explore its origins. British Feminist theorist Laura Mulvey coined the term male gaze in her 1975 essay “Visual Pleasure and Narrative Cinema.” The male gaze is the act of depicting women and the world in media from a masculine, heterosexual perspective that presents and represents women as sexual objectives for the pleasure of the heterosexual male viewer. In addition, to the objectification of women on-screen, Mulvey used this phrase to describe the creation of media – the people who fund, consume and distribute these films are usually men; this all forms part of the male gaze.
In Fresh, Cave uses the consumption of human flesh to explore how our society has objectified women to the point of treating them like pieces of meat and ultimately consuming them. Women in a patriarchal society are viewed as objects of the male desire and for their consumption. Steve, who developed this peculiar appetite at a young age went into the business of selling women’s bodies to other men with similar appetites. When questioned by our female protagonist why he chooses to only sell women’s bodies, he remarks with “women taste better.”
Although a very obvious metaphor, Cave does a brilliant job of how dangerous the male gaze is. It establishes roles of the dominant male and dominated female, a functional basis of the patriarchy. If young boys consume media which emphasises this gaze, they grow up to think and believe women are things to be dominated and consumed.
Furthemore, something fxxxd is how Steve views cannibalism. He says, “It’s about giving yourself over to somebody. Becoming one with somebody else, forever. And that’s a beautiful thing. That’s surrender.” Steve believes the final ultimate form of love is the act of consumption (which is a very popular metaphor for cannibalism but more on that later), but here it isn’t as romantic as it sounds (yes I find this romantic don’t judge); it shows the power imbalance of modern dating. Men expect women to submit themselves to them (never doing the same) reinforcing the patriarchy and how they view women as play things not people.
#2 Raw (2016)
Raw, a New French Extremity film directed by Julia Ducournau explores various themes such as womanhood, familial pressure and forbidden desires. It follows Justine, a young vegetarian (played by Garance Marillier) in her first year of veterinary school, when she tastes meat for the first time during a hazing ritual she starts to have a craving for human flesh.
So this one is thematically rich as it explores various themes through its 99 minute run time. Due to this I’m only going to focus on the metaphors that were poignant to me. Firstly, I’d say cannibalism here can be seen as a metaphor for generational trauma. Director Ducournau said in an interview with Little White Lies in 2017, that “Sometimes it hurts people when I say that family is a form of determinism, but I think it is. You see patterns reproduced, even if it’s against your will. Is there anything I can do? Am I the product of my parents, or am I my own self? It’s about questioning to what extent you have a chance to act on things.” From this it’s obvious she wanted to explore familial relations. We learn that Justine and her family have been vegetarians for as long as she can remember, in the first scene when a piece of meat is carelessly put into her food by a dinner lady, her mum goes on a rampage verbally attacking the dinner lady offscreen.
Furthemore, we find out this cannibalistic trait isn’t just something Justine has but also her sister Alexia and in the final scene we learn her mother has also been cursed with this ailment – showing it’s a genetic mutation. Justine’s mother actively forces this vegetarian lifestyle on her children, as she’s frightened this gene mutation might have passed on to them. From the very little description we get of her, we know she’s strict as both girls ridicule each other for being like their mother. Cannibalism here is shown not as a choice like in ‘Fresh’ but hereditary – Ducournau explores how it feels to be burdened by a trait passed down by your parents and the consequences of that.
Raw also uses cannibalism as a metaphor for indulgence. When we meet Justine, she is a wide eyed innocent girl, when she’s pressured to eat meat (by her sister no less) she keeps seeking it out however, nothing satiates her hunger apart from human meat. Director Ducournau uses this extreme metaphor to show how over indulging in your vices can lead to a physical and psychological change in someone; becoming a more monstrous version of yourself, more animalistic. When Alexia comes to college she’s liberated and free from her mother’s strictness. With Alexia, cannibalism shows how discovering yourself and indulging in your pleasures and desires can both liberate and consume individuals, particularly during formative years. In the end she ends up murdering her sister’s roommate because she couldn’t stop herself from devouring him.
On the other hand, ignoring your vices and not indulging once in a while due to conservative pressure from your family or fear of disappointing them can also cause stress and anxiety in you. Although Justine knows human flesh will satiate her she rejects this and it leads to physical changes e.g., rashes on her body. As the story unfolds, she becomes more liberated and free from her anxieties, she learns to control her urges – only feeding when she needs to. Maybe Ducournau is showing that a balance is needed to live.
#3 Bones and all (2022)
“Bones and All” directed by Luca Guadagnino and based on a novel by the same name, follows the story of two young “eaters” Maren (Taylor Russell) and Lee (Timothee Chalament) in the 1980s as they travel across the United States hoping to “just be people” for a while.
Depending on who you ask, the cannibalism metaphor in Bones and All means a specific thing to them. Unlike ‘Fresh’ the metaphor isn’t as clear cut, some say it uses it to explore, queerness, addiction, being ‘othered,’ familial abandonment/trauma or love. I see the argument for all, and they’re interwoven. I believe the themes of addiction and the longing for connection are more prevalent and clear cut.
Depending on who you ask, the cannibalism metaphor in Bones and All means a specific thing to them. Unlike ‘Fresh’ the metaphor isn’t as clear cut, some say it uses it to explore, queerness, addiction, being ‘othered,’ familial abandonment/trauma or love. I see the argument for all, and they’re interwoven. I believe the themes of addiction and the longing for connection are more prevalent and clear cut.
