Cannibalism in popular culture
Encyclopedia
Cannibalism
is a recurring theme in popular culture, especially within the horror genre.
. Usually, the cannibalism has been used as an expression of a tribe's primitive savagery.
An early literary example is provided by Herman Melville
's Typee
, a semi-factual account of Melville's voyage to the Pacific Island of Nuku Hiva
, where he spent several weeks living among the island's cannibal inhabitants before fleeing for of fear of being eaten.
The theme of cannibal tribes has been exploited by many horror film
s, known as cannibal films. A common premise of these films concerns the discovery of such tribes by documentary filmmakers or anthropologists. These films were especially popular through the work of Italian filmmakers in the 1970s and 1980s. The first major film of this type was Umberto Lenzi
's 1972 film Il Paese del Sesso Selvaggio
(The Man from the Deep River). This inspired other filmmakers to create cannibal films, with the genre reaching its peak in cannibal boom
of 1977 to 1981. The most prolific of these films was Ruggero Deodato
's controversial Cannibal Holocaust
(1980), which influenced later cannibal movies, some of which adopted the moniker Cannibal Holocaust II in homage to Deodato's original. Other significant films from the 'cannibal boom' years include Ultimo mondo cannibale
(1977) and Cannibal Ferox
(1981).
Other later horror films have also included cannibal tribes or groups. A notable example is The Hills Have Eyes series
of films, which features a clan of cannibalistic savages. Wrong Turn
and its sequel
features a cannibalistic group of mountain men
.
The 1971 film Como Era Gostoso o Meu Francês (How Tasty Was My Little Frenchman
) by Nelson Pereira dos Santos, set in the 16th century, details the alleged cannibalistic practices of the indigenous Tupinamba warrior tribe against French
and Portuguese
colonizers.
A different example of cannibal culture in literature is found in the science fiction novel Stranger in a Strange Land
(1961) by Robert A. Heinlein
, where some human culture is transformed as a result of the Martian
s practice of eating one's dead friends as an act of great respect. This novel provided the inspiration for The Police
song "Friends", which appeared as a B-side on the UK single "Don't Stand So Close to Me
" and the US single of "De Do Do Do, De Da Da Da
".
Some stories with talking animals or other sentient species consider it equivalent to cannibalism to eat another sentient creature, even one of a different species. An example is C. S. Lewis
's The Silver Chair
, in which the protagonists are horrified to discover that a certain group of giants condones the consumption of humans and talking animals.
In the Anne Rice
novel, The Queen of the Damned
, many references are made to an ancient culture who practiced necro-cannibalism from the belief that the eating of their loved ones' remains was a more fitting funeral rite than either burying or burning them.
Historically, cannibalism was sometimes practised as a last resort by people suffering from famine, and this theme has been used in popular culture. Indeed, occasionally, true stories of such acts of cannibalism have been portrayed. One example is of the
1972 story of the survivors of Uruguayan Air Force Flight 571
, who resorted to cannibalism in order to survive. The story of the survivors was chronicled in Piers Paul Read
's 1974 book, Alive: The Story of the Andes Survivors
, in a 1993 film adaptation of the book, called simply Alive
, and in a 2008 documentary: Stranded: I’ve Come From a Plane That Crashed on the Mountains
.
Two other similar stories that have provided inspiration for popular culture adaptations are the accounts of Alferd Packer
and the Donner Party
, both involving people eating human flesh in order to survive snowbound entrapment in the mountains. The 1999 film Ravenous
combines elements of both stories. The tale of Packer is retold, with artistic liberty, in the 1980 film The Legend of Alfred Packer
and in Trey Parker
's black comedy Cannibal! The Musical
.
A slightly different example is that of Survivor Type, a short story by Stephen King
, which follows a shipwrecked victim stranded on a remote island, who is driven to eating his own body parts in order to survive. This story can also be seen in the manga One Piece
where ship's cook Zeff and protagonist Sanji are stranded on a barren cliff in the middle of the sea. Zeff cuts off one leg and eats it while Sanji keeps the food that they managed to salvage from the shipwreck they were sailing on before.
Post-apocalyptic narratives have also featured cannibalism as a means of survival. The 1991 French film Delicatessen
is set in an apartment block led by a butcher who deals with the food crisis by luring new tenants to the apartment, killing them, and serving them as meat to the other residents. In the 2006 post-apocalyptic zombie
horror novel World War Z
by Max Brooks
, many Americans head north into Canada
to escape the undead
, the under-prepared survivors are forced into cannibalizing the dead in order to survive the harsh winters. In Cormac McCarthy
's novel The Road
, some of the survivors in the post-apocalyptic United States practice cannibalism as nearly all other sources of food (animals, plant life), have been destroyed.
One of the oldest examples is Tantalus
from Greek mythology
, who served the Olympian gods the flesh of his son, Pelops
. None of the gods were fooled except Demeter
, who ate part of his shoulder. Pelops was resurrected, and his shoulder replaced with ivory. As for Tantalus, he was famously punished by being placed in a pool of water under a fruit tree. Whenever he tried to eat the fruit or drink the water, they moved away.
Another early example appears in William Shakespeare
's late sixteenth century play Titus Andronicus
, where the character Tamora is unknowingly served a pie made from the remains of her two sons. Another literary occurrence is in Fannie Flagg
's novel Fried Green Tomatoes at the Whistle Stop Cafe
, in which investigators are unknowingly fed the barbecue
d ribs of a man whose murder they are investigating.
Lu Xun's Diary of a Madman, is premised on the notion that those who are eating flesh don't know it. Hence the Madman is mad only insofar as those who participate in cannibalism are unaware of it.
In cinema, the most notable example is in the 1973 science fiction film Soylent Green
. In the movie, the Soylent Corporation produces rations of small green wafers in response to the food crisis. These wafers are advertised as being produced from "high-energy plankton", but are actually the processed remains of human corpses. This film was parodied in the third segment of The Simpsons
episode "Treehouse of Horror V
" ("Nightmare Cafeteria"), in which the teachers at Springfield Elementary School begin to eat children in response to overcrowding in detention, and serve the students' remains in the cafeteria.
This theme has also been used in parodies and black comedies, for its humorous value of dramatic irony. In the 1987 film Eat the Rich, a disgruntled waiter and his friends kill the management and arrogant clientele of a restaurant and feed the bodies to unsuspecting customers. The 1975 musical parody The Rocky Horror Picture Show
also features this form of cannibalism, as Dr. Frank N. Furter kills the character Eddie and serves his flesh to his dinner guests.
In a the Series 7 Episode of the popular British sitcom Red Dwarf
, "Tikka to Ride
", Dave Lister
and The Cat
unknowingly (at first) eat the corpse of a dead man, which was cooked for them by the robot Kryten
. His excuse was that "if humans eat chickens, obviously they would eat their own species, otherwise they would just be picking on the chickens".
The people in Sweeney Todd
eat meat pies made of humans killed by Benjamin Barker
(Sweeney Todd) with the aid of Mrs. Lovett
.
In C. S. Lewis
's The Silver Chair
, the protagonists (two children and a Marsh-wiggle) stay in a castle of Narnian giants, who serve them venison
. It is revealed that the venison came from a talking stag, which in Narnia is tantamount to cannibalism. Later, the heroes find a cookbook with recipes for Man and Marsh-wiggle, similar to the plot of To Serve Man
.
In the 2001 episode of the animated
sitcom South Park
, entitled "Scott Tenorman Must Die
", a main character named Eric Cartman
feeds a high schooler's (Scott Tenorman) parents to him after getting them killed by a man who kills trespassers as revenge for Tenorman making Cartman buy his pubes for $16.00. Cartman had ground Tenorman's parents into chili, and had him eat it, which he initially enjoyed.
The Armin Meiwes
cannibalism case in Germany provided the inspiration for many feature films. The 2007 film Rohtenburg recounts a story of an American criminal psychology
student in Germany, who decides to study cannibal killer Oliver Hartwin for her thesis. Hartwin, who fulfills his dream of eating a willing victim found on the Internet, is modelled on Meiwes, causing the film to initially be banned in Germany when Meiwes complained that his personal rights were being violated. The 2006 film Cannibal
, which reconstructed the event, was also banned in Germany. Other films based on the case include Rosa von Praunheim
's Dein Herz in Meinem Hirn (Your Heart in My Brain) and Ulli Lommel
's Diary of a Cannibal (2006). Brett Leonard's 2005 movie "Feed" references the Meiwes case in its opening scene.
Another murderer who influenced the creation of a fictional cannibal antagonist is Ed Gein
, who served as the inspiration for the characters of Norman Bates
in Psycho (1960 film)
, Ezra Cobb in Deranged
and Leatherface
in The Texas Chain Saw Massacre
(1974) and its sequels. Although Gein was not actually a cannibal himself, he did make various items out of the remains of humans. Leatherface wears a mask fashioned from human flesh and lives with a family of cannibals.
Another notable cannibalistic serial killer is Hannibal Lecter
, a fictional character created by author Thomas Harris
. Lecter appears in the novels Red Dragon (1981), The Silence of the Lambs
(1988), Hannibal
(1999) and Hannibal Rising
(2006). When Red Dragon was first adapted as the film Manhunter
(1986), Lecter, as portrayed by Brian Cox, was not presented as a cannibal. In later adaptations, such as The Silence of the Lambs (1991), wherein the character is played by Sir Anthony Hopkins
, Lecter's cannibalistic tendencies are made more explicit, earning him the nickname "Hannibal the Cannibal".
by Gene Wolfe
, cannibalism and drugs are used in order to gain the memories of dead people. In the book Peeps
by Scott Westerfeld
, people become cannibals when they are infected by a parasite. The post-apocalyptic novel Lucifer's Hammer
by Larry Niven
and Jerry Pournelle
, features a band of survivors from a comet impact turning to cannibalism not only as a means of food, but also as a way of binding members to their group. Courtship Rite
by Donald Kingsbury
explores a human culture planted on a world whose biochemistry is toxic to humans. Cannibalism is an essential part of both social and religious life, as food is a precious commodity and the only significant source of meat are the humans themselves.
, features a "cannibal headhunter" who preys on white people. The singer envies the titular character, because "he eat until his belly upset," while "I never eat white meat yet."
In 1971, a Rupert Holmes
-composed pop song named "Timothy
" by The Buoys
cryptically told the tale of two trapped miners who apparently resort to eating their companion. After being banned on many radio stations, "Timothy" rose to no. 17 on the Billboard charts. Later that year, Grace Slick
of Jefferson Airplane
explored the concept of cannibalism in a tongue-in-cheek rock song named "Silver Spoon." The song appeared on Sunfighter
, a non-group album issued by Slick and bandmate Paul Kantner
.
"Mr. Green Genes" by Frank Zappa
(from the Mothers of Invention
album Uncle Meat
) makes a humorous reference to cannibalism: "Eat the truck & driver / And his gloves / NUTRITIOUSNESS! DELICIOUSNESS! WORTHLESSNESS!"
Many heavy metal
, especially death metal
and grindcore
, bands (As well as horrorcore
rappers) discuss cannibalism in their songs, or depict it on the cover art of their albums, because of the act's taboo nature. Sometimes bands are inspired by particular cases of cannibalism.
American death metal band Cannibal Corpse
are one notable example. Their first album
, according to the inlay, was dedicated to "the memory of Alfred Packer, the first American cannibal (R.I.P.)"; their third album, Tomb of the Mutilated
, features quotations from serial killer and cannibal Albert Fish
in the liner notes. Many of their songs make use of cannibalistic imagery, such as "Edible Autopsy". The band Pungent Stench
have also frequently dealt with cannibalism, most extensively on their 1990 EP For God Your Soul...For Me Your Flesh.
The Armin Meiwes
cannibalism case in Germany provided the inspiration for a number of metal bands. Rammstein's 2004 single "Mein Teil
", which featured the refrain "you are what you eat," was based on the case. Vocalist Till Lindemann
explained the fascination with the case that provoked the band to writing the song: "It's so sick that it becomes fascinating and there just has to be a song about it." Other songs influenced by Meiwes include "The Wüstenfeld Man Eater" by American death
/thrash metal
band Macabre
, "Eaten
" by Swedish death metal band Bloodbath
, "Let me Taste your Flesh" by Spanish death metal band Avulsed
, as well as "Cannibal Anthem" by German electro-industrial project :wumpscut:, "Cannibals of Rotenburg" by the dirge-country band Sons of Perdition, and "Menschenfresser [Eat Me]" by electro-industrial act Suicide Commando
. "Human Consumption" by hip-hop artist Necro also makes reference to the incident, and the title of the 2007 Marilyn Manson
album Eat Me, Drink Me
was inspired by the case.
The song "A Little Piece of Heaven" by Avenged Sevenfold is about a man who kills and eats part of his girlfriend after she rejects him.
Rapper Brotha Lynch Hung
has also written many songs concerning cannibalism, as exemplified by his 1994 album Season of da Siccness
, on which he styles himself as "the Ripgut Cannibal".
The French industrial band Nox had a track titled "Cannibal Night" on their 1990 album Killin' Drive Power. It's about a man who kills his whole family and eats the best parts of every member; at last, he eats himself.
The Gothic/Deathrock band Creaming Jesus' song "Celebrity Cannibalism" was inspired by the Jeffrey Dahmer case, with an ending refrain: "You always eat the ones you love."
