Category: Unit 06

The topic of horror films is interesting topic to research as this genre is not one of my top preferences. The resource that I found is a secondary resource that identifies, why are people intrigued with horror films. This is was very interesting read as I too am interested in why people so fascinated with the horror film features, contrary to a comedy where people get the pleasure from laughter. According to a psychology study, It is our survival instinct that triggers us to be feared. According to a research study from Christof Koch, when our right side of brain is developed, our minds “…fear learning, responds more vigorously to images of animals than to images of people, landmarks or objects even though those are much more dangerous in our civilized world” (FilmmakerIQ), which explains why we are more scared of snakes or animals with large teeth, even cannibalistic movies as well. This article I believe relates back to Carrol’s article, because of explaining the nostalgia that people get when watching something horrifying. It answers Carrols question, “how does it give us pleasure or why does it interest us?” (carrol 276).

The next article I found was an interesting ‘ehow’ on how to analyze horror films. I found it interesting how the article gives detailed ways to analyze films and what to keep an eye out for. As a non-horror film fanatic, I was pretty interested in reading what the article had to say and the different types of horror films. For example, the first step to look out for when watching a film is to determine what type of horror will it. Will it be natural, supernatural, or human or not, you’ll then be able to explain what kind of horror is happening,” (eHow). This article supports Carrol when he states “Thus, to a large extent, the horror story is strictly curiosity driven.” (carrol 279) By the reading through the rest of the eHow article, you’ll be able to analyze and better critique the next horror film you watch.

 

Reference:

Carroll, N. (2002). Why Horror?. In Neill, A. & Riley, A. (eds.) Arguing About Art: Contemporary Philosophical Debates (2nd ed., Chap. 17). New York, NY: Routledge.

eHow, contributer (2015) “How to analyze Horror Films”. http://www.ehow.com/how_2082732_analyze-horror-movies.html.

FilmmakerIQ.com., (2014). ‘Psychology of Scary Movies’ . Retrieved February 16, 2015, from http:http://filmmakeriq.com/lessons/the-psychology-of-scary-movies/

 

 

 

 

Before this assignment, I had never seen Buffy the Vampire Slayer which made me confused through some scenes and character roles. While I was watching this episode, I wrote down memorable scenes and how the music would play an important role of how it would play into the outcome of the scene.

Non-diagetic Sound

In the beginning of the show Buffy has a dream that she was in a building or house I believe and she sees a girl holding a box. During this, there is a heavy tone of mood music that is setting a mood that Buffy may be in danger. In this example, it plays a crucial role not only because of the box that was in the dream is of importance later in the show, but because it is the opening scene of the show and sets a mood for the show entirely.

Diegetic Sound

Towards the 2nd half of the show, all the civilians in the city go mute and are unable to speak. This part of the show, it all becomes a diegetic sound. An example that stood out to me, was when the men in suits are chasing Buffy through the dorms and campus. She’s unable to speak, but uses sounds to attempt to alarm people to be alert. I chose this example because it was at about the climax of the episode when all sounds are more ambient and people are unable to speak.

Mise-en-scene

I don’t have an exact example, but would like to talk about the scenes where the men in the suits are around the city to collect hearts. The camera angels and displaying visuals for the viewers to view are critical to set to set the mood. The horror that the men in suits instill is due to the visuals. The actors performance are parallel to this as well as they are to be afraid and acting terrified. During these scenes, diegetic sound is present as well and helps to amplify the scene.