Salò: More Than Just Shock Value? Hear Me Out...

Okay, so I just finished watching Salò, or the 120 Days of Sodom and...wow. Just wow. I'm not even sure where to BEGIN. I knew it was gonna be messed up, everyone says it's the most disturbing movie ever, but experiencing it is something else entirely. Like, beyond the obvious depravity (which, yeah, is there in spades), I can't shake the feeling that Pasolini was trying to say something way bigger. My theory – and I'm probably not the first to think this – is that it's a brutal depiction of power structures. The four Dukes, representing these decaying institutions, are completely detached from reality. They literally consume everything, including human lives, just to maintain their twisted version of order. The shit-eating scene? Yeah, it's disgusting, but it's also a visual metaphor for how the powerful force conformity and strip away any semblance of dignity. Think about it, they're literally forcing these kids to ingest their own waste. That ain't just shock value, that's a visual representation of the powerful dehumanizing the powerless. It almost feels like he's saying that the true horror of fascism isn't just the violence, but total and complete control of the human will. And the stories they tell? The narrations? They're literally creating the narrative that justifies the horror. They invent these elaborate tales of perversion and then force the victims to act them out. It's like they're saying propaganda and manipulation are just as much a weapon as physical torture. I was especially struck by the ending – the blase way the soldiers are dancing while simultaneously executing the captives. It's such a chilling image. Like, the banality of evil taken to its absolute extreme. Honestly, I'm still processing. It's definitely not a movie for everyone, and I totally get why people are repulsed (I lowkey wanted to throw up a few times tbh). But I also think there's something deeply unsettling and thought-provoking beneath all the… well, you know. What do you guys think? Am I reaching, or is there something to my "power structures" theory?