"Kiss Me, Hold Me and Eat Me" by Ballboy, an Edinburgh band, features a poignant love affair between two cannibals, who know that their first kiss could prove fatal.
Pop Artist Ke$ha sings "Cannibal" which is about a literal man eater.
Dark singer Voltaire
sings 'Cannibal Buffet' where he washes up on an island and gets eaten by the locals.
(1991) or Eating Raoul
(1982).
Cannibalism
Cannibalism is the act or practice of humans eating the flesh of other human beings. It is also called anthropophagy...
is a recurring theme in popular culture, especially within the horror genre.
As a cultural norm
In many popular culture works that depict cannibalism, the act has been the cultural norm for a tribe or group of people, normally located in South AmericaSouth America
South America is a continent situated in the Western Hemisphere, mostly in the Southern Hemisphere, with a relatively small portion in the Northern Hemisphere. The continent is also considered a subcontinent of the Americas. It is bordered on the west by the Pacific Ocean and on the north and east...
. Usually, the cannibalism has been used as an expression of a tribe's primitive savagery.
An early literary example is provided by Herman Melville
Herman Melville
Herman Melville was an American novelist, short story writer, essayist, and poet. He is best known for his novel Moby-Dick and the posthumous novella Billy Budd....
's Typee
Typee
Typee is American writer Herman Melville's first book, a classic in the literature of travel and adventure partly based on his actual experiences as a captive on the island Nuku Hiva in the South Pacific Marquesas Islands, in 1842...
, a semi-factual account of Melville's voyage to the Pacific Island of Nuku Hiva
Nuku Hiva
Nuku Hiva is the largest of the Marquesas Islands in French Polynesia, an overseas territory of France in the Pacific Ocean. It was formerly also known as Île Marchand and Madison Island....
, where he spent several weeks living among the island's cannibal inhabitants before fleeing for of fear of being eaten.
The theme of cannibal tribes has been exploited by many horror film
Horror film
Horror films seek to elicit a negative emotional reaction from viewers by playing on the audience's most primal fears. They often feature scenes that startle the viewer through the means of macabre and the supernatural, thus frequently overlapping with the fantasy and science fiction genres...
s, known as cannibal films. A common premise of these films concerns the discovery of such tribes by documentary filmmakers or anthropologists. These films were especially popular through the work of Italian filmmakers in the 1970s and 1980s. The first major film of this type was Umberto Lenzi
Umberto Lenzi
Umberto Lenzi , is an Italian film director who was very active in low budget crime films, peplums, spaghetti westerns, war movies, cannibal films and giallo murder mysteries ....
's 1972 film Il Paese del Sesso Selvaggio
Il paese del sesso selvaggio
Il paese del sesso selvaggio , better known as The Man from the Deep River in North America or Deep River Savages in Europe, is an Italian exploitation film directed by Umberto Lenzi...
(The Man from the Deep River). This inspired other filmmakers to create cannibal films, with the genre reaching its peak in cannibal boom
Cannibal boom
The cannibal boom is a period in the history of exploitation film, lasting roughly from 1977 to 1981, where cannibal films were at the peak of their popularity in Grindhouse theaters and cinema...
of 1977 to 1981. The most prolific of these films was Ruggero Deodato
Ruggero Deodato
Ruggero Deodato is an Italian film director and screen writer, best known for directing violent and gory horror films. Deodato is infamous for his 1980 film Cannibal Holocaust.- Biography :...
's controversial Cannibal Holocaust
Cannibal Holocaust
Cannibal Holocaust is a 1980 Italian horror film directed by Ruggero Deodato from a screenplay by Gianfranco Clerici. Filmed in the Amazon Rainforest and dealing with indigenous tribes, it was cast mostly with United States actors and filmed in English to achieve wider distribution...
(1980), which influenced later cannibal movies, some of which adopted the moniker Cannibal Holocaust II in homage to Deodato's original. Other significant films from the 'cannibal boom' years include Ultimo mondo cannibale
Ultimo mondo cannibale
Ultimo mondo cannibale is a cannibal exploitation film directed by Ruggero Deodato, which stars Massimo Foschi, Me Me Lai and Ivan Rassimov...
(1977) and Cannibal Ferox
Cannibal Ferox
Cannibal Ferox, also known as Make Them Die Slowly, is a 1981 Italian exploitation film written and directed by Umberto Lenzi. Upon its release, the film made claims to being "The most violent film ever made"...
(1981).
Other later horror films have also included cannibal tribes or groups. A notable example is The Hills Have Eyes series
The Hills Have Eyes (series)
The Hills Have Eyes series of films began in 1977 with The Hills Have Eyes by Wes Craven. The film spawned two sequels and a remake, which had its own sequel in 2007....
of films, which features a clan of cannibalistic savages. Wrong Turn
Wrong Turn
Wrong Turn is a 2003 American slasher horror film, directed by Rob Schmidt, and written by Alan B. McElroy. The film was shot in Hamilton, Ontario, Canada and stars Desmond Harrington and Eliza Dushku...
and its sequel
Wrong Turn 2
Wrong Turn 2: Dead End is a 2007 American slasher film, directed by Joe Lynch, and starring Erica Leerhsen, Crystal Lowe, Henry Rollins and Texas Battle. It is a sequel to the 2003 horror film Wrong Turn, and has been available on DVD since October 9, 2007...
features a cannibalistic group of mountain men
Mountain man
Mountain men were trappers and explorers who roamed the North American Rocky Mountains from about 1810 through the 1880s where they were instrumental in opening up the various Emigrant Trails allowing Americans in the east to settle the new territories of the far west by organized wagon trains...
.
The 1971 film Como Era Gostoso o Meu Francês (How Tasty Was My Little Frenchman
How Tasty Was My Little Frenchman
How Tasty Was My Little Frenchman is a Brazilian black comedy directed by Nelson Pereira dos Santos released in 1971.Almost all of the dialogue in the film was written in the Tupi language...
) by Nelson Pereira dos Santos, set in the 16th century, details the alleged cannibalistic practices of the indigenous Tupinamba warrior tribe against French
French people
The French are a nation that share a common French culture and speak the French language as a mother tongue. Historically, the French population are descended from peoples of Celtic, Latin and Germanic origin, and are today a mixture of several ethnic groups...
and Portuguese
Portuguese people
The Portuguese are a nation and ethnic group native to the country of Portugal, in the west of the Iberian peninsula of south-west Europe. Their language is Portuguese, and Roman Catholicism is the predominant religion....
colonizers.
A different example of cannibal culture in literature is found in the science fiction novel Stranger in a Strange Land
Stranger in a Strange Land
Stranger in a Strange Land is a 1961 science fiction novel by American author Robert A. Heinlein. It tells the story of Valentine Michael Smith, a human who comes to Earth in early adulthood after being born on the planet Mars and raised by Martians. The novel explores his interaction with—and...
(1961) by Robert A. Heinlein
Robert A. Heinlein
Robert Anson Heinlein was an American science fiction writer. Often called the "dean of science fiction writers", he was one of the most influential and controversial authors of the genre. He set a standard for science and engineering plausibility and helped to raise the genre's standards of...
, where some human culture is transformed as a result of the Martian
Martian
As an adjective, the term martian is used to describe anything pertaining to the planet Mars.However, a Martian is more usually a hypothetical or fictional native inhabitant of the planet Mars. Historically, life on Mars has often been hypothesized, although there is currently no solid evidence of...
s practice of eating one's dead friends as an act of great respect. This novel provided the inspiration for The Police
The Police
The Police were an English rock band formed in London in 1977. For the vast majority of their history, the band consisted of Sting , Andy Summers and Stewart Copeland...
song "Friends", which appeared as a B-side on the UK single "Don't Stand So Close to Me
Don't Stand So Close to Me
"Don't Stand So Close to Me" is a 1980 song and hit single by the British rock band The Police. It concerns a schoolgirl's crush on her young teacher and the teacher's nervousness about the situation. The Police won the 1982 "Grammy Award for Best Rock Performance by a Duo or Group with Vocal"...
" and the US single of "De Do Do Do, De Da Da Da
De Do Do Do, De Da Da Da
"De Do Do Do, De Da Da Da" is a song by The Police, released as a single in December 1980. It was the second single from the album Zenyattà Mondatta and a top ten hit in the United Kingdom and the United States, reaching number five on the UK Singles Chart and number ten on the Billboard Hot...
".
Some stories with talking animals or other sentient species consider it equivalent to cannibalism to eat another sentient creature, even one of a different species. An example is C. S. Lewis
C. S. Lewis
Clive Staples Lewis , commonly referred to as C. S. Lewis and known to his friends and family as "Jack", was a novelist, academic, medievalist, literary critic, essayist, lay theologian and Christian apologist from Belfast, Ireland...
's The Silver Chair
The Silver Chair
The Silver Chair is part of The Chronicles of Narnia, a series of seven fantasy novels written by C. S. Lewis. It was the fourth book published and is the sixth book chronologically. It is the first book published in the series in which the Pevensie children do not appear. The main characters are...
, in which the protagonists are horrified to discover that a certain group of giants condones the consumption of humans and talking animals.
In the Anne Rice
Anne Rice
Anne Rice is a best-selling Southern American author of metaphysical gothic fiction, Christian literature and erotica from New Orleans, Louisiana. Her books have sold nearly 100 million copies, making her one of the most widely read authors in modern history...
novel, The Queen of the Damned
The Queen of the Damned
The Queen of the Damned is the third novel of Anne Rice's The Vampire Chronicles series. It follows Interview with the Vampire and The Vampire Lestat...
, many references are made to an ancient culture who practiced necro-cannibalism from the belief that the eating of their loved ones' remains was a more fitting funeral rite than either burying or burning them.
As a means of survival
1972 story of the survivors of Uruguayan Air Force Flight 571
Uruguayan Air Force Flight 571
Uruguayan Air Force Flight 571, also known as the Andes flight disaster, and in South America as Miracle in the Andes was a chartered flight carrying 45 people, including a rugby team, their friends, family and associates that crashed in the Andes on October 13, 1972...
, who resorted to cannibalism in order to survive. The story of the survivors was chronicled in Piers Paul Read
Piers Paul Read
Piers Paul Read, FRSL is a British novelist and non-fiction writer.-Background:Read was born in Beaconsfield, Buckinghamshire...
's 1974 book, Alive: The Story of the Andes Survivors
Alive: The Story of the Andes Survivors
Alive: The Story of the Andes Survivors is a 1974 book by the British writer Piers Paul Read documenting the events of Uruguayan Air Force Flight 571.-Story:...
, in a 1993 film adaptation of the book, called simply Alive
Alive (1993 film)
Alive is a 1993 American movie based upon Piers Paul Read's 1974 book Alive: The Story of the Andes Survivors, which details the story of a Uruguayan rugby team who were involved in the crash of Uruguayan Air Force Flight 571, which crashed into the Andes mountains on October 13, 1972.The film was...
, and in a 2008 documentary: Stranded: I’ve Come From a Plane That Crashed on the Mountains
Stranded: I Have Come From A Plane that Crashed in the Mountains
Stranded: I've Come from a Plane that Crashed on the Mountains is a 2008 documentary film which tells the story of a rugby team from Uruguay who boarded Uruguayan Air Force Flight 571. The film features interviews with the survivors who recount their struggle to survive after the plane crashed in...
.
Two other similar stories that have provided inspiration for popular culture adaptations are the accounts of Alferd Packer
Alferd Packer
Alfred G. "Alferd" Packer was an American prospector who was accused of cannibalism during the winter of 1873-1874. First tried for murder, Packer was eventually sentenced to 40 years in prison after being convicted of manslaughter...
and the Donner Party
Donner Party
The Donner Party was a group of American pioneers who set out for California in a wagon train. Delayed by a series of mishaps, they spent the winter of 1846–47 snowbound in the Sierra Nevada...
, both involving people eating human flesh in order to survive snowbound entrapment in the mountains. The 1999 film Ravenous
Ravenous
Ravenous is a 1999 horror film directed by Antonia Bird and starring Guy Pearce, Robert Carlyle and Jeffrey Jones. The film revolves around cannibalism in 1840s California and some elements bear similarities to the story of the Donner Party and that of Alferd Packer...
combines elements of both stories. The tale of Packer is retold, with artistic liberty, in the 1980 film The Legend of Alfred Packer
The Legend of Alfred Packer
The Legend of Alfred Packer is a 1980 film by Jim Roberson from a script by Burton Raffel. It is a biopic of Alferd Packer starring Patrick Dray in the title role...
and in Trey Parker
Trey Parker
Trey Parker is an American animator, screenwriter, director, producer, voice artist, musician and actor, best known for being the co-creator of the television series South Park along with his creative partner and best friend Matt Stone.Parker started his film career in 1992, making a holiday short...
's black comedy Cannibal! The Musical
Cannibal! The Musical
Cannibal! The Musical is a 1993 independent film directed by co-creator of South Park, Trey Parker, while studying at the University of Colorado at Boulder...
.
A slightly different example is that of Survivor Type, a short story by Stephen King
Stephen King
Stephen Edwin King is an American author of contemporary horror, suspense, science fiction and fantasy fiction. His books have sold more than 350 million copies and have been adapted into a number of feature films, television movies and comic books...
