AAD250

1. Explore the psychological and emotional curiosity for and impact of horror art on individuals and society
2. Analyze the unique aesthetic qualities of horror art.
3. Understand and utilize some basic principles of film and television analysis.

Artifact #4:

Enjoying Horror

Article 1:

In the article titled “The Psychology of Scary Movies” there are several topics covered regarding scary movies, why we watch them, what drives people to watch them, and the numerous theories about scary movies. For a long time many people believed that it was our right amygdala that triggers our fear responses and for this reason we get a fear sensation when we watch scary or horror movies. However, this is not the case. In fact it is our visual cortex that is firing or actively being used. Moreover, horror movies all possess three primary factors or characteristics. They are tension, relevance, and unrealism. Although this seems to be true for the most part in Carroll’s article, “Why Horror” she states that horror movies are “explicitly driven by curiosity” This idea of curiosity is not really brought up much in the article except when they actually reference Carroll in the “The Psychology of Scary Movies” article. I think that the curiosity factor should also be included as a factor or characteristic of horror movies not just an incomplete theory.

Article 2:

“The Curious Appeal of Horror Movies” is another article that discusses why horror movies are so popular and why people watch them. The scary creatures, suspenseful scenes, and visceral nature are all reasons that should turn away or “alienate” a large number of movie watchers. But this is not the case at all. The article brings up the movie “The Conjuring” to show the success that horror movies have at the box office and the success they have over non-horror movies. Briefly the “Excitation Transfer Theory” is referenced and states that, “viewers who experience fear or anger at the antagonist during a horror movie will feel an amplified positive emotion at the films ending or resolution, no matter the outcome.” In other words, if you sit in a two hour movie that scares you and you have see all the blood and gore then at the end of it all you will feel better about yourself and your current situation. In Carroll’s article she hints at this idea as well. “the disclosure of the existence of the horrific being and its properties is the central source of pleasure in the genre.” She is saying that because the creatures, blood, and horrific images we see during the films this makes us happier and gains pleasure about ourselves. For this reason and many others we will always keep watching horror movies and they will continue to be successful at the box office level.

FilmmakerIQ. “The Psychology of Scary Movies.” FilmmakerIQcom. FilmmakerIQ, 2010. Web. 13 Feb. 2015.

O’brien, Lucy. “The Curious Appeal of Horror Movies – IGN.” IGN. IGN, 9 Sept. 2013. Web. 15 Feb. 2015.

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.

Reflection:

The objectives for this section were more difficult to comprehend and complete. This could include multiple reasons but I think that the most notable reason is that I do not enjoy this type of genre of movies or television. But I chose this artifact because I thought it best represented my knowledge and understanding of this section on horror.

This artifact and the articles it references clearly show and define the psychological and emotional curiosity that horror movies have. The artifact also examines Carroll’s view point on the horror industry and the aesthetic qualities that a horror movie has and how it effects audiences. This is another reason on why I included this artifact into the section of the portfolio.

In the future, I think that the most beneficial area to also discuss with this section was to discuss more about the technical aspect of the horror industry in terms of sound. The non-diagetic, diagetic, and mis-en-scene sound. I think it is fair to say that for the majority of the public these terms and idea of sound are unfamiliar or new to most people. These terms were new to me and I would like to get more in depth with them next time.