Watched Zodiac (movie) last saturday night.
Movie went perhaps more than a tad too long, is based on the murders and the investigation in the serial murderer who went by the self-titled tag: Zodiac. The Zodiac committed murders from 1968 into the early 1970s and was never charged or found guilty.
A couple of things struck me as I was walking home. I was trying to reason out, and justify why Jake Gyllenhaal's (Graysmith) character staked his life, the plausbility of his family's lives, his career, his relationship with his wife and family, to not only assauge his curiosity as to who the Zodiac was but also to ensure that the 'truth' was told, that people would know this very 'truth' and the identity of the killer, despite no official charges being brought against him.
There was no tangible benefit, such as cash, reward, recognition (which i admit he did receive much later), but during a stage of his life when it was incredibly unccertain he would be even published, his family and matrimonial relations, job were at stake..he still went ahead, driven by this force to KNOW.
So then, if humans are animals...do animals really risk everything, their lives, their potential to procreate and pass on life in order to assuage curiosity, especially for something so intangible and non-concrete? Ok, i understand the point when animals may smell track spoor, investigate human scent and traps, and hell even the dumber or even the more unlucky animals may become trapped through sheer curiosity, but those are still concrete and tangible things.
The Zodiac himself was noted to be teacher who had been charged with paedophilia. Was accused of homosexuality by a journalist who had simply written it in an article to be sensationalist but received death threats as a result. Obviously, it was a sore spot for the Zodiac and he saw it as a severe insult. What is it about being accused of homosexuality that was/is so offensive...I suppose the insult to his masculinity, his omnipotence in his ability to wield life and death with his victims, his sense of power.
And the thing with depravity? The depravity to be inclined to touch little boys and girls, to seek pleasure with animals(beastiality) and the pre-pubescent(paedophilia), to develop fetishes that far traverses the spectrum of what is normal, quirky, deviant, into the depraved. To desire sex, blood and pain and perhaps desire sex with the dead (necrophilia).
I can see one idea linking all of these: Power.
There is the shift, the attainment of power, the cycle of the desire for it, achieving it, the relinquishment or transcience and then sooner or later, the line is pushed. Power in its varying forms and expressions becomes sought after. Deviancy wanders into the realm of the depraved.
The flip side of normal.
And the coin becomes melted, or the sides being rubbed into obscurity. What is the norm, what is normal then?
And why is it that in most profiles of the most notorious murderers, serial rapists, etc...all had some kind of 'c0-deviancy'? Is that simply another way to master power, power seeking becoming more deviant...more 'creative'? I think deviant and creative could almost be the same thing in this sense.
Sorry. Just ranting.
3 comments:
Sometimes, the drive towards finding truths turns out to be too strong - "curiosity killed the cat".
But the key is to view Gyllenhaal's character's investigations in a different light.
The discovery of truths is often beneficial for one's survival - Is there really a tiger in that bush? Is it true that using this kind of spice will preserve the food for longer? Who killed my brother? Is he planning to kill me? etc etc etc...
Whilst Gyllenhaal's character's particular activities do reduce his survival prospects....that unusually high dedication towards finding truths obviously is, on average, better for one's survival than a more disinterested attitude. A person who discovers more truths will probably survive more easily than one that doesn't, so we may expect a strong instinct towards discovering truths to be selected for by evolution.
Interesting angle on the homosexuality...seems plausible to me.
Later on in your post, you happen on another link - power. Power often must be obtained through creative means, and in this sense, yes, deviancy and creativity and correlated...serial killers do have above average IQs.
Again, one can see the actual killing merely as a side effect of deviancy...it is deviancy that is the genetically selected, survival-enhancing trait, which can be expressed in many different forms.
I can understand that curiosity is a very healthy way to learn more, to gain more knowledge, especially knowledge that is relevant to innovation, improvement and hence enhanced survival chances or quality of existence.
And perhaps as well that Graysmith's curiosity though seemingly goes against surface beneficial prospects, he is simply operating on a higher, stronger drive of curiosity to know: to survive. It would make sense to find out who the killer was, hence be able to be on guard, more specifically wary.
But there are two points I'm wondering about:
1) Could it simply be that Graysmith is the anomaly gene phenotype/expression (say following the gene line of thinking), since this drive to KNOW isn't always prevalent in most people. He is the sacrificial scapegoat, who needs to KNOW and doesnt just stop when he finds out the truth. But insists on continuing so OTHERS know. The anomalous hyper-curious person benefits everyone else, by only him having been put in line of direct risk/harm by investigating.
2)I don't really see how deviancy in terms of necrophilia or even paedophilia assists in survival enhancement. And I seriously hesitate to say this because I strongly do not endorse the idea of homosexuality being a deviancy, but the very concept of same-gender pairings goes against evolutionary instinct for survival of genes. Procreation is halted automatically at the door. Unless one would suggest (and once more, highly contestable and potentially offensive to many), that within such 'deviants', lie tainted genes that is best not passed on, hence sexuality and sexual needs become regulated as such, not following 'normal' paths to procreation.
Yes, there are lookouts for every army.
I agree, being one of those types can often endanger you, and others can glean the information off you anyway later on. Being vigilant like that can also help you survive when everone else perishes. It just totally depends.
I mean deviancy as the propensity to ignore the dicta of law, culture etc where the individual sees themselves standing to benefit from it. This can be expressed in so many ways, although phenomena such as necrophilia, I don't think fit under this category!
Homosexuality - is interesting, from a biologists p.o.v. discuss later
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