, which follows a shipwrecked victim stranded on a remote island, who is driven to eating his own body parts in order to survive. This story can also be seen in the manga One Piece
One Piece
is a Japanese shōnen manga series written and illustrated by Eiichiro Oda. It has been serialized in Weekly Shōnen Jump since August 4, 1997; the individual chapters are being published in tankōbon volumes by Shueisha, with the first released on December 24, 1997, and the 64th volume released as...
where ship's cook Zeff and protagonist Sanji are stranded on a barren cliff in the middle of the sea. Zeff cuts off one leg and eats it while Sanji keeps the food that they managed to salvage from the shipwreck they were sailing on before.
Post-apocalyptic narratives have also featured cannibalism as a means of survival. The 1991 French film Delicatessen
Delicatessen (film)
Delicatessen is a 1991 French black comedy film, directed by Jean-Pierre Jeunet and Marc Caro, starring Dominique Pinon and Karin Viard. It is set in an apartment building in a post-apocalyptic France of an ambiguous time period. The story focuses on the tenants of the building and their desperate...
is set in an apartment block led by a butcher who deals with the food crisis by luring new tenants to the apartment, killing them, and serving them as meat to the other residents. In the 2006 post-apocalyptic zombie
Zombie
Zombie is a term used to denote an animated corpse brought back to life by mystical means such as witchcraft. The term is often figuratively applied to describe a hypnotized person bereft of consciousness and self-awareness, yet ambulant and able to respond to surrounding stimuli...
horror novel World War Z
World War Z
World War Z: An Oral History of the Zombie War is a 2006 post-apocalyptic horror novel by Max Brooks. It is a follow-up to his 2003 book The Zombie Survival Guide. Rather than a grand overview or narrative, World War Z is a collection of individual accounts in the form of first-person anecdote...
by Max Brooks
Max Brooks
Maximillian Michael "Max" Brooks is an American author and screenwriter, with a particular interest in zombies. Brooks is also a television and voice-over actor.- Early life and education :...
, many Americans head north into Canada
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
to escape the undead
Undead
Undead is a collective name for fictional, mythological, or legendary beings that are deceased and yet behave as if alive. Undead may be incorporeal, such as ghosts, or corporeal, such as vampires and zombies...
, the under-prepared survivors are forced into cannibalizing the dead in order to survive the harsh winters. In Cormac McCarthy
Cormac McCarthy
Cormac McCarthy is an American novelist and playwright. He has written ten novels, spanning the Southern Gothic, Western, and modernist genres. He received the Pulitzer Prize and the James Tait Black Memorial Prize for Fiction for The Road...
's novel The Road
The Road
The Road is a 2006 novel by the American author Cormac McCarthy.The Road may also refer to:* The Road , a 2001 Kazakhstani film* The Road , a 2009 film adaptation of the McCarthy novel...
, some of the survivors in the post-apocalyptic United States practice cannibalism as nearly all other sources of food (animals, plant life), have been destroyed.
Unaware cannibals
Sometimes, those eating the flesh of other humans in popular culture depictions are unaware of their cannibalistic acts, having been served it as a meal by a murderous cannibal host.One of the oldest examples is Tantalus
Tantalus
Tantalus was the ruler of an ancient western Anatolian city called either after his name, as "Tantalís", "the city of Tantalus", or as "Sipylus", in reference to Mount Sipylus, at the foot of which his city was located and whose ruins were reported to be still visible in the beginning of the...
from Greek mythology
Greek mythology
Greek mythology is the body of myths and legends belonging to the ancient Greeks, concerning their gods and heroes, the nature of the world, and the origins and significance of their own cult and ritual practices. They were a part of religion in ancient Greece...
, who served the Olympian gods the flesh of his son, Pelops
Pelops
In Greek mythology, Pelops , was king of Pisa in the Peloponnesus. He was the founder of the House of Atreus through his son of that name....
. None of the gods were fooled except Demeter
Demeter
In Greek mythology, Demeter is the goddess of the harvest, who presided over grains, the fertility of the earth, and the seasons . Her common surnames are Sito as the giver of food or corn/grain and Thesmophoros as a mark of the civilized existence of agricultural society...
, who ate part of his shoulder. Pelops was resurrected, and his shoulder replaced with ivory. As for Tantalus, he was famously punished by being placed in a pool of water under a fruit tree. Whenever he tried to eat the fruit or drink the water, they moved away.
Another early example appears in William Shakespeare
William Shakespeare
William Shakespeare was an English poet and playwright, widely regarded as the greatest writer in the English language and the world's pre-eminent dramatist. He is often called England's national poet and the "Bard of Avon"...
's late sixteenth century play Titus Andronicus
Titus Andronicus
Titus Andronicus is a tragedy by William Shakespeare, and possibly George Peele, believed to have been written between 1588 and 1593. It is thought to be Shakespeare's first tragedy, and is often seen as his attempt to emulate the violent and bloody revenge plays of his contemporaries, which were...
, where the character Tamora is unknowingly served a pie made from the remains of her two sons. Another literary occurrence is in Fannie Flagg
Fannie Flagg
Patricia Neal , known professionally as Fannie Flagg, is an American actress, comedienne and author. She is perhaps best-known for the 1988 novel Fried Green Tomatoes at the Whistle Stop Cafe, which was adapted into the 1991 movie Fried Green Tomatoes; Flagg was nominated for an Academy Award for...
's novel Fried Green Tomatoes at the Whistle Stop Cafe
Fried Green Tomatoes at the Whistle Stop Cafe
Fried Green Tomatoes at the Whistle Stop Cafe is a 1987 novel by Fannie Flagg. It was adapted into the film Fried Green Tomatoes, which was released in 1991.-Plot:...
, in which investigators are unknowingly fed the barbecue
Barbecue
Barbecue or barbeque , used chiefly in the United States, Canada, the United Kingdom, New Zealand and Australia is a method and apparatus for cooking meat, poultry and occasionally fish with the heat and hot smoke of a fire, smoking wood, or hot coals of...
d ribs of a man whose murder they are investigating.
Lu Xun's Diary of a Madman, is premised on the notion that those who are eating flesh don't know it. Hence the Madman is mad only insofar as those who participate in cannibalism are unaware of it.
In cinema, the most notable example is in the 1973 science fiction film Soylent Green
Soylent Green
Soylent Green is a 1973 American science fiction film directed by Richard Fleischer. Starring Charlton Heston, the film overlays the police procedural and science fiction genres as it depicts the investigation into the murder of a wealthy businessman in a dystopian future suffering from pollution,...
. In the movie, the Soylent Corporation produces rations of small green wafers in response to the food crisis. These wafers are advertised as being produced from "high-energy plankton", but are actually the processed remains of human corpses. This film was parodied in the third segment of The Simpsons
The Simpsons
The Simpsons is an American animated sitcom created by Matt Groening for the Fox Broadcasting Company. The series is a satirical parody of a middle class American lifestyle epitomized by its family of the same name, which consists of Homer, Marge, Bart, Lisa and Maggie...
episode "Treehouse of Horror V
Treehouse of Horror V
"Treehouse of Horror V" is the sixth episode of The Simpsons sixth season and the fifth episode in the Treehouse of Horror series. It premiered on October 30, 1994, and features three short stories called The Shinning, Time and Punishment, and Nightmare Cafeteria...
" ("Nightmare Cafeteria"), in which the teachers at Springfield Elementary School begin to eat children in response to overcrowding in detention, and serve the students' remains in the cafeteria.
This theme has also been used in parodies and black comedies, for its humorous value of dramatic irony. In the 1987 film Eat the Rich, a disgruntled waiter and his friends kill the management and arrogant clientele of a restaurant and feed the bodies to unsuspecting customers. The 1975 musical parody The Rocky Horror Picture Show
The Rocky Horror Picture Show
The Rocky Horror Picture Show is the 1975 film adaptation of the British rock musical stageplay, The Rocky Horror Show, written by Richard O'Brien. The film is a parody of B-movie, science fiction and horror films of the late 1940s through early 1970s. Director Jim Sharman collaborated on the...
also features this form of cannibalism, as Dr. Frank N. Furter kills the character Eddie and serves his flesh to his dinner guests.
In a the Series 7 Episode of the popular British sitcom Red Dwarf
Red Dwarf
Red Dwarf is a British comedy franchise which primarily comprises eight series of a television science fiction sitcom that aired on BBC Two between 1988 and 1999 and Dave from 2009–present. It gained cult following. It was created by Rob Grant and Doug Naylor, who also wrote the first six series...
, "Tikka to Ride
Tikka to Ride
"Tikka To Ride" is the first episode of science fiction sit-com Red Dwarf Series VII and the 37th in the series run. It was first broadcast on the British television channel BBC2 on 17 January 1997...
", Dave Lister
Dave Lister
David "Dave" Lister, commonly referred to simply as Lister, is a fictional character from the British science fiction situation comedy Red Dwarf, portrayed by Craig Charles...
and The Cat
Cat (Red Dwarf)
The Cat is a character in the British science fiction sitcom Red Dwarf. He is played by Danny John-Jules.-Character development:According to Danny John-Jules, the character of Cat is based on a combination of Little Richard's look, James Brown's moves and Richard Pryor's facial...
unknowingly (at first) eat the corpse of a dead man, which was cooked for them by the robot Kryten
Kryten
Kryten is a fictional character in the British science fiction situation comedy Red Dwarf. Kryten's registration code on Red Dwarf is "Kryten additional 001". The name Kryten is a reference to the head butler in the J.M...
. His excuse was that "if humans eat chickens, obviously they would eat their own species, otherwise they would just be picking on the chickens".
The people in Sweeney Todd
Sweeney Todd (disambiguation)
Sweeney Todd is a legendary homicidal barber.Sweeney Todd may also refer to:* Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street , directed by George King...
eat meat pies made of humans killed by Benjamin Barker
Sweeney Todd
Sweeney Todd is a fictional character who first appeared as then antagonist of the Victorian penny dreadful The String of Pearls and he was later introduced as an antihero in the broadway musical Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street and its film adaptation...
(Sweeney Todd) with the aid of Mrs. Lovett
Mrs. Lovett
Mrs. Lovett is a fictional character appearing in many adaptations of the story Sweeney Todd. She is most commonly referred to as Nellie, although Margery, Maggie, Sarah, Shirley, Wilhemina and Claudetta are other names she has been given. First appearing in the penny dreadful serial The String of...
.
In C. S. Lewis
C. S. Lewis
Clive Staples Lewis , commonly referred to as C. S. Lewis and known to his friends and family as "Jack", was a novelist, academic, medievalist, literary critic, essayist, lay theologian and Christian apologist from Belfast, Ireland...
's The Silver Chair
The Silver Chair
The Silver Chair is part of The Chronicles of Narnia, a series of seven fantasy novels written by C. S. Lewis. It was the fourth book published and is the sixth book chronologically. It is the first book published in the series in which the Pevensie children do not appear. The main characters are...
, the protagonists (two children and a Marsh-wiggle) stay in a castle of Narnian giants, who serve them venison
Venison
Venison is the meat of a game animal, especially a deer but also other animals such as antelope, wild boar, etc.-Etymology:The word derives from the Latin vēnor...
. It is revealed that the venison came from a talking stag, which in Narnia is tantamount to cannibalism. Later, the heroes find a cookbook with recipes for Man and Marsh-wiggle, similar to the plot of To Serve Man
To Serve Man
"To Serve Man" is a science fiction short story written by Damon Knight. It first appeared in the November 1950 issue of Galaxy Science Fiction and has been reprinted a number of times, including in Frontiers in Space , Far Out and The Best of Damon Knight...
.
In the 2001 episode of the animated
Animation
Animation is the rapid display of a sequence of images of 2-D or 3-D artwork or model positions in order to create an illusion of movement. The effect is an optical illusion of motion due to the phenomenon of persistence of vision, and can be created and demonstrated in several ways...
sitcom South Park
South Park
South Park is an American animated television series created by Trey Parker and Matt Stone for the Comedy Central television network. Intended for mature audiences, the show has become famous for its crude language, surreal, satirical, and dark humor that lampoons a wide range of topics...
, entitled "Scott Tenorman Must Die
Scott Tenorman Must Die
"Scott Tenorman Must Die" is the fourth episode of the fifth season of the animated television series South Park, and the 69th episode of the series overall. "Scott Tenorman Must Die" originally aired in the United States on July 11, 2001 on Comedy Central. English rock band Radiohead guest star in...
", a main character named Eric Cartman
Eric Cartman
Eric Theodore Cartman is a fictional character in the American animated television series South Park. One of four main characters, along with Stan Marsh, Kyle Broflovski, and Kenny McCormick, he is generally referred to within the series by his last name...
feeds a high schooler's (Scott Tenorman) parents to him after getting them killed by a man who kills trespassers as revenge for Tenorman making Cartman buy his pubes for $16.00. Cartman had ground Tenorman's parents into chili, and had him eat it, which he initially enjoyed.
