Cannibalism

Cannibalism is the act or practice of eating members of one's own species and usually refers to humans eating other humans (sometimes called anthropophagy). Cannibalism has been attributed to many different tribes and races in the past, but the degree to which it has actually occurred and been socially sanctioned is an extremely controversial topic in anthropology. Some anthropologists argue that cannibalism has been almost non-existent and view claims of cannibalism with extreme skepticism, while others argue that the practice was common in pre-state societies.

Cannibalism in fiction

Some examples of cannibalism in fiction are:

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• Classical mythology:
• Thyestes
• Tereus
• William Shakespeare's Titus Andronicus, in which a character is unknowingly served a pie made from the remains of her two sons
• 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, after which he fled the island fearing to be eaten.
• H.G. Wells's The Time Machine, an 1896 science fiction novel features cannibalism by the more advanced species as a means of survival.
• Jack London's White Fang, in which White Fang attacks and devours Lip-Lip, a rival sled-dog.
• Stranger in a Strange Land by Robert Heinlein. Among (non-human) Martians, eating one's dead friends is an act of great respect. Some humans adopt the practice.
• In Soylent Green, a 1973 science fiction film starring Charlton Heston, Edward G. Robinson, and Joseph Cotten, Soylent Green is the processed remains of corpses rendered into small green crackers.
• Secrets, a 1973 TV comedy play by Michael Palin and Terry Jones in which some chocolate factory workers fall into a mixing vat and become part of the confectionery
• The Texas Chainsaw Massacre (1974) and its sequels fictionalize the accounts of Ed Gein, turing the cannibal-murderer into an entire family of psychopaths.
• Hannibal Lecter, a fictional character created by Thomas Harris in the 1983 novel Red Dragon, but most famously depicted in Harris's The Silence of the Lambs, released in 1988, and Hannibal
• Fannie Flagg's novel Fried Green Tomatoes at the Whistle Stop Cafe, in which investigators are unknowingly fed the barbequed ribs of a man whose murder they are investigating.
• Eat the Rich, a 1987 black comedy in which a disgruntled waiter and his friends kill the management and arrogant clientele and then fed the bodies to unsuspecting customers.
• Patrick Bateman, a fictional character created by Bret Easton Ellis in the 1987 novel The Rules of Attraction, but most famously depicted in Ellis's American Psycho, released in 1991
• The Cook, The Thief, His Wife and Her Lover, a 1989 film written and directed by Peter Greenaway
• Delicatessen, a 1991 comedy film written and directed by Jean-Pierre Jeunet and Marc Caro
• Eating Raoul, a 1982 black comedy by Paul Bartel
• Sweeney Todd, a play about a barber who kills his customers and sells their flesh as food.
• The famous writer Lu Xun penned a story the Diary of a Madman in which a madman gradually became convinced that the history of Chinese civilization could be summarized in two words, "eat people", and that his friends and relatives all intend to eat him. Also Auntie Xianglin, a 1918 short story.
• Parents, a 1989 film directed by Bob Balaban about a disturbed young boy who suspects his parents are cooking more than just hamburgers on their backyard grill.
• Ravenous, a 1999 black comedy written by Ted Griffen and directed by Antonia Bird. Based loosely on the Donner Party true story.
• Sin City, a film by Frank Miller and Robert Rodriguez, features a character played by Elijah Wood who eats the bodies of prostitutes, as well as forcing them to eat their own severed limbs.

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• Cannibal! The Musical, a fictionalized account of Alferd Packer's cannibalism written and directed by Trey Parker of South Park fame.
• Courtship Rite by Donald Kingsbury, a Science Fiction novel in which cannibalism is an essential theme.
• The Republic of Wine: A Novel by Mo Yan, in which cannibalism is practiced by officials in modern China.
• Haunted, a novel by American Author Chuck Palahniuk contains several incidences of cannibalism.