Enjoying Horror Research

In the “Dead Letter: The Aesthetics of Horror” from The Harvard Crimson Jude Russo opens by discussing a very graphically morbid painting that hangs in a famous museum (Prado Museum in Madrid). The painting is so graphic, it depicts a man eating a baby, that there is a discussion of why did Goya (the artist) even paint it. The painting itself was never meant to be museum art according to the author, but was hung in his house. The author then posses the question “What if he is?” this is asking, “Is it permissible to show something that inspires horror for it’s own sake?” This really asking about the limits of art, and there is no question that horror for art’s sake pushes this boundary. The author then goes on to defining horror in two different ways. He says that it is first, an emotional response to stimulus. The second definition is an extension of this; it is the “genre of art that is somehow connected to this emotion.” This emotion is described as the bristling of the hair on the back of your neck. It is this emotion that people are after when they seek out forms of horror, be it film or other forms of art. The author explains that people have sought to find a more rigorous definition, but this definition is apt. The author then goes on to talk about terror and dread which are used fairly interchangeably. He makes a distinction that “Horror is when you see something, there’s something graphic about it… Terror is when your fear is compounded by your uncertainty and your doubt.” The author goes on to talk about Horror for horror’s sake, that is to say that there is no moral message, and that there is no ethical bounds that the artist is operating under, they are just trying to provoke the desired emotions to create the horror genera and what makes it appealing. He goes on then to talk about the movie “A Serbian Film” which is an incredibly in your face disturbing film, however it is incredibly good at conveying horror and dread and if we do not worry about morals than that is the end goal of the artist. Having said that it does seem a bit off, this position seems to “permit much that should not be permitted so easily” so there is a question of what are the limits of this art and when do we consider ethics.

This question still remains because “There is an instinctive discomfort that arises from the idea that Goya is showing us.” This is the abject, the things that are so outside the norm and outside what we would normally seek out for enjoyment. This creates a drive to then seek this out, like the kid who is told to not take the cookie from the jar, he only then realizes that he wanted a cookie in the first place. We as humans have a strange urge to seek out this feeling of horror and dread because in a way it fulfils our desire to step outside the norms.

 

My second source was from a horror movie aesthetics blog. This blog really described some concepts of mis-en-scene, particularly the use of affects that can help low budget horror movie film makers hide the fact that they are forced to use less expensive makeup and costume. The writer encouraged the use of mis-en-scene concepts with lighting and camera work, like dim lighting, soft focus, and tight framing. The author explains that this forces the audience to “leave the creature’s nature up to our dark imaginings.” This concept is furthered by sounds, which can be incredibly cheap and easy to deploy, and good horror acting and body movement. This article and the blog in general really delves deeper into the concepts of Digetic Sound, non-digetic sound and mis-en-scene that we talked about this week.

 

Together these to articles along with the reading and presentations we have seen this week have really shown how horror for horror’s sake really pushes the limit on what we consider art. I would say it is a non-tradition way of looking at art, but the process of using all of the different techniques and imagery to give the viewer or audience a specific emotion and sense of unease that the artist is trying to provoke. This is the abject that the audience seeks out when they go and watch a horror film. They are seeking out this feeling that is outside the norm, this hair bristling

 

http://www.thecrimson.com/article/2014/10/28/arts-cover-horror-aesthetics/

http://horrorfilmaesthetics.blogspot.com/

Filed under Unit 06 | Comment (0)