As an accompaniment to killing
Sometimes films are influenced by the morbid fascination surrounding real-life cases of cannibal murderers.The Armin Meiwes
Armin Meiwes
Armin Meiwes is a German man who achieved international notoriety for killing and eating a voluntary victim whom he had found via the Internet. After Meiwes and the victim jointly attempted to eat the victim's severed penis, Meiwes killed his victim and proceeded to eat a large amount of his flesh...
cannibalism case in Germany provided the inspiration for many feature films. The 2007 film Rohtenburg recounts a story of an American criminal psychology
Criminal psychology
Criminal psychology is the study of the wills, thoughts, intentions and reactions of criminals. It is related to the field of criminal anthropology. The study goes deeply into what makes someone commit crime, but also the reactions after the crime, on the run or in court...
student in Germany, who decides to study cannibal killer Oliver Hartwin for her thesis. Hartwin, who fulfills his dream of eating a willing victim found on the Internet, is modelled on Meiwes, causing the film to initially be banned in Germany when Meiwes complained that his personal rights were being violated. The 2006 film Cannibal
Cannibal (film)
- Plot :In a small rural town, a man roams the streets, his apparent search for a suitable partner runs without success.On the internet, he continues to search, he's looking for meat, and he finds a willing victim. The man meets the young man in the open field and entertains him on his farm...
, which reconstructed the event, was also banned in Germany. Other films based on the case include Rosa von Praunheim
Rosa von Praunheim
Rosa von Praunheim , in Riga, Latvia. His given name is Holger Mischwitzky. He is a German film director, author, painter and gay rights activist. Openly gay, he is one of the initiators of the gay rights movement in Germany....
's Dein Herz in Meinem Hirn (Your Heart in My Brain) and Ulli Lommel
Ulli Lommel
Ulli Lommel , is a German actor and director, noted for his many horror films, and for his career as an actor on Rainer Werner Fassbinder's films.-Career:...
's Diary of a Cannibal (2006). Brett Leonard's 2005 movie "Feed" references the Meiwes case in its opening scene.
Another murderer who influenced the creation of a fictional cannibal antagonist is Ed Gein
Ed Gein
Edward Theodore "Ed" Gein - July 26, 1984) was an American murderer and body snatcher. His crimes, committed around his hometown of Plainfield, Wisconsin, gathered widespread notoriety after authorities discovered Gein had exhumed corpses from local graveyards and fashioned trophies and keepsakes...
, who served as the inspiration for the characters of Norman Bates
Norman Bates
Norman Bates is a fictional character created by writer Robert Bloch as the central character in his novel Psycho, and portrayed by Anthony Perkins as the main antagonist of the 1960 film of the same name directed by Alfred Hitchcock...
in Psycho (1960 film)
Psycho (1960 film)
Psycho is a 1960 American suspense/psychological horror film directed by Alfred Hitchcock and starring Janet Leigh and Anthony Perkins. The film is based on the screenplay by Joseph Stefano, who adapted it from the 1959 novel of the same name by Robert Bloch...
, Ezra Cobb in Deranged
Deranged
Deranged is a Canadian/American horror film made in 1974 and directed by Alan Ormsby and Jeff Gillen. It is also known by the title Deranged: The Confessions of a Necrophile in the USA...
and Leatherface
Leatherface
Leatherface is the main antagonist in The Texas Chainsaw Massacre horror-film series and its spin-offs. He wears masks made of human skin and engages in murder and cannibalism alongside his inbred family. He is considered by many to be one of the first major slasher film villains alongside Michael...
in The Texas Chain Saw Massacre
The Texas Chain Saw Massacre
The Texas Chain Saw Massacre is a 1974 American independent horror film directed and produced by Tobe Hooper, who cowrote it with Kim Henkel. It stars Marilyn Burns, Paul A. Partain, Edwin Neal, Jim Siedow, and Gunnar Hansen, who respectively portray Sally Hardesty, Franklin Hardesty, the...
(1974) and its sequels. Although Gein was not actually a cannibal himself, he did make various items out of the remains of humans. Leatherface wears a mask fashioned from human flesh and lives with a family of cannibals.
Another notable cannibalistic serial killer is Hannibal Lecter
Hannibal Lecter
Hannibal Lecter M.D. is a fictional character in a series of horror novels by Thomas Harris and in the films adapted from them.Lecter was introduced in the 1981 thriller novel Red Dragon as a brilliant psychiatrist and cannibalistic serial killer...
, a fictional character created by author Thomas Harris
Thomas Harris
Thomas Harris is an American author and screenwriter, best known for a series of suspense novels about his most famous character, Hannibal Lecter...
. Lecter appears in the novels Red Dragon (1981), The Silence of the Lambs
The Silence of the Lambs (novel)
The Silence of the Lambs is a novel by Thomas Harris. First published in 1988, it is the sequel to Harris' 1981 novel Red Dragon. Both novels feature the cannibalistic serial killer Dr. Hannibal Lecter, this time pitted against FBI Special Agent Clarice Starling.- Plot summary :The novel takes...
(1988), Hannibal
Hannibal (novel)
Hannibal is a novel written by Thomas Harris, published in 1999. It is the third in his series featuring Dr. Hannibal Lecter and the second to feature FBI Special Agent Clarice Starling. The novel takes place seven years after the events of The Silence of the Lambs and deals with the intended...
(1999) and Hannibal Rising
Hannibal Rising
Hannibal Rising is a novel written by Thomas Harris, published in 2006. It is a prequel to his three previous books featuring his character, the cannibalistic serial killer Dr. Hannibal Lecter. The novel was released with an initial printing of at least 1.5 million copies and met with a mixed...
(2006). When Red Dragon was first adapted as the film Manhunter
Manhunter (film)
Manhunter is a 1986 American thriller film based on Thomas Harris's novel Red Dragon. Written and directed by Michael Mann, it stars William Petersen as Will Graham and features Brian Cox as Hannibal Lecktor...
(1986), Lecter, as portrayed by Brian Cox, was not presented as a cannibal. In later adaptations, such as The Silence of the Lambs (1991), wherein the character is played by Sir Anthony Hopkins
Anthony Hopkins
Sir Philip Anthony Hopkins, KBE , best known as Anthony Hopkins, is a Welsh actor of film, stage and television...
, Lecter's cannibalistic tendencies are made more explicit, earning him the nickname "Hannibal the Cannibal".
In science fiction
In addition to the aforementioned uses, occasionally works of science fiction include elements of cannibalism that serve another purpose. For example, in The Book of the New SunThe Book of the New Sun
The Book of the New Sun is a novel in four parts written by science fiction and fantasy author Gene Wolfe. It chronicles the journey and ascent to power of Severian, a disgraced journeyman torturer who rises to the position of Autarch, the one ruler of the free world...
by Gene Wolfe
Gene Wolfe
Gene Wolfe is an American science fiction and fantasy writer. He is noted for his dense, allusive prose as well as the strong influence of his Catholic faith, to which he converted after marrying into the religion. He is a prolific short story writer and a novelist, and has won many awards in the...
, cannibalism and drugs are used in order to gain the memories of dead people. In the book Peeps
Peeps (novel)
Peeps is a 2005 novel by Scott Westerfeld revolving around a parasite which causes people to become cannibalistic and repelled by that which they once loved. It follows the protagonist, Cal Thompson, as he lives with this parasite and tries to uncover a possible threat to the whole population of...
by Scott Westerfeld
Scott Westerfeld
Scott Westerfeld is an American author of science fiction. He was born in Texas and now divides his time between Sydney, Australia and New York City, USA.-Books:...
, people become cannibals when they are infected by a parasite. The post-apocalyptic novel Lucifer's Hammer
Lucifer's Hammer
Lucifer's Hammer is a post-apocalyptic science fiction novel by Larry Niven and Jerry Pournelle, first published in 1977. It was nominated for the Hugo Award for Best Novel in 1978. A comic book adaptation was published by Innovation Comics in 1993....
by Larry Niven
Larry Niven
Laurence van Cott Niven / ˈlæri ˈnɪvən/ is an American science fiction author. His best-known work is Ringworld , which received Hugo, Locus, Ditmar, and Nebula awards. His work is primarily hard science fiction, using big science concepts and theoretical physics...
and Jerry Pournelle
Jerry Pournelle
Jerry Eugene Pournelle is an American science fiction writer, essayist and journalist who contributed for many years to the computer magazine Byte and has since 1998 been maintaining his own website/blog....
, features a band of survivors from a comet impact turning to cannibalism not only as a means of food, but also as a way of binding members to their group. Courtship Rite
Courtship Rite
Courtship Rite is a science fiction novel by American writer Donald Kingsbury, originally serialized in Analog magazine in 1982. The book is set in the same universe as some of Kingsbury's other stories, such as "Shipwright" and the unpublished The Finger Pointing Solward.In the UK, the novel was...
by Donald Kingsbury
Donald Kingsbury
Donald MacDonald Kingsbury is an American–Canadian science fiction author. Kingsbury taught mathematics at McGill University, Montreal, from 1956 until his retirement in 1986.- Books :...
explores a human culture planted on a world whose biochemistry is toxic to humans. Cannibalism is an essential part of both social and religious life, as food is a precious commodity and the only significant source of meat are the humans themselves.
In music
"Congo Man", a calypso song recorded in 1965 by Mighty SparrowMighty Sparrow
Mighty Sparrow or Birdie is a calypso singer, songwriter, and guitarist. Known as the "Calypso King of the World," he is one of the most well-known and successful calypsonians...
, features a "cannibal headhunter" who preys on white people. The singer envies the titular character, because "he eat until his belly upset," while "I never eat white meat yet."
In 1971, a Rupert Holmes
Rupert Holmes
Rupert Holmes is an American-British composer, singer-songwriter, musician and author of plays, novels and stories. He is best known for his number one pop hit "Escape " and the song "Him", which reached the number 6 position on the Hot 100 U.S. pop chart in 1980...
-composed pop song named "Timothy
Timothy (song)
"Timothy" is a song written by Rupert Holmes and recorded by the Buoys in 1971, presenting the unnerving story of three men trapped in a collapsed mine, two of whom apparently resort to cannibalism against the third . Despite being censored or even banned outright by many U.S...
" by The Buoys
The Buoys
The Buoys was a progressive rock band from the early 1970s. Its membership included Bill Kelly, Fran Brozena, Jerry Hludzik, Carl Siracuse and Chris Hanlon, based in the Wilkes-Barre-Scranton, Pennsylvania area...
cryptically told the tale of two trapped miners who apparently resort to eating their companion. After being banned on many radio stations, "Timothy" rose to no. 17 on the Billboard charts. Later that year, Grace Slick
Grace Slick
Grace Slick is an American singer and songwriter, who was one of the lead singers of the rock groups The Great Society, Jefferson Airplane, Jefferson Starship, and Starship, and was a solo artist, for nearly three decades, from the mid-1960s to the mid-1990s...
of Jefferson Airplane
Jefferson Airplane
Jefferson Airplane was an American rock band formed in San Francisco in 1965. A pioneer of the psychedelic rock movement, Jefferson Airplane was the first band from the San Francisco scene to achieve mainstream commercial and critical success....
explored the concept of cannibalism in a tongue-in-cheek rock song named "Silver Spoon." The song appeared on Sunfighter
Sunfighter
-Personnel:*Paul Kantner – vocals, rhythm guitar*Grace Slick – vocals, piano*Jack Traylor – guitar on "Earth Mother", vocals on "Earth Mother"*Jerry Garcia – guitar on "When I Was a Boy I Watched the Wolves", "Million", and "Holding Together"...
, a non-group album issued by Slick and bandmate Paul Kantner
Paul Kantner
Paul Lorin Kantner is an American rock musician, known for co-founding the psychedelic rock band Jefferson Airplane and its spin-off band Jefferson Starship.- Overview :...
.
"Mr. Green Genes" by Frank Zappa
Frank Zappa
Frank Vincent Zappa was an American composer, singer-songwriter, electric guitarist, record producer and film director. In a career spanning more than 30 years, Zappa wrote rock, jazz, orchestral and musique concrète works. He also directed feature-length films and music videos, and designed...
(from the Mothers of Invention
The Mothers of Invention
The Mothers of Invention were an American band active from 1964 to 1969, and again from 1970 to 1975.They mainly performed works by, and were the original recording group of, US composer and guitarist Frank Zappa , although other members have had the occasional writing credit...
album Uncle Meat
Uncle Meat
Uncle Meat is the fifth studio album by the Mothers of Invention, released in 1969. It is billed as a supposed "soundtrack" to a film by The Mothers of Invention which was, in the end, never made. The front cover, designed by Cal Schenkel, included the words ""...
) makes a humorous reference to cannibalism: "Eat the truck & driver / And his gloves / NUTRITIOUSNESS! DELICIOUSNESS! WORTHLESSNESS!"
Many heavy metal
Heavy metal music
Heavy metal is a genre of rock music that developed in the late 1960s and early 1970s, largely in the Midlands of the United Kingdom and the United States...
, especially death metal
Death metal
Death metal is an extreme subgenre of heavy metal. It typically employs heavily distorted guitars, tremolo picking, deep growling vocals, blast beat drumming, minor keys or atonality, and complex song structures with multiple tempo changes....
and grindcore
Grindcore
Grindcore is an extreme genre of music that started in the early- to mid-1980s. It draws inspiration from some of the most abrasive music genres – including death metal, industrial music, noise and the more extreme varieties of hardcore punk....
, bands (As well as horrorcore
Horrorcore
Horrorcore is a subgenre of hip hop music based in horror-themed lyrical content and imagery. While the style is rarely popular, some performers have sold well in the mainstream scene.-Origins:...
rappers) discuss cannibalism in their songs, or depict it on the cover art of their albums, because of the act's taboo nature. Sometimes bands are inspired by particular cases of cannibalism.
