View my original post here.

Objectives:

— Explore the psychological and emotional curiosity for and impact of horror art on individuals and society

— Analyze the unique aesthetic qualities of horror art

Reflection:

Horror is a very interesting genre.  As humans, we are simultaneously drawn to horror and avoidant of horror at the same time.  In my original posting, I quote several different authors, which I won’t go into full detail about, but they had some very interesting ideas.  I personally  think that horror is a good genre to have.  There are a lot of scientific benefits for watching horror movies and shows, and they might surprise you.  One theory is that people are happy to be unhappy, which didn’t make sense to me initially, but now it does.  People who are thrill seekers and horror buffs are happy to be scared.  The fearful feeling they get gives them a boost of adrenaline, which they enjoy, and after the movie is over, they feel a sense of relief.  That relief is caused by chemicals being released in their brains that make them feel happy.  This was interesting to learn for me because I have definitely experienced it myself before.

This assignment really opened up my eyes to the whole idea of horror as an art form.  The aesthetic qualities of horror are entirely different from any other genre.  It isn’t about all the blood and gore and violence that we associate horror movies with.  It is about the atmosphere.  It’s about the suspense, and the curiosity that we have about the monster.  The monster could be a horrifying, person-eating slimy mess, but that isn’t the point of our curiosity.  We want to know where it came from.  We want to know how it is alive, where it’s from, what it is, if there are more, how it works… We want to know the unknown.  That is what keeps us interested and entertained.  In horror movies, this is done through something that is called “iterated disclosure,” which basically means we learn a little at a time until we finally know everything.  It keeps us on the edge of our seats, learning bit by bit through out the movie until we finally have the closure we need at the end.  This is a great method of story telling, and it definitely works.

Future:

In the future, I think I’ll experiment more often with the benefits of horror.  Horror is a great way to escape the boring of our own lives and experience something exciting for a few hours, and I would recommend that everyone tries it at least once.  I’ll also be able to understand what is happening and why it’s happening, because I’ll be able to see the different techniques the movie is using to keep me interested.  Overall I have a better understanding of the genre now, and I’ll be able to enjoy it more because of that.