Unit 06 Enjoying Horror Research
Article 1
In the article “The Curious Appeal of Horror Movies” by Lucy, O. Brien, the author was thinking that horror should not be a big business, but it actually is making a good profit and is rapidly growing. She also analyzed the reason of why people like horror movies. Firstly, it can provides something that we would not see in our daily lives. Secondly, it brings the experience of thrill with a proper amount and distance. Finally, its expected story makes people feel in control, so they could bravely face the fears it produces and finally turn the fear into positive energy.
Brien was saying that people like to seek for unknown things, so curiosity become the most powerful tool to push people watching horror movie and get enjoyment from it. She stated, “We want to see things we wouldn’t usually see in our daily lives, of course. Curiosity is a powerful emotion. We are drawn to horror, too, because we want to demystify the unknown” (Brien 2013). In the reading “Why Horror”, the author Noel Carrol also provided a similar concept, “the horror story is driven explicitly by curiosity. It engages audience by being involved in process of disclosure, discovery, proof, explanation, hypothesis, and confirmation” (Carrol 279). Also, the horror fiction is a special variation on this general narrative motivation, because it has at the center of it something which is given as in principle unknowable” (Carrol 281). On the other hand, people like to watch horror movie is also because its thrill. Brien in her article compared horror movie with rollercoasters; both of them makes people feel dangerous, but they know they are safe. After experience all the thrills they bring to them, and after facing all the dangerous; the audience’s fear of the horror will turn to enjoyment because it is a challenge for them and they finally conquered the fear. Carroll in her book also suggested horror story set a horrible creature is because the horrible creature can frighten people and can be destroyed at the end; so people can be very nervous or scared in the process of destroying monster and finally enjoy the victory after the monster been destroyed. She stated, “This is why, so often, the real drama in a horror story resides in establishing the existence of the monster and in disclosing its horrific properties. Once this is established, the monster, generally, has to be confronted, and the narrative is driven by the question of whether the creature can be destroyed” (Carroll 281). In conclude, horror can satisfy people’s curiosity, at the same time, it also challenges their nerves in a safe distance so people can enjoy the experience of thrills.
Article 2
In the article “Why Are Some People More Attracted to Scary Movies Than Others Are”, the author writes that life’s colors are fading because of people are growing up. People are outgrow the fears of childhood as they grown up as adult, but horror movie can allow then to revisit the feeling of fear and enjoy the victory of confront fears. Also, he states that people in different age have different acceptance on horror movie. Young people like horror movie and intense things far more than old people because young people are strong and like to challenge themselves, but old people is vulnerable both physically and psychologically, so watching horror movie is a dangerous thing for them. Moreover, male show more bravery than female while watching horror movie, and that is why horror movie is the best date movie; men can show their bravery and protecting women while women screams to get women’s favorable impression.
On the other hand, the author also provide the reason of why people want to watch horror movies, she states, “we go to horror movies (and ride roller coasters), not so much because we like to be afraid, but because we occasionally enjoy getting really excited, having extraordinarily intense or novel experiences. Horror movies are one of the better ways to embrace and sample such experiences” (2011). Therefore, the author suggests that people like to watch horror movie is because they can experience thrills from the stories. On the other hand, Noel Carroll in the reading “Why Horror” also discussed why young people like to watch such scary things. She thinks that “the horror story is driven explicitly by curiosity. It engages its audience by being involved in processes of disclosure, discovery, proof, explanation, hypothesis, and confirmation” (Carroll 279). The statements provide by both the authors are potentially saying the same thing, which is people are attracted by the unknown story and they enjoy the thrills that the stories bring to them. Therefore, we can conclude that horror movie brings people pleasures by letting them involve in the stories to satisfy their discovery spirit and the desire of thrills.
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