American death metal band Cannibal Corpse
Cannibal Corpse
Cannibal Corpse is an American death metal band from Buffalo, New York. Formed in 1988, the band has released eleven studio albums, one box set, and one live album...
are one notable example. Their first album
Eaten Back to Life
Eaten Back to Life is the debut album by American death metal band Cannibal Corpse. It was released on 17 August 1990 through Metal Blade Records. The album was banned in Germany and other countries because of the violent cover and the extreme nature of the lyrics. Glen Benton of Deicide and...
, according to the inlay, was dedicated to "the memory of Alfred Packer, the first American cannibal (R.I.P.)"; their third album, Tomb of the Mutilated
Tomb of the Mutilated
Tomb of the Mutilated is the third studio album by American death metal band Cannibal Corpse. It was released in 1992 through Metal Blade Records and is the last album featuring founding guitarist Bob Rusay...
, features quotations from serial killer and cannibal Albert Fish
Albert Fish
Hamilton Howard "Albert" Fish was an American serial killer. He was also known as the Gray Man, the Werewolf of Wysteria, the Brooklyn Vampire, the Moon Maniac and The Boogey Man. A child rapist and cannibal, he boasted that he "had children in every state," and at one time put the figure at...
in the liner notes. Many of their songs make use of cannibalistic imagery, such as "Edible Autopsy". The band Pungent Stench
Pungent Stench
Pungent Stench was a darkly humorous death metal band from Vienna, Austria, which formed in 1988. Their last known lineup consists of Martin Schirenc , El Gore , and Alex Wank...
have also frequently dealt with cannibalism, most extensively on their 1990 EP For God Your Soul...For Me Your Flesh.
The Armin Meiwes
Armin Meiwes
Armin Meiwes is a German man who achieved international notoriety for killing and eating a voluntary victim whom he had found via the Internet. After Meiwes and the victim jointly attempted to eat the victim's severed penis, Meiwes killed his victim and proceeded to eat a large amount of his flesh...
cannibalism case in Germany provided the inspiration for a number of metal bands. Rammstein's 2004 single "Mein Teil
Mein Teil
"Mein Teil" is the first single by the German industrial metal band Rammstein from their fourth album Reise, Reise. The song is inspired by the case of Armin Meiwes and Bernd Jürgen Armando Brandes. In March 2001, in Rotenburg an der Fulda, the two men aged in their 40s met each other, cut off and...
", which featured the refrain "you are what you eat," was based on the case. Vocalist Till Lindemann
Till Lindemann
Till Lindemann is a German musician, actor and poet who is the frontman for the German Neue Deutsche Härte band Rammstein.-Biography:...
explained the fascination with the case that provoked the band to writing the song: "It's so sick that it becomes fascinating and there just has to be a song about it." Other songs influenced by Meiwes include "The Wüstenfeld Man Eater" by American death
Death metal
Death metal is an extreme subgenre of heavy metal. It typically employs heavily distorted guitars, tremolo picking, deep growling vocals, blast beat drumming, minor keys or atonality, and complex song structures with multiple tempo changes....
/thrash metal
Thrash metal
Thrash metal is a subgenre of heavy metal that is characterized usually by its fast tempo and aggression. Songs of the genre typically use fast percussive and low-register guitar riffs, overlaid with shredding-style lead work...
band Macabre
Macabre (band)
Macabre is an extreme metal band from Illinois. They were formed in 1985 in Chicago, Illinois, and have never had a line-up change. They blend thrash metal, death metal, and grindcore to form their own unique style dubbed murder metal...
, "Eaten
Eaten (song)
Eaten is a song by Swedish death metal band Bloodbath. The music and lyrics were composed by Dan Swanö, and was released on the album Nightmares Made Flesh....
" by Swedish death metal band Bloodbath
Bloodbath
Bloodbath is a Swedish death metal supergroup from Stockholm formed in 1998.-History:A year after being formed, the band, then consisting of Mikael Åkerfeldt on vocals, Dan Swanö on drums, Anders "Blakkheim" Nyström on guitar, and Jonas Renkse on bass, released their EP Breeding...
, "Let me Taste your Flesh" by Spanish death metal band Avulsed
Avulsed
Avulsed is a death metal band from Spain, formed in summer 1991 in Madrid, Spain by Dave Rotten -Biography:...
, as well as "Cannibal Anthem" by German electro-industrial project :wumpscut:, "Cannibals of Rotenburg" by the dirge-country band Sons of Perdition, and "Menschenfresser [Eat Me]" by electro-industrial act Suicide Commando
Suicide Commando
Suicide Commando is a Belgian electro-industrial act created by Johan van Roy in 1986.- History :Johan van Roy, Suicide Commando's only member, began experimenting with electronic music in 1986. Three years later he released his first tape under the moniker Suicide Commando, and made an appearance...
. "Human Consumption" by hip-hop artist Necro also makes reference to the incident, and the title of the 2007 Marilyn Manson
Marilyn Manson
Marilyn Manson may refer to:* Marilyn Manson , an American rock musician* Marilyn Manson , the American rock band led by the singer of the same name...
album Eat Me, Drink Me
Eat Me, Drink Me
Eat Me, Drink Me is the sixth full-length studio album by American rock band Marilyn Manson. It was released on June 5, 2007, debuting at number 8 in the United States with more than 80,000 copies sold in the first week. It was recorded in a rented home-recording studio in Hollywood, California by...
was inspired by the case.
The song "A Little Piece of Heaven" by Avenged Sevenfold is about a man who kills and eats part of his girlfriend after she rejects him.
Rapper Brotha Lynch Hung
Brotha Lynch Hung
Kevin Danell Mann , better known by his stage name Brotha Lynch Hung, is an American rapper and record producer from Sacramento, California...
has also written many songs concerning cannibalism, as exemplified by his 1994 album Season of da Siccness
Season of da Siccness
Season of da Siccness is the 1995 debut album by American West Coast hip hop artist Brotha Lynch Hung. It features grotesque and ultra-violent lyrics and disturbing, creepy production. It was recorded at Enharmonic, Sacramento, California and is distributed by IDN Distribution. Personnel on the...
, on which he styles himself as "the Ripgut Cannibal".
The French industrial band Nox had a track titled "Cannibal Night" on their 1990 album Killin' Drive Power. It's about a man who kills his whole family and eats the best parts of every member; at last, he eats himself.
The Gothic/Deathrock band Creaming Jesus' song "Celebrity Cannibalism" was inspired by the Jeffrey Dahmer case, with an ending refrain: "You always eat the ones you love."
"Kiss Me, Hold Me and Eat Me" by Ballboy, an Edinburgh band, features a poignant love affair between two cannibals, who know that their first kiss could prove fatal.
Pop Artist Ke$ha sings "Cannibal" which is about a literal man eater.
Dark singer Voltaire
Voltaire
François-Marie Arouet , better known by the pen name Voltaire , was a French Enlightenment writer, historian and philosopher famous for his wit and for his advocacy of civil liberties, including freedom of religion, free trade and separation of church and state...
sings 'Cannibal Buffet' where he washes up on an island and gets eaten by the locals.
Literature
Cannibalism in literature is represented by some significant works:- Poppy Z. BritePoppy Z. BritePoppy Z. Brite is an American author. Brite initially achieved notoriety in the gothic horror genre of literature in the early 1990s after publishing a string of successful novels and short story collections...
. Exquisite CorpseExquisite Corpse (novel)Exquisite Corpse is the third horror novel by Poppy Z. Brite. The protagonist of the story is Andrew Compton, an English convicted homosexual serial killer, cannibal and necrophiliac.-Plot summary:...
. A horror novel about two cannibalistic serial killers in love. - Courtship RiteCourtship RiteCourtship Rite is a science fiction novel by American writer Donald Kingsbury, originally serialized in Analog magazine in 1982. The book is set in the same universe as some of Kingsbury's other stories, such as "Shipwright" and the unpublished The Finger Pointing Solward.In the UK, the novel was...
by Donald KingsburyDonald KingsburyDonald MacDonald Kingsbury is an American–Canadian science fiction author. Kingsbury taught mathematics at McGill University, Montreal, from 1956 until his retirement in 1986.- Books :...
, a science fictionScience fictionScience fiction is a genre of fiction dealing with imaginary but more or less plausible content such as future settings, futuristic science and technology, space travel, aliens, and paranormal abilities...
novel in which cannibalism is an essential theme. - The Republic of Wine: A Novel by Mo YanMo YanMo Yan is a modern Chinese author, described as "one of the most famous, oft-banned and widely pirated of all Chinese writers". He is known in the West for two of his novels which were the basis of the film Red Sorghum. He has been referred to as the Chinese answer to Franz Kafka or Joseph Heller...
, in which cannibalism is practiced by officials in modern China. - In Bentley LittleBentley LittleBentley Little is an American author of horror novels.-Personal history:Little's first novel, The Revelation, was published with St...
's short story "The Washingtonians", the protagonist discovers that George WashingtonGeorge WashingtonGeorge Washington was the dominant military and political leader of the new United States of America from 1775 to 1799. He led the American victory over Great Britain in the American Revolutionary War as commander-in-chief of the Continental Army from 1775 to 1783, and presided over the writing of...
was a murderer and a cannibal. This story was adapted for an episode of Masters of HorrorThe Washingtonians (Masters of Horror episode)The Washingtonians is the twelfth episode of the second season of Masters of Horror, directed by Peter Medak. The episode is based on the short story written by Bentley Little...
in 2007. - In The Cannibal Within, by Mark Mirabello, "Ingestion is the ultimate act of domination.... The victim is absorbed by the eater--body and soul are absorbed--and all that remains is excrement."
- Wilson A. Tucker'sWilson TuckerArthur Wilson "Bob" Tucker was an American mystery, action adventure, and science fiction writer, who wrote professionally as Wilson Tucker....
The Long Loud SilenceThe Long Loud SilenceThe Long Loud Silence is a science fiction novel written by Wilson A. Tucker. It was first published in hardback edition by Rinehart & Co. in 1952, followed by Dell paperback editions in 1952 and 1954....
takes place in a post-apocalyptic America where people are reduced to cannibalism to survive. - The EnemyThe Enemy (Higson novel)The Enemy is a post-apocalyptic young adult horror novel written by Charlie Higson. The book takes place in London after a worldwide sickness has infected adults turning them into something akin to zombies. It was published by Puffin Books in the UK on 3 September 2009 and by Disney-Hyperion in the...
by Charlie HigsonCharlie HigsonCharles Murray Higson , more commonly known as Charlie Higson - also Switch - is an English actor, comedian, author and former singer...
, in which all adults are turned mad and start eating the children under fourteen. - Thomas HarrisThomas HarrisThomas Harris is an American author and screenwriter, best known for a series of suspense novels about his most famous character, Hannibal Lecter...
's Hannibal LecterHannibal LecterHannibal Lecter M.D. is a fictional character in a series of horror novels by Thomas Harris and in the films adapted from them.Lecter was introduced in the 1981 thriller novel Red Dragon as a brilliant psychiatrist and cannibalistic serial killer...
series, in which the main villain, Hannibal Lecter, is a serial killer known for cannibalism. - In American PsychoAmerican PsychoAmerican Psycho is a psychological thriller and satirical novel by Bret Easton Ellis, published in 1991. The story is told in the first person by the protagonist, serial killer and Manhattan businessman Patrick Bateman. The book's graphic violence and sexual content generated a great deal of...
by Bret Easton EllisBret Easton EllisBret Easton Ellis is an American novelist and short story writer. His works have been translated into 27 different languages. He was regarded as one of the so-called literary Brat Pack, which also included Tama Janowitz and Jay McInerney...
, Patrick BatemanPatrick BatemanPatrick Bateman is a fictional character, the antihero and narrator of the novel American Psycho by Bret Easton Ellis, and its film adaptation. He has also briefly appeared in other Ellis novels.-Biography and profile:...
eats many of his female victims after murdering them. - In Life of PiLife of PiLife of Pi is a fantasy adventure novel by Yann Martel published in 2001. The protagonist, Piscine Molitor "Pi" Patel, an Indian boy from Pondicherry, explores issues of spirituality and practicality from an early age...
, a 2001 novel where a young boy uses metaphor of animals for cannibalism while lost at sea.
Film
Cannibalism is not just confined to the horror genre. Dark comedy has also featured it as a theme, in films such as DelicatessenDelicatessen (film)
Delicatessen is a 1991 French black comedy film, directed by Jean-Pierre Jeunet and Marc Caro, starring Dominique Pinon and Karin Viard. It is set in an apartment building in a post-apocalyptic France of an ambiguous time period. The story focuses on the tenants of the building and their desperate...
(1991) or Eating Raoul
Eating Raoul
Eating Raoul is a 1982 black comedy about a married couple living in Hollywood who resort to killing swingers for their money. It was directed by Paul Bartel and written by Bartel and Richard Blackburn...
(1982).
- The 1932 film Doctor XDoctor X (film)Doctor X is a First National/Warner Bros. horror and mystery film based on the play of the same name. It was directed by Michael Curtiz and stars Lee Tracy, Fay Wray, and Lionel Atwill....
features a cannibalistic killer. - In the 1959 film adaptationSuddenly, Last Summer (film)Suddenly, Last Summer is a 1959 American Southern Gothic mystery film based on the play of the same title by Tennessee Williams. The film was directed by Joseph L. Mankiewicz and produced by Sam Spiegel from a screenplay by Gore Vidal and Williams. The music score was by Buxton Orr using themes by...
of Tennessee WilliamsTennessee WilliamsThomas Lanier "Tennessee" Williams III was an American writer who worked principally as a playwright in the American theater. He also wrote short stories, novels, poetry, essays, screenplays and a volume of memoirs...
