Artifact Six: Horror
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.
- Understand and utilize some basic principles of film and television analysis.
Artifact:
How do you react to horror movies? I would be similar to the young boys.
Enjoying Horror Research
For this week’s research project, we were asked to find articles on horror relating to this week’s readings. The first article I chose is titled “Horror Movies: Why People Love Them”, by Leslie Fink, where she beings her article writing how “You choose your entertainment because you want it to affect you. That’s certainly true of people who go to entertainment products like horror films that have big effects. They want those effects”. The article continues by examining what is so enticing to viewers about horror movies, and her main opinion is that “people have the ability to pay attention as much or as little as they care to in order to control what effect it has on them, emotionally and otherwise.” This allows viewers to decide for themselves how frightened they want to be, as Fink states “If you have a good imagination, you can connect to your hardwired fears simply by thinking about a scary situation.” This article emphasizes that horrors are meant as entertainment filled with “big effects”, which is why people are so interested, plus the added ability to mentally build up an even more frightening scene in your mind.
The second article I found was titled “Why We Love Scary Movies”. I found this article off of WebMD, and it goes in depth on the science side of why people like scary movies. The article beings emphasizing males, saying “There’s a motivation males have in our culture to master threatening situations, it goes back to the initiation rites of our tribal ancestors, where the entrance to manhood was associated with hardship. We’ve lost that in modern society, and we may have found ways to replace it in our entertainment preferences.” Males enjoy conquering challenges (such as watching an entire scary movie without flinching, etc.). This plays a large role into society and how, especially amongst kids, there is a unspoken challenge for who has watched the most morbid/gory movies. Another theory mentioned in this article is that people enjoy them because it is a means of coping with their own actual fears. This articles DOES not take the stance that horror movies are good for us though. The article found that “60% reported that something they had watched before age 14 had caused disturbances in their sleep or waking life”. The brain stored memories that lingered when similar settings occurred (such as alone at night in bed, etc). The end of the article had a fascinating quote, writing “The further films go today, the more likely it will be that people will decide that the costs outweigh the benefits. Then they’ll say, ‘I don’t want to see that anymore.” The article is predicting a lowered interest in horror films in coming years.
These readings all tie into each other, for the obvious first reason that these are surrounded by the topic of horror. More specifically, as Carroll’s text is titled “Why Horror?”. Carroll emphasizes that the actual horror is not the main interest, it is how it is worked into the plot. Something Carroll brought up that was not mentioned in the other articles was the processes that attract viewers to these types of movies, such as “disclosure, discovery, proof, explanation, hypothesis, and confirmation” (pg. 279). Carroll also goes a new direction when she begins talking about art-horror, and our fasciation as a species of “anomalies”.
The quote that ties these articles together is when Carroll writes “One wants to gave upon the unusual, even when it is simultaneously repelling” (pg. 286). All three texts discuss the attraction or interest, and whether they argue that it is healthy or not, the fact remains that we find something intriguing about horror and frighting objects/sounds/videos. Also, the idea that the brain and mind creates a greater dramatic effect than the movie itself. Each text uses its own example of initiating horror, such as the lingering thoughts after one watches a horror movie, the smallest noises or occurrences trigger the sense of terror arisen from the horror that you watched or read.
From my personal perspective as someone who went through a phase of loving scary movies, I think the main reasons I enjoyed them so much a few years back was because of the challenge mainly. The challenge of watching the entire movie and then trying my hardest not to psych myself out and be frightened all night long. Then, after I realized that scaring myself was a waste of time, I now will dabble in horror films once in a while, but by no means frequently. I do agree with Carroll on how horror films have a series of processes, and once you start a horror film, you have to finish so you can see all of those processes through. Horror certainly adds an element of surprise and excitement, and I am glad I got to divulge more into the details of types and sounds and everything that one needs to know about the topic of horror in art.
Reflection:
After learning about what diegetic sound is (watch video below to learn more!), I am an advocate that horror movies would be nowhere as scary as they are because of diegetic sounds. Half of the reason people plug there ears but keep watching when the music begins and the main character is slowly walking into a room is because you are expecting a long “BANG!” or some sort of sound to explode through the speakers as someone pops out of nowhere. I also learned of mise-en-scene and how the props, lighting, costumes/makeup all set up the movie to be as dramatic and intense as it is. Sound is critical, but so is creating an eery lighting, or having a person look as though they are gushing blood thanks to incredible makeup skills.
I think the objective to “Explore the psychological and emotional curiosity for and impact of horror art on individuals and society” was discovered through the content for this week. My research essay divulged further into the specific reasons, but the one that I could relate to is the fact that in an odd way watching horror movies can make your actual life less daunting. Having an escape and watching something so intense that it takes your mind off your real life can sometimes have a positive impact, and lead to less stress (although who doesn’t get a bit stressed watching horror films?!)
Future:
Looking back, I have unfortunately (or fortunately) grown out of watching horror movies. When I was young, the fact that it was scorned upon to watch them, and scary, made them very intriguing. Now that I am watch whatever I want, I have learned that I ultimately do not enjoy them like I thought I did. Occasionally it is fun and entertaining, but I think looking forward I will continue to stray away from horror films, although now I can appreciate the concepts and artistic value of them. When I do eventually watch a horror film, I will be aware of diegetic, non-diegetic, mise-en-scene, and other film concepts that make me have a more critical eye of what I am watching.
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