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The movie is more a symptom of that technology than an antidote. Scott knows how to push the buttons that make the audience squirm, but he achieves nothing that could not be accomplished equally well by sending electric shocks through a theater's seats. This same ma ipulative technique was apparent in another recent hit, Alan Parker's blood-lusting Midnight Express, and it is no surprise that the directors of both films got their training in TV commercials.
Scott and Parker know too well that if you sell consumers a shiny package, few will question the value of the product inside.