' play Suddenly, Last SummerSuddenly, Last SummerSuddenly, Last Summer is a one-act play by Tennessee Williams. It opened off Broadway on January 7, 1958, as part of a double bill with another of Williams's one-acts, Something Unspoken. The presentation of the two plays was given the overall title Garden District, but Suddenly, Last Summer is...
, the central mystery concerns the death of Sebastian Venable who was torn apart and eaten by a gang of boys. - The films "Blood FeastBlood FeastBlood Feast is a 1963 American horror film directed by Herschell Gordon Lewis, often considered the first "splatter film". It was produced by David F. Friedman. The screenplay was written by Alison Louise Downe, who had previously appeared in several of Lewis' other films. Lewis also wrote the...
" (1963) and "Blood Feast 2: All U Can EatBlood Feast 2: All U Can EatBlood Feast 2: All U Can Eat, also known as Blood Feast 2: Buffet of Blood, is an exploitation-style splatter film written by W. Boyd Ford and directed by Herschell Gordon Lewis as a sequel to Lewis's cult classic exploitation film Blood Feast...
" (2002), both by Herschell Gordon LewisHerschell Gordon LewisHerschell Gordon Lewis is an American filmmaker, best known for creating the "splatter film" subgenre of horror...
, feature a cannibal caterer preparing a feast for the goddessGoddessA goddess is a female deity. In some cultures goddesses are associated with Earth, motherhood, love, and the household. In other cultures, goddesses also rule over war, death, and destruction as well as healing....
IshtarIshtarIshtar is the Assyrian and Babylonian goddess of fertility, love, war, and sex. She is the counterpart to the Sumerian Inanna and to the cognate north-west Semitic goddess Astarte.-Characteristics:...
. - The low-budget film Messiah of EvilMessiah of EvilMessiah of Evil is a film made in 1973 by Willard Huyck and Gloria Katz, the husband and wife team behind the film version of Howard the Duck as well as the screenplay for American Graffiti....
(1971) has vampire-cannibalism as plot elements. - In the 1975 film Rocky Horror Picture Show, adapted from the 1973 stage musical The Rocky Horror ShowThe Rocky Horror ShowThe Rocky Horror Show is a long-running British horror comedy stage musical, which opened in London on 19 June 1973. It was written by Richard O'Brien, produced and directed by Jim Sharman. It came eighth in a BBC Radio 2 listener poll of the "Nation's Number One Essential Musicals"...
, Eddie is killed by Dr. Frank-N-Furter and his body parts are served for dinner. - The 1980 film Cannibal HolocaustCannibal HolocaustCannibal Holocaust is a 1980 Italian horror film directed by Ruggero Deodato from a screenplay by Gianfranco Clerici. Filmed in the Amazon Rainforest and dealing with indigenous tribes, it was cast mostly with United States actors and filmed in English to achieve wider distribution...
, considered one of history's most gruesome movies, is about a film crew studying cannibalistic tribes in the Amazon RainforestAmazon RainforestThe Amazon Rainforest , also known in English as Amazonia or the Amazon Jungle, is a moist broadleaf forest that covers most of the Amazon Basin of South America...
. Commonly believed to be a snuff filmSnuff filmA snuff film is a motion picture genre that depicts the actual death or murder of a person or people, without the aid of special effects, for the express purpose of distribution and entertainment or financial exploitation. For-profit snuff films are generally regarded as an urban legend, whose...
, the film was directed by Italian Ruggero DeodatoRuggero DeodatoRuggero Deodato is an Italian film director and screen writer, best known for directing violent and gory horror films. Deodato is infamous for his 1980 film Cannibal Holocaust.- Biography :...
, who was arrested on obscenityObscenityAn obscenity is any statement or act which strongly offends the prevalent morality of the time, is a profanity, or is otherwise taboo, indecent, abhorrent, or disgusting, or is especially inauspicious...
charges. - The Cook, the Thief, His Wife & Her LoverThe Cook, the Thief, His Wife & Her LoverThe Cook, the Thief, His Wife & Her Lover is a 1989 romantic crime drama written and directed by Peter Greenaway, starring Richard Bohringer, Michael Gambon, Helen Mirren, and Alan Howard in the titular roles...
, a 1989 film written and directed by Peter GreenawayPeter GreenawayPeter Greenaway, CBE is a British film director. His films are noted for the distinct influence of Renaissance and Baroque painting, and Flemish painting in particular... - ParentsParents (film)Parents is a 1989 horror-comedy film written by Christopher Hawthorne and directed by Bob Balaban. The film is about a suburban 50's boy living who suspects his parents of cannibalism. The film starred Randy Quaid, Mary Beth Hurt, Sandy Dennis, and Bryan Madorsky...
, a 1989 black comedyBlack comedyA black comedy, or dark comedy, is a comic work that employs black humor or gallows humor. The definition of black humor is problematic; it has been argued that it corresponds to the earlier concept of gallows humor; and that, as humor has been defined since Freud as a comedic act that anesthetizes...
directed by Bob BalabanBob BalabanRobert Elmer "Bob" Balaban is an American actor, author and director.-Personal life:Balaban was born in Chicago, Illinois, the son of Eleanor and Elmer Balaban, who owned several movie theatres and later was a pioneer in cable television...
about a disturbed young boy who begins to wonder where the "leftovers" his parents always serve him for dinner are really coming from. - In the pseudohistoricalPseudohistoryPseudohistory is a pejorative term applied to a type of historical revisionism, often involving sensational claims whose acceptance would require rewriting a significant amount of commonly accepted history, and based on methods that depart from standard historiographical conventions.Cryptohistory...
film, Rapa NuiRapa Nui (film)Rapa Nui is a 1994 film directed by Kevin Reynolds. It was produced by Kevin Costner and Barrie M. Osborne, among others. The plot is based on Rapanui legends of Easter Island, Chile, in particular the race for the Sooty Tern's egg in the Birdman Cult....
(1994), the inhabitants of Rapa Nui (Easter Island) resort to cannibalism during a rebellion. - In the 2001 French film Trouble Every Day, cannibalism is portrayed purely as a sexual act. Director Claire DenisClaire DenisClaire Denis is a French film director and Professor of Film at the European Graduate School in Saas-Fee, Switzerland.-Early life:...
explores the ability to love as a hunger, with characters seemingly having originated out of a "diseased culture". - In Wrong TurnWrong TurnWrong Turn is a 2003 American slasher horror film, directed by Rob Schmidt, and written by Alan B. McElroy. The film was shot in Hamilton, Ontario, Canada and stars Desmond Harrington and Eliza Dushku...
(2003), a clan of inbredInbreedingInbreeding is the reproduction from the mating of two genetically related parents. Inbreeding results in increased homozygosity, which can increase the chances of offspring being affected by recessive or deleterious traits. This generally leads to a decreased fitness of a population, which is...
mountain menMountain manMountain men were trappers and explorers who roamed the North American Rocky Mountains from about 1810 through the 1880s where they were instrumental in opening up the various Emigrant Trails allowing Americans in the east to settle the new territories of the far west by organized wagon trains...
practice cannibalism on waylaid teenagers. - DumplingsDumplings (film)Dumplings is a 2004 Hong Kong horror film, directed by Fruit Chan. It was expanded from a short segment in the horror compilation, Three... Extremes....
(2004) by Fruit ChanFruit ChanFruit Chan Gor is an independent Hong Kong Second Wave screenwriter, filmmaker and producer, who is best known for his style of film reflecting the everyday life of Hong Kong people. He is well known for using amateur actors in his films...
, wherein foetusesFetusA fetus is a developing mammal or other viviparous vertebrate after the embryonic stage and before birth.In humans, the fetal stage of prenatal development starts at the beginning of the 11th week in gestational age, which is the 9th week after fertilization.-Etymology and spelling variations:The...
are consumed. - In Tim BurtonTim BurtonTimothy William "Tim" Burton is an American film director, film producer, writer and artist. He is famous for dark, quirky-themed movies such as Beetlejuice, Edward Scissorhands, The Nightmare Before Christmas, Ed Wood, Sleepy Hollow, Corpse Bride and Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet...
's 2005 remakeCharlie and the Chocolate Factory (film)Charlie and the Chocolate Factory is a 2005 film adaptation of the 1964 book of the same name by Roald Dahl. The film was directed by Tim Burton. The film stars Freddie Highmore as Charlie Bucket and Johnny Depp as Willy Wonka...
of Willy Wonka & the Chocolate FactoryWilly Wonka & the Chocolate FactoryWilly Wonka & the Chocolate Factory is a 1971 musical film adaptation of the 1964 novel Charlie and the Chocolate Factory by Roald Dahl, directed by Mel Stuart, and starring Gene Wilder as Willy Wonka. The film tells the story of Charlie Bucket as he receives a golden ticket and visits Willy...
, Wonka claims that cannibalism "is frowned upon in most societiesUnderstatementUnderstatement is a form of speech which contains an expression of less strength than what would be expected. This is not to be confused with euphemism, where a polite phrase is used in place of a harsher or more offensive expression....
." The gluttonous character Augustus Gloop also goes up a pipe into a fudge production room and is nearly made into fudge (it is implied that he would subsequently be eaten by unwitting purchasers). - The 2006 remakeBlack Christmas (2006 film)Black Christmas is 2006 American Slasher film and a remake of the 1974 horror slasher film of the same name. It was written and directed by Glen Morgan and stars Katie Cassidy, Mary Elizabeth Winstead, Lacey Chabert, Crystal Lowe, Michelle Trachtenberg , Oliver Hudson, Kristen Cloke, and Andrea...
of the film Black ChristmasBlack Christmas (1974 film)Black Christmas is a 1974 Canadian slasher film directed by Bob Clark and written by A. Roy Moore, and largely based on a series of murders that took place in Quebec, Canada around Christmas time. The film's score is by Carl Zittrer. It was distributed by Ambassador Film Distributors in Canada and...
depicts the two main antagonists, Billy and Agnes, engaging in acts of cannibalism. - In the 2007 film Welcome to the Jungle, tourists are forced to participate in sacred cannibalistic rituals by a native tribe in Papua New GuineaPapua New GuineaPapua New Guinea , officially the Independent State of Papua New Guinea, is a country in Oceania, occupying the eastern half of the island of New Guinea and numerous offshore islands...
. - The Donner PartyThe Donner Party (film)The Donner Party is a 2009 period drama film written and directed by T.J. Martin, and distributed by First Look International. It is based on the true story of the Donner Party, an 1840s westward traveling group of settlers headed for California...
(2009) is based on the true story of the Donner PartyDonner PartyThe Donner Party was a group of American pioneers who set out for California in a wagon train. Delayed by a series of mishaps, they spent the winter of 1846–47 snowbound in the Sierra Nevada...
, American settlers who turned to cannibalism during the harsh winter of 1846–1847. - The Midnight Meat TrainThe Midnight Meat TrainThe Midnight Meat Train is a 2008 horror film based on Clive Barker's 1984 short story of the same name, which can be found in Volume One of Barker's collection Books of Blood...
(2009) features a train-driver who eats the tongues of some of his victims.
Television
- The episode "Our Town" of The X-FilesThe X-FilesThe X-Files is an American science fiction television series and a part of The X-Files franchise, created by screenwriter Chris Carter. The program originally aired from to . The show was a hit for the Fox network, and its characters and slogans became popular culture touchstones in the 1990s...
is based on several historical and popular myths about cannibalism. The protagonist FBI agents find that an entire community in ArkansasArkansasArkansas is a state located in the southern region of the United States. Its name is an Algonquian name of the Quapaw Indians. Arkansas shares borders with six states , and its eastern border is largely defined by the Mississippi River...
have been kidnapping outsiders and eating them for decades, in the belief that it lengthens their lifespans. They have been taught to do this by the town patriarch, Walter Chaco (a reference to Chaco Canyon), who lived among the KorowaiKorowaiThe korowai, also called the Kolufo, are a people of southeastern Papua . They number about 3,000. Until 1970, they were unaware of the existence of any people besides themselves....
tribe of Papua, New Guinea after being shot down in the PacificPacific OceanThe Pacific Ocean is the largest of the Earth's oceanic divisions. It extends from the Arctic in the north to the Southern Ocean in the south, bounded by Asia and Australia in the west, and the Americas in the east.At 165.2 million square kilometres in area, this largest division of the World...
during World War IIWorld War IIWorld War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
. - Nightmare Cafeteria, the third and final segment of The SimpsonsThe SimpsonsThe Simpsons is an American animated sitcom created by Matt Groening for the Fox Broadcasting Company. The series is a satirical parody of a middle class American lifestyle epitomized by its family of the same name, which consists of Homer, Marge, Bart, Lisa and Maggie...
Treehouse of Horror VTreehouse of Horror V"Treehouse of Horror V" is the sixth episode of The Simpsons sixth season and the fifth episode in the Treehouse of Horror series. It premiered on October 30, 1994, and features three short stories called The Shinning, Time and Punishment, and Nightmare Cafeteria...
