The first article I chose is written by Richard Sine and discusses why someone would chose to watch a scary movie. At the beginning of the article, the author describes how there is something peculiar about people wanting to watch scary movies when he says: “No doubt, there’s something really powerful that brings people to watch these things, because it’s not logical…most people like to experience pleasant emotions” (Sine 1). The author then begins to reveal that our brain cannot determine the difference between something scary happening on a screen and something scary happening in real life. In particular, this draws men to scary movies because they want to feel like they have mastered the scariest situation. It is almost like an alpha male complex. Another rational on why people might enjoy watching scary movies is because adults generally do not approve of such movies. This can make the viewer feel rebellious since many people want to do what they are not supposed to. Lastly, there has been a major increase with violence in the media. When people see all this, it does a lot of things to their minds and one of them is making them curious. People become curious with how these events occur and where they take place. As a result, the viewers are able to fulfill this itch by watching horror films.

The last part of Sine’s article matches with what Carroll said in her article on why people watch these types of horror films when she writes, “Thus, to a large extent, the horror story is driven explicitly by curiosity” (Carroll 279). I find it weird and slightly discomforting that the human mind naturally wants to know more about such horrible things.

 

My second article is written by Lauren Suval and also discusses why we are drawn to horror films. Suval starts off her article by telling the viewer that she has a love hate relationship with scary movies. Whenever she is watching a scary movie, she can’t take her eyes off of the screen but at the same time she is really scared. She also knows that after the movie is over she is going to have nightmares. Suval mentions that family members often ask her why she watches them if she knows it will have such a negative cognitive impact afterwards. The author then goes on to tell the reader that she has done some research and she has discovered some of the mains reason are that: “it’s a distraction from the daily routines of life; we want to counter social norms; we seek an adrenaline rush; and we hope to voyeuristically glimpse fright from a distance” (Suval 1). Suval also mentions that some adults may watch horror films because they want to relive the fears they had as a kid and let their imaginations become more active again. These horror films give people the opportunity to do these things while maintaining a safe distance from danger.

In our assigned reading, Carroll mentions that: “Horror stories, in a significant number of cases, are dramas of proving the existence of the monster and disclosing the origin, identity, purposes and powers of the monster” (Carroll 279). Although I think Carroll did not intend it in this context, I think this supports the theory mentioned in Suval’s article that people watch scary movies in order to relive childhood fears. Since many children were once afraid of monsters, by watching a scary movie, people are able to believe again that monsters do exist.

 

References

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.

Feature, R. (n.d.). Why We Love Scary Movies. Retrieved February 16, 2015, from http://www.webmd.com/mental-health/features/why-we-love-scary-movies?page=1

Suval, L. (n.d.). Why Are We Drawn to Horror Films? Retrieved February 16, 2015, from http://psychcentral.com/blog/archives/2014/01/04/why-are-we-drawn-to-horror-films/

When watching a show for entertainment, I rarely notice the effects that go into creating the emotion that I feel; I just feel the emotion. However, I find it very interesting that when you are looking for ways to evaluate a show, things that you never would have notice stand out. This episode of Buffy the Vampire Slayer really supported my opinion on this because right away I noticed mise-en-scene, diegetic sounds, as well as non-diegetic sound. I also noticed than many of these elements occurred simultaneously or right after one another.

One example of mise-en-scene and diegetic sound that stood out to me occurred in the same scene at 2:23. During this scene, a girl is singing a song about death in a creepy looking hallway. The song would represent diegetic sounds because the voice is coming from the character. As for the lighting, it represents mise-en-scene because it is one of the characteristics that you observe during the scene. The reason the hallway gives off a creepy persona is due to the lighting. The beginning of the hallways is the darkest point with occasional lights leading down the corridor where the girl stands at the end. Where the girl stands, the lighting has an effect where half of her body is in the dark and half has a little light. In addition, there is a reflection going down the hallways which gives off the affect that it is night time with a bright moon. When the director shows this, you can make out the words that the girl is sing: “you are going to die screaming but you won’t be heard.” This contributes to the aesthetic of horror because this type of lighting has a persona of being scary, especially when there is a girl standing confidently in the middle of a dark hallway. When the design of this scene is combined with the diegetic sounds of a horrific song, it makes the audience feel tension and wonder what is going to happen next.

A good example of non-diegetic sounds occurs at 13:22. When the scene starts, you can hear spooky music that sounds like deep wind instruments being played slowly. I am not exactly sure why the music feels spooky but the same type of music occurs whenever something bad is about to happen. This type of music represents non-diegetic sound because the music is played to create tension for the audience. In addition, the music adds to the horror in the film because it builds up the viewer’s emotions to the event that is about to occur. This is crucial for a horror film.