The Myth and Meaning of Snuff Films
By Janine Peterson

The girl, lured by fame and fortune, moves to the city. She is kidnapped, raped, tortured, and murdered on camera. The movie sells on an impatient underground market. The movie is a snuff film.

What is snuff?
A snuff film is a pornographic film that ends with a murder. Some say any film that captures a death on video is a snuff film. But the story that frightens people is that there exists a group of people who rape and murder in order to sell the video. The movie is the motive for the murder. Some serial killers made videos of their victims, but this isn't as frightening as the idea that someone will rape and murder simply for the sake of creating a video to sell.

Don't let evidence stand in the way of a good story...
No law enforcement agency has found any evidence of the existence of even a single snuff film, much less a vast underground network that devours children and runaways to churn out videos for those rich and perverted enough, to enjoy them. Ken Lanning, a cult expert at the FBI training academy at Quantico, Virginia, says, "I've not found one single documented case of a snuff film anywhere in the world. I've been searching for 20 years, talked to hundreds of people. There's plenty of once-removed sightings, but I've never found a credible personality who personally saw one."

Filming a murder is risky - it takes time, people, effort, location, lighting. Why would someone risk jail time for murder when technology can realistically simulate violence? Violence in rated R movies isn't real. Still, people believe snuff is real.

What are urban myths?
Traditional myths are narratives that teach lessons about morality or culture. Today, traditional myths have been replaced by what we call urban myths or urban legends.

Urban myths spread by word of mouth, email, websites, and poorly fact-checked books and magazines. Urban myths can entertain and warn of the dangers of modern society.

Myths include the one about alligators living in the sewers of New York City, the lady who wanted to dry her poodle and put it in the microwave, and the woman who died after falling asleep in a tanning salon. These stories "really happened" to someone at least twice removed from the telling. Some people believe the stories; some don't - the debate over legitimacy is part of the modern ritual of telling the story. The story of snuff, popular despite lack of proof, is an urban myth.

The story of snuff contains a slight twist: the actual narrative is largely left to the imagination. People simply say, "Snuff films are real; I know a guy who knows a guy who's really seen one." More rare are stories that actually chronicle the making of the film and give even shadows of characters. The lack of detail is frightening because we don't know who is creating these films or so whom to fear.

Who else tells us about snuff?
This myth is used by diverse groups of people for many political or personal ends.

The entertainment industry has capitalized on the mystery surrounding snuff with movies such as the original "Snuff," "Faces of Death," and "8mm". The film industry did not create America's fascination with death - a desire to witness death has existed since the Coliseum in ancient Rome. "Snuff", released in 1974 and directed by Michael Findlay and Roberta Findlay, was a remake of a South American film entitled "Slaughter" (1971) and advertised an onscreen death. "Faces of Death" contains short scenes that are supposedly videos of people being killed and videos of autopsies. "8mm" documents an imaginary private investigator tracking down the origins of a supposed snuff film.

Moralists also have made use of snuff to condemn pornography. Feminists like Catherine MacKinnon, a law professor at the University of Michigan; claims snuff is the logical extreme of pornography. A woman is completely objectified through rape and murder. MacKinnon, like many of her contemporaries, condemns the FBI's investigation as incompetent because it has turned up no evidence of snuff films. MacKinnon says, "My opinion is completely to the contrary to the FBI's. I know snuff films exist." But when pressed for evidence to support her claims, she says, "To divulge anything would jeopardize my own investigation".

Other moralists use the rumors of snuff to condemn the rich or capitalism. Many rumors of snuff films place their origins in Central or South America or in Southeast Asia, where sex tourism is strong and respect for life is low. The movie "Snuff" advertised itself as "The film that could only be made in South America, where life is cheap." The recent "8mm" condemns materialistic corruption: a man pays a million dollars to have a young runaway murdered. Why? He already knows he can buy the services of people; he learns he can also buy murder. The myth of snuff condemns what some see as the logical extreme of capitalism, by citing men who would rape and kill just for money. This is illogical - the risks outweigh the benefits. But the critique of money and capitalism is there nonetheless.

Conspiracy theorists have also latched onto the snuff mystique. They like to the idea that an underground network is churning out these films, unbeknownst to the government. The killers are not psychopaths. They are intelligent and capitalistic opportunists. They blend into society and are never caught. "8mm" demonstrates this in one of its final scenes. The star of the snuff film is finally at the mercy of the main character, who orders the murderer to remove the leather mast he wears to conceal his identity. The killer's face is slightly pudgy. He has thinning brown hair, and his squinty eyes seem smaller when he puts on a pair of eyeglasses. We could walk past him and not even notice him.

The myth of snuff also serves to keep difficult sections of the American population under control. Parents sometimes tell gentler versions these stories to frighten their children into not leaving their parents' sight, making the parents' job of supervising the children easier. It also warns possible runaways that living on the street can be dangerous. Finally, the myth warns young women who might want to begin a career in pornography before going into acting that the porn industry is immoral and untrustworthy.

Do the people that tell these stories actually believe them?
It's safe to assume the entertainment industry doesn't - they just want to tell a good story. Moralists like MacKinnon might believe because it suits their political purposes, despite contrary evidence. Conspiracy theorists like the idea of a huge industry thriving under the government's nose. Parents might use anything from snuff to boogey men to keep their children safe.

No one denies that these films could exist, but the belief is not supported by any proof. This unsubstantiated belief that humans can commit such evils must reveal something about our culture.

What does it mean?
American culture is steeped in images of sex and violence. Snuff simply represents the union of the extremes of these taboos. As Farrel Timlakem, owner of Home Grown Video, says, "I think snuff films will always represent the ultimate taboo. There will always be a fascination, a dark romanticism of the ultimate perversity of sex and death." These films merge our fascination with sex and violence into one story.

The murder is filtered through the video. Most Americans are insulated from death in real life; most of our exposure to death is through movies and television. People die in movies, and there are no consequences. Americans are surrounded by violence in movies but are isolated from the consequences. Psychological distance increases tremendously when people witness an event through a television screen instead in real life. Michael Kearl notes, "Unlike the contacts with real death in the past, media deaths generally do no generate moral reflections and value crystallizations." The watchers can enjoy the film without concerning themselves with the act of the murder. The murder has already taken place, and no action on the part of the viewer can save the woman. Guilt is useless.

The end?
This myth clearly serves different purposes to different people in society, but all its purposes share the thread of protecting someone or a group of people at risk from a vague danger. Some use this myth to protect children while others use it to protect women. This myth also warns of vague dangers lurking in cities. Snuff combines America's insecurity about death with the symbolism of television. Finally, it condemns the extreme of capitalism, by positing the existence of men who would rape and kill for money. The girl killed on video doesn't exist. But America needs her to. That's enough, and the myth remains.

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