. To respond to the overwhelming number of students in detention, the teachers at Springfield Elementary School start to eat all the children. This was a parody of Soylent Green. - The Doctor WhoDoctor WhoDoctor Who is a British science fiction television programme produced by the BBC. The programme depicts the adventures of a time-travelling humanoid alien known as the Doctor who explores the universe in a sentient time machine called the TARDIS that flies through time and space, whose exterior...
story Revelation of the DaleksRevelation of the DaleksRevelation of the Daleks is a serial in the British science fiction television series Doctor Who, which was first broadcast in two weekly parts on 23 March and 30 March 1985...
a villain sells human flesh to famine victims. In "The End of TimeThe End of TimeThe End of Time: The Next Revolution in Our Understanding of the Universe, also sold with the alternate subtitle The Next Revolution in Physics, is a 1999 science book in which the author Julian Barbour argues that time exists merely as an illusion.-Auto-biography:The book begins by describing how...
", the Master's resurrection went wrong as he tries to survive by eating homeless people in scrapyards. - In an episode of The Young OnesThe Young Ones (TV series)The Young Ones is a British sitcom, first broadcast in 1982, which ran for two series on BBC2. Its anarchic, offbeat humour helped bring alternative comedy to television in the 1980s and made household names of its writers and performers...
the cast decide to eat their least popular member (Neil) when they are trapped in their house, submerged in a flood. - In Monty PythonMonty PythonMonty Python was a British surreal comedy group who created their influential Monty Python's Flying Circus, a British television comedy sketch show that first aired on the BBC on 5 October 1969. Forty-five episodes were made over four series...
's Flying Circus, cannibalism is something of a recurring theme:- In the Undertaker's sketchUndertaker's sketchThe Undertakers sketch is a comedy sketch from the 26th episode of Monty Python's Flying Circus, entitled "Royal Episode 13"...
, a dead woman is referred to as "an eater" by an undertaker, suggesting cremationCremationCremation is the process of reducing bodies to basic chemical compounds such as gasses and bone fragments. This is accomplished through high-temperature burning, vaporization and oxidation....
or burialBurialBurial is the act of placing a person or object into the ground. This is accomplished by excavating a pit or trench, placing an object in it, and covering it over.-History:...
is too "nasty". - In the Lifeboat sketchLifeboat sketchMonty Python's Lifeboat sketch appeared on Monty Python's Flying Circus in Episode 26. It was also performed on the album, Another Monty Python Record, retitled Still No Sign Of Land. The sketch was inspired by the famous 1884 English criminal law case of The Queen v...
, five sailors in a lifeboat bicker about the menu planning involving who should be eaten first. The skit is followed by the reading of a "protest letter" saying, "As a naval officer I abhor the implication that the Royal NavyRoyal NavyThe Royal Navy is the naval warfare service branch of the British Armed Forces. Founded in the 16th century, it is the oldest service branch and is known as the Senior Service...
is a haven for cannibalism. It is well known that we now have the problem relatively under control, and that it is the RAF who now suffer the largest casualties in this area. And what do you think the ArgyllArgyllArgyll , archaically Argyle , is a region of western Scotland corresponding with most of the part of ancient Dál Riata that was located on the island of Great Britain, and in a historical context can be used to mean the entire western coast between the Mull of Kintyre and Cape Wrath...
s ate in AdenAdenAden is a seaport city in Yemen, located by the eastern approach to the Red Sea , some 170 kilometres east of Bab-el-Mandeb. Its population is approximately 800,000. Aden's ancient, natural harbour lies in the crater of an extinct volcano which now forms a peninsula, joined to the mainland by a...
. Arabs? Yours etc. Captain B.J. Smethwick in a white wine sauce with shallotShallotThe shallot is the botanical variety of Allium cepa to which the multiplier onion also belongs. It was formerly classified as the species A. ascalonicum, a name now considered a synonym of the correct name...
s, mushroomMushroomA mushroom is the fleshy, spore-bearing fruiting body of a fungus, typically produced above ground on soil or on its food source. The standard for the name "mushroom" is the cultivated white button mushroom, Agaricus bisporus; hence the word "mushroom" is most often applied to those fungi that...
s and garlicGarlicAllium sativum, commonly known as garlic, is a species in the onion genus, Allium. Its close relatives include the onion, shallot, leek, chive, and rakkyo. Dating back over 6,000 years, garlic is native to central Asia, and has long been a staple in the Mediterranean region, as well as a frequent...
." - In the Expedition to Lake Pahoe sketch, Vice Admiral Sir John Cunningham addresses the audience with the non sequitur "and may I take this opportunity of emphasizing that there is no cannibalism in the British Navy. Absolutely none, and when I say none, I mean there is a certain amount, more than we are prepared to admit, but all new ratings are warned that if they wake up in the morning and find toothmarks at all anywhere on their bodies, they're to tell me immediately so that I can immediately take every measure to hush the whole thing up. And, finally, necrophiliaNecrophiliaNecrophilia, also called thanatophilia or necrolagnia, is the sexual attraction to corpses,It is classified as a paraphilia by the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of the American Psychiatric Association. The word is artificially derived from the ancient Greek words: νεκρός and φιλία...
is right out. Now, this expedition is primarily to investigate reports of cannibalism and necrophilia in ... this expedition is primarily to investigate reports of unusual marine life in the as yet uncharted Lake Pahoe." Later in the skit, Sir John has to block our view of a naval rating about to bite into a human leg. - In the Restaurant/Intermission sketch, two patrons of a "vegetarian restaurant" which serves "no animal flesh of any kind" are confronted by a semi-naked man in a large serving dish, who informs them, "I'm the special. Try me with some rice." The surprise here is somewhat lessened by the waiter having just asked the couple, "Would you care for a glass of blood? Oh what a giveaway."
- In the Undertaker's sketch
- A fourth season episode of the series Tales from the CryptTales from the Crypt (TV series)Tales from the Crypt, sometimes titled HBO's Tales from the Crypt, is an American horror anthology television series that ran from 1989 to 1996 on the premium cable channel HBO...
entitled "What's Cookin'" featured a restaurant that's saved from failure when the owners start serving meat that they are initially unaware is human. - The 2001 episode of South ParkSouth ParkSouth Park is an American animated television series created by Trey Parker and Matt Stone for the Comedy Central television network. Intended for mature audiences, the show has become famous for its crude language, surreal, satirical, and dark humor that lampoons a wide range of topics...
called Scott Tenorman Must DieScott Tenorman Must Die"Scott Tenorman Must Die" is the fourth episode of the fifth season of the animated television series South Park, and the 69th episode of the series overall. "Scott Tenorman Must Die" originally aired in the United States on July 11, 2001 on Comedy Central. English rock band Radiohead guest star in...
, is famous among fans of the Comedy CentralComedy CentralComedy Central is an American cable television and satellite television channel that carries comedy programming, both original and syndicated....
show. Eric CartmanEric CartmanEric Theodore Cartman is a fictional character in the American animated television series South Park. One of four main characters, along with Stan Marsh, Kyle Broflovski, and Kenny McCormick, he is generally referred to within the series by his last name...
arranged the murders of the parents of his archnemesis, Scott Tenorman. He then collected the bodies, ground them up into meat, and fed them to Scott in a chili cookoff but it turns out that scotts father is also Eric's father in the episode 201201 (South Park)"201" is the sixth episode of the fourteenth season of South Park, and the 201st overall episode of the series. It originally aired on Comedy Central in the United States on April 21, 2010. The episode continued multiple storylines from the previous episode, "200", in which a group of angry...
. This is not the first time cannibalism has been seen, in a previous episode, Cartman's Mom Is Still a Dirty SlutCartman's Mom is Still a Dirty Slut"Cartman's Mom Is Still a Dirty Slut" is the second episode of the second season of the animated series South Park, and the 15th episode of the series overall. It premiered on Comedy Central in the United States on April 22, 1998...
, three characters fall victim to cannibalism during the brief period of time that a group of adults became trapped in a television studio during a blizzard. - In the TorchwoodTorchwoodTorchwood is a British science fiction television programme created by Russell T Davies. The series is a spin-off from Davies's 2005 revival of the long-running science fiction programme Doctor Who. The show has shifted its broadcast channel each series to reflect its growing audience, moving from...
episode "CountrycideCountrycide"Countrycide" is an episode of the British science fiction television series Torchwood. It is the sixth episode of the first series, which was broadcast on 19 November 2006-Synopsis:...
" it is discovered that a whole village of cannibals kill and eat travellers every ten years as part of a "harvest". - Some deaths in Celebrity DeathmatchCelebrity DeathmatchCelebrity Deathmatch is a claymation television show that depicts celebrities against each other in a wrestling ring, almost always ending in the loser's gruesome death. It was known for its excessive amount of blood used in every match and exaggerated physical injuries...
lead to a celebrity eating another celebrity. - The 2007 Masters of HorrorMasters of HorrorMasters of Horror is an informal social group of international film writers and directors specializing in horror movies and an American television series created by director Mick Garris for the Showtime cable network.- Origin :...
episode "The Washingtonians" portrays George WashingtonGeorge WashingtonGeorge Washington was the dominant military and political leader of the new United States of America from 1775 to 1799. He led the American victory over Great Britain in the American Revolutionary War as commander-in-chief of the Continental Army from 1775 to 1783, and presided over the writing of...
as a cannibal in a fictional account of alternate history. - In BonesBones (TV series)Bones is an American crime drama television series that premiered on the Fox Network on September 13, 2005. The show is based on forensic anthropology and forensic archaeology, with each episode focusing on an FBI case file concerning the mystery behind human remains brought by FBI Special Agent...
, the group searched and caught an infamous serial killer known as "The GormogonThe GormogonGormogon is a fictional character featured in a story arc of the third season of the FOX drama Bones.-Background and development:Gormogon was introduced as a cannibalistic serial killer in the third season premiere, "The Widow's Son in the Windshield", and has made appearances in the form of teeth...
", who murdered and cannibalized members of fraternal orders and secret societies. - In the It's Always Sunny in PhiladelphiaIt's Always Sunny in PhiladelphiaIt's Always Sunny in Philadelphia is an American television sitcom that premiered on FX on August 4, 2005. New episodes continue to air on FX, with reruns playing on Comedy Central, general broadcast syndication, and WGN America—the first-ever cable-to-cable syndication deal for a sitcom...
episode "Mac & Dennis: Manhunters," Charlie and Dee believe they have accidentally consumed human meat, and subsequently come to crave it, though in reality, Frank is tricking them to teach them not to eat his stash of meat. - Although it has never been confirmed, some people suspect that in the BBCBBCThe British Broadcasting Corporation is a British public service broadcaster. Its headquarters is at Broadcasting House in the City of Westminster, London. It is the largest broadcaster in the world, with about 23,000 staff...
sitcom The League of GentlemenThe League of GentlemenThe League of Gentlemen are a group of British comedians formed in 1995, best known for their radio and television series.The League of Gentlemen may also refer to:* The League of Gentlemen ,...
the "special stuff" served by butcher Hilary Briss is human meat. - The Are You Afraid of the Dark?Are You Afraid of the Dark?Are You Afraid of the Dark? may refer to:* Are You Afraid of the Dark?, a 1992 television series* Are You Afraid of the Dark? , a 2004 novel by Sidney Sheldon...
episode "The Tale of the Gruesome Gourmets" is about two brothers who suspect that their new neighbors are cannibals.
Video games
- Digital Devil Saga depicts demonic tribe members devouring each other should his or her opponent be defeated.
- In Grand Theft Auto: Liberty City StoriesGrand Theft Auto: Liberty City StoriesGrand Theft Auto: Liberty City Stories is a 2005 sandbox-style action video game developed by Rockstar North and Rockstar Leeds. It is the ninth game in the Grand Theft Auto series...
, media tycoon Donald Love has Toni Cipriani kill Avery Carrington and bring him to his private jet in order to eat him on the trip. - Jade EmpireJade EmpireJade Empire is an action role-playing game developed by Canadian developer BioWare and first published in 2005 by Microsoft Game Studios as a worldwide release for the Xbox. The later, two-disc Limited Edition contained extra content...
features cannibals as one of the game's enemies. - In Dragon Age: OriginsDragon Age: OriginsDragon Age: Origins is a single-player role-playing video game developed by BioWare's Edmonton studio and published by Electronic Arts. It is the first game in the Dragon Age franchise...
, women that have been captured by darkspawn become cannibalistic after being tainted by the dark spawn. - Mr. Grimm, a main playable character in Twisted Metal Black, is a cannibal.
- In the Grand Theft Auto 2Grand Theft Auto 2Grand Theft Auto 2 is a video game that was released worldwide on October 25, 1999, by developer DMA Design , initially for the Windows operating system and the PlayStation console. The game was later ported to the Dreamcast console and the Game Boy Color. It is the sequel to 1997 hit Grand Theft...
mission "R. S. L. Bows!" the player is required to collect members of the public in a bus, before driving them to a meat-processing plant to be slaughtered for human consumption by soldiers of the Russian mafia. - Paxton Fettel, the main enemy in the computer game F.E.A.R. eats his victims in order to absorb their memories.
- In Mortal KombatMortal Kombat (series)Mortal Kombat, commonly abbreviated MK, is a science fantasy series of fighting games created by Ed Boon and John Tobias. The first four renditions and their updates were developed by Midway Games and initially released on arcade machines. The arcade titles were later picked up by Acclaim...
the Tarkatan eat their victims after a fight (The only character that actually does that in game is Mileena). - In World of WarcraftWorld of WarcraftWorld of Warcraft is a massively multiplayer online role-playing game by Blizzard Entertainment. It is the fourth released game set in the fantasy Warcraft universe, which was first introduced by Warcraft: Orcs & Humans in 1994...
