Artifact 5: Enjoying Horror Discussion
Learning Unit Objectives
- Explore the psychological and emotional curiosity for and impact of horror art on individuals and society
- Analyze the unique aesthetic qualities of horror art.
- Understand and utilize some basic principles of film and television analysis.
Original Post
Non-diegetic Sound: When those creepy man is out on street and searching around, dramatic music occurs. I choose this as an example because obviously that orchestra-like music is not a sound whose source is visible on the screen or implied to be to present by the action if the film. From creepy brass instruments sounds when monsters come out attic to the percussion when the African-American lady sees those monsters, those sounds generate very scary effect. Music employed in this scene produces a smoke-like terrifying desperation. And it adds more uncertainty to the midst of despair. The scene that monsters kill an innocent man uses a loud burst sound. It vividly illustrates chaos, struggle and terror. Personally, I think the sounds here are well played, directing audiences’ mood transition with the scary elements.
Diegetic Sound: An example of diegetic sound in this Buffy the Vampire Episode is when the young girl is the crying sound from a woman when she run pass Buffy right before Buffy realizes she and people around her loses their voice. This sound is on-screen and predicts something going to happen in the later story. I choose this specific scene because I found the crying sound is purposefully in contrast to the lost voice of people, which slightly gives some subtle indication of the development of the horror story. In addition, in this scene (before the appearance of that crying woman), there are some other sounds, such as toilet flushing, tooth brushing, which actually makes it seem very normal, but the crying sound gives a transition to the horror part of the whole story. Overall, diegetic sound here is the shadow of the real climax of horror moment, producing a psychologically scary effect.
Mise-en-scene: The scene I choose for the Mise-en-scene is when Buffy screams out with outrage. This return of Buffy’s voice just ends the whole silence of people. In this scene, Buffy sits on the floor and shows angry expression on her face. After her screaming is out of her mouth, those monsters seem not able to bear and right at this moment, the setting changes a bit: the lighting begins to be a little brighter. Then all of sudden, all the monsters’ heads are blew up, and green liquid comes out. The camera has some really quick switches from one actor to another, moreover director zooms in when some intense actions happen. Even if this scene is less scary and is close to the ending, the camera’s position movements, color and lighting change make it full of aesthetic transition. So it successful produces some divisions and levels of horror of the story, which contributes the effect of aesthetic horror of the video.
Reflection
This artifact is a process of analyzing the unique aesthetic qualities of horror art. By examining different film techniques employed in the film, I was able to understand and utilize some basic principles of film and television analysis. This process of paying attention to sound and shoot techniques helped me undersatnd some effects those have on people. For instance, analyzing an example of diegetic sound in this Buffy the Vampire Episode (when the young girl is the crying sound from a woman when she run pass Buffy right before Buffy realizes she and people around her loses their voice) is very helpful for me to undertand the connection between the sound effects and developmenet of the story. It also produce some psychological effect on audiences.
More importantly, this provides a good approach for me to explore psychological and emotional curiosity for and impact of horror art on individuals and society. Why people enjoy watching horror movie when they are so scared of it? This question is very complicated and hard to answer. But with the exploration of the film, I undertand that might just be quality of horror art. In the reading, Carroll holds a different view, unlike Norman, he is satisfied with the cognitive answer. He is seeking a reasonable way to explain “the way in which the artistic presentation of normally averse events and objects can give rise to pleasure or can compel our interests” (Carroll, 2002, p.276). Carroll believes that the pleasure involved is cognitive.
The reason behind the enjoyment of horror films might not be just the cognitive answer, which is just like what Norman said in Why Are There Horror Movies?. Norman claims the theory of “fictionality” and “actuality”. He thinks fictionality leads to the pleasure derived from fear, disgust, anger in art like works. He defines actuality as “ having to decide about acting in response to an emotional stimulus” (Holland, 2010).
Future Intention
In the future, I would like to appreciate more horror films and analyze more techniques the film uses to produce certain effects. I also want to explore more explanations about the reason why people enjoy watching horror films. from multiple perspective, such as physical, and psychological prospects.
Bibliography
Previous Page: Artifact 4: Personal Adornment Reflection
Next Page: Artifact 6: Creative Spirituality Reflection
Subscribe to the comments via RSS Feed