Cannibals

[dotinthesky]

One of the best features of our cable tv is this channel called Video-on-Demand. Basically, it's a channel with stored programmes that you can watch for free at any time. So we have the whole Buffy season 4, Chicago Hope season 2 or West Wing season 4 to watch, among many others. When I saw that they had the whole series of "Murder, She Wrote", I lost a few hours watching that great serial killer Jessica Fletcher "solve" some crimes. I also discovered this great british comedy called "Black Books" which I think all of you should check out.

We also get documentaries, and we have been watching this on going series on cannibalism. Did you know that there are no laws in Britain against cannibalism? If you eat a human body (but were not involved in its death) nothing will happen to you (that's the conclusion I drew from the programme.) There was an interesting episode aswell on how the tribes on the British isles during the Iron Age used to cannibalise their enemies. And, of course, they had a whole episode on famous cannibals like Dahlmer. There is one cannibal who is alive and free today, in Japan. He killed a dutch girl in 1981 in Paris, and ate her body for the next 5 days until the french authorities caught him. Because a panel of psychiatrists deemed him mentally unfit to stand trial, he was deported back to Japan. Due to a technicality (the french authorities never asked the Japanese authorities for him to be tried for murder) he discharged himself from a mental hospital in Japan after 18 months and is now living life as a free man and a celebrity in Japan.

It was quite interesting when they described the features these cannibals seem to share with each other. First of all, 3 out of 4 of the ones shown in the programme had suffered trauma to their front lobes (which is a part of the brain in charge of regulating our "morals") during their childhoods. There was also history of neglect (Dahlmer's mother never touched him, a Russian cannibal was constantly threatened by his mother with being eaten if he didn't behave himself) and odd behaviour that was encouraged by the parents (Dahlmer's father thought it was brilliant that he dissected road kill and bleached their bones - I suspect my dad would have been impressed with me too if I did that!)

When the portuguese sailors arrived in Brazil in 1500, they also encountered cannibalism. And there are also the tales of cannibals in Fiji (in their case, tribes served the bodies of their enemies to priests so that their souls could be destroyed by the tribe's god.)

See? I might be unemployed but at least I'm learning something from TV.

Comments

[casparian.livejournal.com]

Black Books is a classic! I think there's a new series either due soon or recently shown (and if that's the case, I've obviously missed it).

[pickwick.livejournal.com]

Series 3 was on in April-ish, I don't think there'll be another one for a while :o( I love Bill Bailey!

[commonpeople.livejournal.com]

I've heard from some friends that the latest series aren't so good! I hope not... I thought it was hilarious. What other comedies do you like?

[tete-glitter.livejournal.com]

Mind if I add you?!

Pessoas q gostam de Pulp e tem "commonpeople" como id no LJ definitivamente velem à pena :)

[commonpeople.livejournal.com]

Mas eh claro!! Vou te adicionar agora mesmo. Nice to meet you Tete! ;)

[suede.livejournal.com]

There are no laws about it in most of the countries. Some are even released from prison after a few years there.
The JApan cannibal you talk about is Issei Sawaga. He was obssesed with occidental girls and she decided to eat his date. He's so famous now as you said.
We even have one vampire (and killer) who was released in Paris here in LJ, now he paints about SK and makes interviews, and all that stuff.
The lobes thing is not common, just for some of them. Most were abused as children or had violent or alcoholic parents.
Dahmer doesnt fit in any category, he remains a mistery for psychiatrists. Also because they all enjoy inflicting pain to their victims, but Dahmer gave them drugs first cos he didnt want to "hurt" them.
XD
You must think I am the freakiest now...

[commonpeople.livejournal.com]

Not at all! I'm fascinated aswell by this, specially because I have a friend in Brasil who lost part of his front lobe after an aneurism. He had told me something about the front lobe controlling our morals or intuition, so I find it interesting that some cannibals wouldn't have this. As for Dahlmer, he seemed more the classic case of a kid who suffered because of his repressed sexuality, as well as the rejection from his mother (and possibly a high i.q. too! he was so scientifically minded...)

[suede.livejournal.com]

Dahmer had a really high IQ, the fact is that he was a very happy child till his parents divorced. It was too much for him. Then he started disecting animals and feeling fascinated about death and resurrection. AS his father left home he found he wanted to create someone who never leave him, thats why he started creating zoombies.
I thought you were going to ask me about the lj cannibal xD

[commonpeople.livejournal.com]

Tell me about the LJ cannibal... is this true?

[suede.livejournal.com]

It is.
His story:
http://www.crimelibrary.com/serial_killers/weird/nico_claux/index.html?sect=3
And his journal:
http://www.livejournal.com/users/nicoclaux/
Tell me about it if you check it xD

[commonpeople.livejournal.com]

I dunno... he looks like a nerd.

[suede.livejournal.com]

Have you read about him in the first link?
looks like now he only wants to be famous.
see
I am writing in english!
es la última vez que te escribo un comment en inglés!
xD

[vilia64.livejournal.com]

So, Hannibal Lechter could be seen as a quasi-role model in certain countries, that's comforting! LOL

[commonpeople.livejournal.com]

One of the cannibals interviewed called himself "the real Hannibal".

[vilia64.livejournal.com]

Can't hold creativity against them!

[commonpeople.livejournal.com]

They briefly mentioned that: how he would go into gay bathhouses, drug his partners, then make love to them. He never hurt anyone then - he used those times to simulate contact with other humans, by touching them in a loving way, because he felt he couldn't "fake" that if they were conscient.

[ahladita.livejournal.com]

Do you have any messenger programs (AIM, MSN, Yahoo)? If so, will you email me your usernames? ahladita@livejournal.com

[commonpeople.livejournal.com]

I don't use those! I usually use the computer at work so I can't have them, or at home on Kevin's computer (and he doesn't want them installed.)

[roguejournal.livejournal.com]

very informative......




eeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeew.


lol.