, players can choose a Horde race called the Forsaken, a faction of sentient undead with a racial ability called "Cannibalize". The player consumes the corpse of a Humanoid or Undead enemy to regain health. The female Trolls also have a voice emote that states: "If cannibalism is wrong, I don' wanna be right!" - The Tribesmen from Tomb Raider 3 attempt to eat LaraLara CroftLara Croft is a fictional character and the protagonist of the Square Enix video game series Tomb Raider. She is presented as a beautiful, intelligent, and athletic British archaeologist-adventurer who ventures into ancient, hazardous tombs and ruins around the world...
. Fortunately her arsenal vanquished the tribe. They also attempt to eat a castaway pilot - who they are supposed to have eat for the dessert (as white flesh is said to be a delicacy in those parts) of a special feast, named: "The Feast of Spies". He only had one leg - as he awoke late one night to find "One of those little fuckers snacking on his leg". He wrapped it in bandages - hoping to survive up to the feast, in which he will be eaten alive. - Cannibalism is a recurring theme in the game Fallout 3Fallout 3Fallout 3 is an action role-playing game released by Bethesda Game Studios, and the third major installment in the Fallout series. The game was released in North America, Europe and Australia in October 2008, and in Japan in December 2008 for Microsoft Windows, PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360...
. An interesting game mechanic in which players can cannibalize corpses to regain health is featured. Heavily radiated wastelanders called feral ghouls also eat flesh to sustain themselves. Likewise, a small yet corrupt settlement of cannibals can be discovered. (This is partially a take-off of Parents) - A 1998 canceled PlayStation fighting game entitled Thrill KillThrill KillThrill Kill is a cancelled and unpublished 1998 fighting video game for the Sony PlayStation. While the technical feat of allowing four players to fight simultaneously in the same room was to be a major selling point, this was overshadowed by the controversy surrounding the game's depictions of...
featured a murderous redneck cannibal from Kentucky named Cleetus. He was shown carrying a torn leg and used it as a blunt object in fighting. Cleetus could be seen also eating the leg during fighting, as well as has attacks where he bites the flesh of other fighters. - In the 2010 video game Red Dead Redemption, one stranger mission revolves around the main character searching for missing people in the nearby hills. It turns out it was the work of a cannibal who was kidnapping and eating residents who lived nearby.
In other media
- In the Forgotten RealmsForgotten RealmsThe Forgotten Realms is a campaign setting for the Dungeons & Dragons fantasy role-playing game. Commonly referred to by players and game designers alike as "The Realms", it was created by game designer Ed Greenwood around 1967 as a setting for his childhood stories...
setting of the Dungeons & DragonsDungeons & DragonsDungeons & Dragons is a fantasy role-playing game originally designed by Gary Gygax and Dave Arneson, and first published in 1974 by Tactical Studies Rules, Inc. . The game has been published by Wizards of the Coast since 1997...
role-playing gameRole-playing gameA role-playing game is a game in which players assume the roles of characters in a fictional setting. Players take responsibility for acting out these roles within a narrative, either through literal acting, or through a process of structured decision-making or character development...
, abolethAbolethIn the Dungeons & Dragons fantasy role-playing game, aboleths are a fictive race of malevolent, eel-like aberrations with potent psionic abilities...
s are said to consume their parents on birth and in so doing receive their parents' memories (this holds true for those of any other races they eat). - Underground, a role-playing game in which a popular restaurant chain called "Tastee Ghoul" serves food made from human flesh.
- The Lintha, a culture of sea raidersPiracyPiracy is an act of robbery or criminal violence at sea. The term can include acts committed on land, in the air, or in other major bodies of water or on a shore. It does not normally include crimes committed against persons traveling on the same vessel as the perpetrator...
in ExaltedExaltedExalted is a role-playing game published by White Wolf Publishing. The game is classified as high fantasy, but may be more accurately described as "mythic fantasy", as the developer specifically avoided drawing on J. R. R. Tolkien, but rather turned to a mixture of world mythologies for inspiration...
, is known for practicing endocannibalismEndocannibalismEndocannibalism is the term which describes the practice of eating dead members of one's own culture, tribe or social group...
as a burial rite and intimidation tactic. - Zhu Yu, a ChineseChinese peopleThe term Chinese people may refer to any of the following:*People with Han Chinese ethnicity ....
conceptual artist, became famous for his staging of many photographs of himself eating a cooked human foetusFetusA fetus is a developing mammal or other viviparous vertebrate after the embryonic stage and before birth.In humans, the fetal stage of prenatal development starts at the beginning of the 11th week in gestational age, which is the 9th week after fertilization.-Etymology and spelling variations:The...
. Though he himself has claimed in interviews that the foetus was real, obtained from an abortion clinic, some reports indicate that it was likely duckDuckDuck is the common name for a large number of species in the Anatidae family of birds, which also includes swans and geese. The ducks are divided among several subfamilies in the Anatidae family; they do not represent a monophyletic group but a form taxon, since swans and geese are not considered...
meat mixed with parts from a baby dollDollA doll is a model of a human being, often used as a toy for children. Dolls have traditionally been used in magic and religious rituals throughout the world, and traditional dolls made of materials like clay and wood are found in the Americas, Asia, Africa and Europe. The earliest documented dolls...
. Yu briefly found himself the subject of a chain e-mailChain Mail"Chain Mail" is a single by Mancunian band James, released in March 1986 by Sire Records, the first after the band defected from Factory Records. The record was released in two different versions, as 7" single and 12" EP, with different artworks by John Carroll and, confusingly, under different...
backlash that singled out AsianAsian peopleAsian people or Asiatic people is a term with multiple meanings that refers to people who descend from a portion of Asia's population.- Central Asia :...
communities for allegedly taking their "unusual" cuisineCuisineCuisine is a characteristic style of cooking practices and traditions, often associated with a specific culture. Cuisines are often named after the geographic areas or regions that they originate from...
tastes too far. The chain eventually reached the FBIFederal Bureau of InvestigationThe Federal Bureau of Investigation is an agency of the United States Department of Justice that serves as both a federal criminal investigative body and an internal intelligence agency . The FBI has investigative jurisdiction over violations of more than 200 categories of federal crime...
and Scotland YardScotland YardScotland Yard is a metonym for the headquarters of the Metropolitan Police Service of London, UK. It derives from the location of the original Metropolitan Police headquarters at 4 Whitehall Place, which had a rear entrance on a street called Great Scotland Yard. The Scotland Yard entrance became...
, both of whom performed full investigations into the pictures. - Long Pig, a fictional fast foodFast foodFast food is the term given to food that can be prepared and served very quickly. While any meal with low preparation time can be considered to be fast food, typically the term refers to food sold in a restaurant or store with preheated or precooked ingredients, and served to the customer in a...
chain in the comic bookComic bookA comic book or comicbook is a magazine made up of comics, narrative artwork in the form of separate panels that represent individual scenes, often accompanied by dialog as well as including...
series TransmetropolitanTransmetropolitanTransmetropolitan is a cyberpunk comic book series written by Warren Ellis with art by Darick Robertson and published by DC Comics. The series was originally part of the short-lived DC Comics imprint Helix, but upon the end of the book's first year the series was moved to the Vertigo imprint as DC...
, for which humans are cloned without brains to be guiltlessly prepared as meals. - Famed Mexican muralist Diego RiveraDiego RiveraDiego María de la Concepción Juan Nepomuceno Estanislao de la Rivera y Barrientos Acosta y Rodríguez was a prominent Mexican painter born in Guanajuato, Guanajuato, an active communist, and husband of Frida Kahlo . His large wall works in fresco helped establish the Mexican Mural Movement in...
claimed in his autobiography that during a period in 1904, he and his companions ate "nothing but cadavers" purchased from the local morgue. Rivera was fully aware of the shock value of this tale. He claims that he thought cannibalism a way of the future, remarking, "I believe that when man evolves a civilization higher than the mechanized but still primitive one he has now, the eating of human flesh will be sanctioned. For then man will have thrown off all of his superstitions and irrational taboos." Readers may be reminded of the savage satire of Jonathan SwiftJonathan SwiftJonathan Swift was an Irish satirist, essayist, political pamphleteer , poet and cleric who became Dean of St...
's A Modest ProposalA Modest ProposalA Modest Proposal for Preventing the Children of Poor People in Ireland From Being a Burden on Their Parents or Country, and for Making Them Beneficial to the Publick, commonly referred to as A Modest Proposal, is a Juvenalian satirical essay written and published anonymously by Jonathan Swift in...
. - Oswald de AndradeOswald de AndradeJosé Oswald de Andrade Souza was a Brazilian poet and polemicist. He was born and spent most of his life in São Paulo....
's Cannibal Manifesto was an influential work of BrazilBrazilBrazil , officially the Federative Republic of Brazil , is the largest country in South America. It is the world's fifth largest country, both by geographical area and by population with over 192 million people...
ian modernismModernismModernism, in its broadest definition, is modern thought, character, or practice. More specifically, the term describes the modernist movement, its set of cultural tendencies and array of associated cultural movements, originally arising from wide-scale and far-reaching changes to Western society...
, comparing literal cannibalism to the postcolonial reappropriation of European culture, art, and ideas.
In multiple media
- Patrick BatemanPatrick BatemanPatrick Bateman is a fictional character, the antihero and narrator of the novel American Psycho by Bret Easton Ellis, and its film adaptation. He has also briefly appeared in other Ellis novels.-Biography and profile:...
, a fictional character created by Bret Easton EllisBret Easton EllisBret Easton Ellis is an American novelist and short story writer. His works have been translated into 27 different languages. He was regarded as one of the so-called literary Brat Pack, which also included Tama Janowitz and Jay McInerney...
in the 1987 novel The Rules of AttractionThe Rules of AttractionThe Rules of Attraction is a dark comedy and satirical novel by Bret Easton Ellis published in 1987. The novel focuses on a handful of rowdy and often sexually promiscuous, spoiled Bohemian college students at a liberal arts college in 1980s New Hampshire, primarily focusing on three of them who...
, but most famously depicted in Ellis's American PsychoAmerican PsychoAmerican Psycho is a psychological thriller and satirical novel by Bret Easton Ellis, published in 1991. The story is told in the first person by the protagonist, serial killer and Manhattan businessman Patrick Bateman. The book's graphic violence and sexual content generated a great deal of...
, released in 2000. - Sweeney ToddSweeney ToddSweeney Todd is a fictional character who first appeared as then antagonist of the Victorian penny dreadful The String of Pearls and he was later introduced as an antihero in the broadway musical Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street and its film adaptation...
, originally a penny dreadfulPenny DreadfulA penny dreadful was a type of British fiction publication in the 19th century that usually featured lurid serial stories appearing in parts over a number of weeks, each part costing an penny...
, later a musical, about a barber who kills his customers and sells their flesh as food. This was made into motion pictures in 1936 (original story), 1982 (musical), 1997 (original story), and 2007 (musical). - Sin CitySin City (film)Sin City, also known as Frank Miller's Sin City, is a 2005 crime thriller film written, produced and directed by Frank Miller and Robert Rodriguez...
, a film by Frank MillerFrank Miller (comics)Frank Miller is an American comic book artist, writer and film director best known for his dark, film noir-style comic book stories and graphic novels Ronin, Daredevil: Born Again, Batman: The Dark Knight Returns, Sin City and 300...
and Robert RodriguezRobert RodriguezRobert Anthony Rodríguez is an American film director, screenwriter, producer, cinematographer, editor and musician. He shoots and produces many of his films in his native Texas and Mexico. He has directed such films as Desperado, From Dusk till Dawn, The Faculty, Spy Kids, Sin City, Planet...
based upon a graphic novel of the same titleSin CitySin City is the title for a series of neo-noir comics by Frank Miller. The first story originally appeared in "Dark Horse Presents Fifth Anniversary Special" , and continued in Dark Horse Presents #51–62 from May 1991 to June 1992, under the title of Sin City, serialized in thirteen parts. Several...
, features a character named KevinKevin (Sin City)Kevin=Kevin is a character from Frank Miller's Sin City. He is a cannibalistic serial killer under the wing of Patrick Henry Roark.-Background:Kevin came to Roark for religious counsel, having already given into his cannibalism and being wracked with guilt...
played by Elijah WoodElijah WoodElijah Jordan Wood is an American actor. He made his film debut with a minor part in Back to the Future Part II , then landed a succession of larger roles that made him a critically acclaimed child actor by age 9. He is best known for his high-profile role as Frodo Baggins in Peter Jackson's...
who eats the bodies of prostitutes, as well as forcing them to watch as he eats their severed limbs. - The ReaversReaver (Firefly)Reavers are a group of humans in the television series Firefly and the movie Serenity who live on the fringes of civilized space and have become animalistic...
are a group of cannibals in the television series FireflyFirefly (TV series)Firefly is an American space western television series created by writer and director Joss Whedon, under his Mutant Enemy Productions label. Whedon served as executive producer, along with Tim Minear....
and the movie SerenitySerenity (film)Serenity is a 2005 space western film written and directed by Joss Whedon. It is a continuation of the short-lived 2002 Fox science fiction television series Firefly, taking place after the events of the final episode. Set in 2518, Serenity is the story of the captain and crew of a cargo ship...
.