Article 1. (The Phycology Behind Why We Love Scary Movies)
In this article the author Kaitlin Vogel defines three different reasons that identify why do we love horror even with the “disgust” we identify them for. The first reason that is identified by Vogel is as she calls it “The Excitation Transfer Process” in this process as Vogel identifies that “a person heart rate, blood pressure and respiration increases after viewing a frightening film” (Vogel). In this process she further identifies “People tend to subconsciously associate their intense physical reaction as a rush of excitement, which keeps them coming back for more” thus, causing a love for horror films (Vogel). Secondly, she identifies “The Tribal of Passage” as another reason for people interest in horror movies. She describes this passage as a way for “Conquering fears by watching a horror movie makes many men feel more masculine and brave” (Vogel). In her explanation of masculine traits that is shown by men at the completing of the film she relates this behavior to that of our ancestral, in which, it was cultural for men to show strength or masculinity by completing chores that shows a clam behavior towards horror. Lastly, she identifies the final reason of our affection towards horror as she explain the theory of “Morbid Fascination”. In this theory, she identifies our lover for horror in terms of curiosity or to understand something that is outside of our understanding. To better explain this theory she quotes “Paul J. Patterson PhD, assistant professor of English and co-director of Medieval, Renaissance, and Reformation Studies at Saint Joseph’s University, humans have an innate need to understand the world around them, which includes our common fears” (Vogel).
In the Article Why Horror? Noel Carroll identifies the major reason for out love for horror as he states “We are attracted to, and many of us seek out, horror fictions of this sort despite the fact that they provoke disgust, because that disgust is required for the pleasure involved in engaging our curiosity in the unknown and drawing it into the process of revelation, ratiocination, etc” (Carroll, 284). In this article, Carroll describes this as the only and primary reason of why we are attracted to horror movies despite the “disgust” we see in them. This reason is thus similar to the reason provided by Vogel in her article The Phycology Behind Why We Love Scary Movies. As according to her in her final reason she identified the attraction of horror towards Morbid curiosity, which is pretty much what Carroll, is pointing out in his article. However, a notifying fact is Vogel points out three different reasons for affection towards horror while Carroll is centered on the notion of curiosity in his entire article. Though he identifies different versus of the paradox of horror but they were still centered on the notion of curiosity.
Article 2. Horror Movies: Why People Love Them
In this article Leslie Fink also tries to explain why we are attracted to horror movies and thus also identifies three reasons for this affection. The first reason as Fink identifies is “Desired Effect” in this effect she identifies multiple reasons of why one is attracted towards horror. In most of this reason the common sense present is the reason for one to experience horror by their will, as she explains thought their reason differs, as for some is the adrenaline rush and for other is access threat level or masculinity. The second reason identified by Fink is the desire for “Just Plain Suspense” in which, she identifies the reason of affection to be primarily imposed by the suspense provided by the film as she explains the build of suspense for Paranormal Activity. The final reason identified by Fink is merely the biological reason of why we enjoy such horror. As she identifies it “In Your Brain” fink quotes “neuroscientist Joseph LeDoux has mapped out neuron by neuron how the brain’s fear system works. He says the complex human brain with its enormous capacity for thinking, reasoning, and just plain musing, allows us to worry in ways other animals can’t” (Fink).
In comparison to Neal Carroll article Why Horror? Fink does identifies many similar ideas as Neal Carroll as in his article he identifies “ Pleasure derived from the horror fiction and the source of our interest in it resides, first and foremost, in the process of discovery, proof, and confirmation that horror fictions often employ” (Carroll, 282). In this Quote, he identify the pleasure from the build of suspense as the characters in such movies or fiction try to discover, proof and confirm, which, is similar to Fink explanation about her reason for “Just Plain Suspense” as she states “With hardly a drop of blood, suspense builds as the demon (not ghost) makes its malevolence known through increasingly threatening acts the couple witness directly and on video replays. Eventually, things get personal between Micah and the demon despite pleas from Katie and Do Not Disturb warnings from a psychic” (Fink). In this quote, she explains the plot of Paranormal Activity, in which she comprehends how suspense builds up in the movie and leads to curiosity as identified by Carroll.
Sources:
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.
Fink, Leslie. “Horror Movies: Why People Love Them.” LiveScience. TechMedia Network, 06 Nov. 2009. Web. 11 Feb. 2015. http://www.livescience.com/7949-horror-movies-people-love.html
Vogel, Kaitlin. “The Psychology Behind Why We Love Scary Movies.” Rewire Me. The Psychology Behind Why We Love Scary Movies Comments. Rewire Me, 29 Oct. 2014. Web. 16 Feb. 2015. <http://www.rewireme.com/explorations/psychology-behind-love-scary-movies/>.