Firstly, addiction, this metaphor particularly works well for the character Lee, even a character in the movie describes him as a “junkie.” Lee left home at a young age after a physical altercation with his alcoholic father – his father tries to take a bite out of him during a fight but he ends up killing his dad, who’s the first person he ever eats. Just like in Raw, cannibalism is hereditary. Throughout the course of the movie Lee uses people to get what he wants then leaves them, during a scene at the carnival he seduces this one guy to satiate his hunger. He uses people, gets what he wants out of them then leaves. For eaters their whole world revolves around this one habit, Lee even describes the feeling as a “rush.” This is not to sound insensitive to addicts but it’s very obvious in this movie the eaters are very much addicted, it’s described as a compulsion and something they have to indulge in. Timothee Chalamet in an interview with Indulge magazine touches on this point:
“I felt that the cannibalism, their eating condition, was a strong metaphor for either childhood trauma or addiction, or just carrying something you can’t quite make sense of, or something you carry shame with.” – indulgemagazine2016 November 24, 2022
One thing all these eaters have in common is they want connection. From the creepy antagonist Sully, to Jake and his groupie Bradley to Lee and Maren. There’s a feeling of wanting a community to be with people like you (queue the queer subtext). When Sully (Mark Rylance) meets Maren he says he smelt her from a mile away, he followed this smell out of desperation and longing, he explained to her he left home at a young age and has been on his own ever since. Every eater we meet is ‘othered’ not through reasons of their own but because of something beyond their control, they are all longing for people who will love them without conditions.
“It’s a hard and lonesome road for us, isn’t it, there’s no sense in making it lonelinier if you don’t have to.” – Sully
Whilst this sounds all romantical, there is a dark side to this. Maren’s mother, Janelle, left her when she was a child, she knew she’d grow up with this affliction so thought it was best to stay away. Unlike Maren who seeks connection, Janelle institutionalises and isolates herself rather than finding comfort and community, when Maren comes to visit, she sees her mother has chewed her own arms off and she tries to attack her saying “she’s better off dead.”
Janelle believes because of her condition she isn’t worthy of love, she thinks no one can love her bones and all, because of this she chooses to be consumed by loneliness and shame. I don’t use the word ‘choose’ lightly here because although yes she institutionalised herself, being othered and always on the margins of society deeply affects you, she chooses this path because she truly believes there is no other way for her, no one out there who will love her wholly.
“The world of love wants no monsters in it.” – Janelle
The title ‘Bones and All’ in this context can be seen as a metaphor for taking the risk in loving someone wholly and accepting the consequences of being consumed by this love.
In the final act, Lee asks Maren to eat him bones and all, this is the final act of love. Maren chooses to consume Lee in spite of his flaws and accepts everything about him, in doing so he becomes part of her forever.
“I want you to eat me, I want you to feed. It’s the easiest thing, Maren. Just love me and eat, bones and all.” – Lee
#4 SOCIETY (1989)
You ever feel like wealthy people are of a different race, maybe even species to us well, this movie confirms it. “Society” a satirical body horror directed by Brian Yuzna, follows 16 year old William (Bill) Whitney, the odd one out in his wealthy, upper-class Beverely Hills family, for some reason he doesn’t quite fit it with them. And well he doesn’t fit in because they’re incest-breeding cannibals (kinda). I say “kinda” because there’s more ‘sucking’ than like ‘eating’ of the flesh in this one.
Yuzna uses cannibalism here to depict how the rich leach off the poor, it’s all about class exploitation! Is the metaphor a bit on the nose and blatant? Well YES! We live in a society where people are dying of starvation and diseases and you have an elite class who could solve it all but choose to hoard resources and feed their insatiable hunger so yeah I’m fine with the metaphor being very straightforward (mini rant over)!
In the final act of the film Bill finds out the reason he isn’t like his family is because he was kidnapped – so the rich people aren’t his family they adopted him just to feed on him. This all unfolds during a ritual called “the shunting” a night where the elites of Beverly Hills gather, merge and melt into a grotesque amorphous figure devouring a member of the lower class. The shunting as described by Billy’s bully Ferguson “didn’t you know Billy…the rich have always sucked off low-class pieces of shit like you.” The key message here being, the rich are power hungry parasites who believe they’re entitled to feed on the less fortunate.
In a 2022 interview, Yuzna reflects on the not-so subtle message of his film:
“When Bill says, ‘You’re aliens,’ they’re like, ‘No, no, we’ve been here as long as you have. We’re a different species from you, we’re a different class.’ The joke is that the class is the highest difference, not even species. So that’s why they say ‘You can’t join society. You have to be born into society.’
The title ‘society’ perfectly encapsulates (and not because I can keep saying the we live in a society joke) the movie because you really do have to born into society into wealth, the rich seem alien to us because they kind of are, why would you do nothing to help when you have all this power and wealth – it’s an alien concept a very individualistic one.
FINAL THOUGHTS
Cannibalism is a great way for film makers to use a taboo subject to explore various aspects of human nature, morality and social norms. It’s multifaceted and when thoroughly explored can create an engaging and effective narrative.
I haven’t really given my opinion on any of these films mostly just mainly analysing them but Fresh is my favourite out of those mentioned here. It offers a fresh view on the topic and a very clever one at that.
I think what attracts me to this topic is how dynamic its metaphor usage is. It’s interesting to see how its changed over time and I’m intrigued to see how future filmmakers will take on this taboo subject
But most importantly it’s just kinda cool seeing the gore on screen!
Naana Donkor is a self-proclaimed ‘cinephile’ who got into reviewing and writing film essays about a year ago. She enjoys horror (specifically slashers) queer cinema and black cinema. You can find more of her in-depth reviews on substack and some shorter ones on letterboxd.
