Original Discussion Post:

After reading Noel Carroll article about why horror we see the usages of why people enjoy horror even though it can be brutal and terrifying to watch. For some reason people enjoy being scared by watching horror film. The fact that people are becoming scared by watching something on a TV is very intriguing. It is also in most cases unexplainable why people feel this way. Many people have done research on the situation and have come up with some answers to why people enjoy fear and horror. Noel Carroll believes the horror stories are “driven explicitly by curiosity. It engages its audience by being involved in processes of disclosure, discovery, proof, explanation, hypothesis, and confirmation” (Carroll, N pg 279). What this is saying is that the whole aspect of being entertained is what make horror so appealing. It is able to full grab one’s attention in ways that other film cannot. Suspense is used by a lot of horror films. I has the effect on people to the point that they are jumping out of their seat.

One of the articles I chose to support and go further in to detail about what Noel Carroll wrote has to do with the psychology behind fear and grief. The title of the article is called Can fear and grief be pleasurable? In this  article the author mentions how horror can be consider pleasurable because the person watching is totally safe. Since they feel that aspect of the horror they can then enjoy watching it instead of feeling pain. The author states “The crucial thing, according to theories of aesthetic distance, is that the audience identifies with the players, and feel their emotions, but at the same time realizes that they are safe in the theatre” (Scheff). I would definitely agree with this statement because no one would actually enjoy feeling life horror that is depicted in horror movies. The way Scheff describe the aesthetic distance makes a lot of sense to why people can enjoy watching horror.

Another article that I found to be useful in relation to Why Horror? was from the horror film history article. This article was called Horror Films: Why We Like To Watch and it also brought up some interesting points about why people enjoy it. The article states that horror movies “deliver thrills by the hearse load, as well as telling us stories of the dark, forbidden side of life and death”(Wilson). This means that most human in one way or other like watching death in some aspect. They also like to see how other would react if they were in a real life horror story. Even though these story’s normally aren’t true that, people like watching supernatural terror that should be possible in real life.

I find it funny how people enjoy watching horror movies. I enjoy watching horror movies now but when I was younger I hatted  these kinds of movies. As a little kid I would have trouble sleeping after I watched a horror film. This isn’t the case for most people, but horror story seem to always stick in my mind like it going to actually happen. I couldn’t watch people tortured, for some reason that just drove me crazy. Now I enjoy  horror movies that have good plots. i don’t like to watch the corny movies becasue they just seem stupid to me. If its a good horror movie like the The Exorcist.

Reflection:

The purpose of this assignment was to explore the psychological and emotional curiosity for and impact of horror art on individuals and society

After reading the previous post about horror I realized that I am very picky about the kind of horror film that I actually enjoy. At my current i can enjoy a good scare becasue it is a change in pace throughout my normal life. When I was a child that wasn’t the case. I didn’t enjoy watching theses horror film becasue I would have nightmare of the film coming to life. The reason that people enjoy horror film will always be a mystery becasue I don’t know anyone who would want a horror story to actually happen in real life.

The article that I looked up tried their best to explain how people love to watch horror films. One article I feel like gave a pretty good example of why people enjoy these films. The article stated, “The crucial thing, according to theories of aesthetic distance, is that the audience identifies with the players, and feel their emotions, but at the same time realizes that they are safe in the theater” (Scheff). This assignment was very intersting to write about becasue I never really thought about why people enjoyed horror film so much. Now I have a better understanding of what is going through peoples minds when they see a horror film.

Future:

For the future I will continue to enjoy horror film even though it will probably be the first movie I would choose to watch. It is fun to watch these kinds of movies with other people becasue it is funny watching everyone’s reactions. Hopefully, Hollywood will continue to make classic horror movies that can become classics.

Bibliography:

Carroll, N. (2002). Why Horror?. In Neill, A. & Riley, A. (Eds.) Arguing About Art: Contemporary Philosophical Debates (2nd ed., pp. 275-294). New York, NY: Routledge.

Scheff, Thomas. “Can Fear and Grief Be Pleasurable?” Psychology Today: Health, Help, Happiness + Find a Therapist. N.p., 16 Feb. 2010. Web. 11 May 2014.

Wilson, Karina. “Horror Films: Why We Like To Watch.” Horror Film History — Introduction. N.p., 11 Aug. 2008. Web. 11 May 2014

Original Discussion Post:

In the Video Buffy The Vampire Slayer we see the uses of Digetic Sound, Non-Digetic sound, and Mise-en-scene through out the episode. The beginning of the episode starts with Buffy daydream an interesting affects when she dreams of kissing a man. This was a good example of Mis-en-scene because the whole scenario of a classroom completely changes. The lighting in the classroom become darker and the classroom become completely empty. The entire set of the episode begins to change from a classroom to some sort of church looking place with a statue in the background. Lastly when the man touches Buffy’s shoulder his costume changes into a vampire. The costume change definitely contributed to the aesthetic of horror because it came out of no wear.

We see the use of Digetic Sound near the same scene of the Mise-en-scene when Buffy hear the sound of some sort of instrument that is playing down the hall. This shows that music is represented as coming from instruments in the story space. We later find out a little girl voice sing some sort of scary song. This is where the sound presented as originated from source. Also the sound of the girl started off screen and later on became on the screen. This was not as scary as the Mise-en-scene because the girl seemed to be harmless though she did say some pretty disturbing things.

Lastly we see the use of non-diegetic sound when the characters are sleeping and there are sounds coming out of the people’s mouths. When the little box become open we hear voices whispering coming from people who are sleeping. This is an example of non-diegetic because the sound isn’t visible and it is coming from the outside story space. This does add some sort of aesthetic of horror because the voices aren’t coming from anywhere.

Reflection:

The purpose of this assignment was to explore the psychological and emotional curiosity for and impact of horror art on individuals and society, analyze the unique aesthetic qualities of horror art, an understand and utilize some basic principles of film and television analysis. After learning the terms mise-en-scene, diagetic sound, and non-diagetic sound I noticed that sounds and images play a big role in make suspense in a horror film. The purpose of adding these traits in to a film is what keep people so attracted and intrigued.

I typically love horror movies because it always keeps me on the edge of my seat when I’m watching. It is very hard to explain how ” the pain of suspense and the irresistible desire of satisfying our curiosity, when once raised, will account for our eagerness to go quite through an adventure” (Carroll pg 278). I found the episode of Buffy the Vampire Slayer to me very useful and accurate in the description of the three terms. In the very first scene of the Buffy episode, one can argue that they were able to include are the aesthetics of horror into the first 5 minutes.

Future:

In the future, When I watch any horror film I will now constantly notice the art of using mise-en-scene, diagetic sound, and non-diagetic sound. When these qualities are brought up in a film I will be sure be on the edge of my seat because I will know that something crazy is a bout to happen.

Bibliography:

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.