Artifact #5: The Aesthetics of 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 #5: The Aesthetics of Horror

First Article:

Edge Staff (2006). “How to Make Fear”. Retrieved November 8th, 2013, from http://www.edge-online.com/features/how-make-fear/

This article mainly focused on how to make fear. It pointed out ten ideas related to making fear especially in videos or Hallowing seasons. This article used examples from Silent Hill and other horror movies or games to illustrate why people would feel fear and how to build such situations to enhance the horror feelings from the audiences.

Both the reading and this article describe the relationship between fear and curiosity. In the reading, Carroll stated that “Thus, to a large extent, the horror story is driven explicitly by curiosity. It engages its audience by being involved in processes of disclosure, discovery, proof, explanation hypothesis, and confirmation.” (Carroll, 279) Carroll pointed out that curiosity was one of the main factors to drive fear and curiosity actually sometimes replace fear or enhance fear. In the article, it also explained that how curiosity and people’s anticipation would produce impacts on making fear. The article mentioned that in order to make fear, people need to create sense of curiosity and anticipation of fear, which means that when people noticed something strange happen, they would be more willing to find out what happen and they also will produce anticipation of fear. (Edge staff, 1) At this moment, people would be easier to feel fear even they have the awareness of coming fear.

The article also mentioned a point of making fear related to put people into a isolated and unfamiliar situation. In the reading, Carroll described that “However, the horror fiction is a special variation on this general narrative motivation, because it has at the center of it something which is given as in principle unknowable.” (Carroll, 281) Carroll explained how unknown things will create feelings of horror to the audiences. In the article, it also talked about creating sense of isolation and unknown situation will enhance the feelings of fear. The article and reading explained at different approaches on how to create fear, but both of them indicated the effects from curiosity and unknown toward fear.

Second Article:

Dharmbir Rai Sharma, “Fear of the Unknown – or of the Known?”. Retrieved November 8th, 2013, from http://www.trans4mind.com/counterpoint/index-meditation-eastern/sharma5.shtml

This article mainly talks about the relationship between fear and unknown or known things. The article explained why in psychological area, many people believe fear can be created by unknown things. Also, the article pointed out that fear could be also produced by known things. The article concluded that fear could be a combination effects of both unknown and known things and the most effective way to overcome fear is to make the mind quiet and analyze the sequence of events leading to the fear. (Sharma)

Compared with the reading, Carroll also mentioned that fear could be produced by unknown things. Carroll stated that “Of course, what it means to say that the horrific beings is unknown here is that it is not accommodated by standing conceptual schemes.” (Carroll, 283) Carroll also stated that horrific beings are predictably objects of loathing and revulsion is a function of the ways they violate our classificatory scheme. (Carroll, 283) Carroll pointed out that horrific beings are sometimes produced by unknown things, because unknown things usually cannot accommodate by people’s standing conceptual schemes. In the article, it also explained that unknown things would produce fear. It stated that “From a psychological perspective there is a mutual affinity between fear and darkness. Darkness implies ignorance in the sense that we cannot see anything.” (Sharma) People are unknown of what happen in the darkness, so they are fear in the darkness. Both the article and the reading mentioned that unknown things or feelings can enhance fear. However, the article also pointed out that known things sometimes can also produce fear. The author used fear and death as an example. All people know death, but most of people will fear about death. The author pointed out that people do not fear about unknown of death, but fear about loss of known of death. (Sharma) The reading established a good approach on how people fear during horror films and the article actually emphasize the effects toward fear from unknown and known things.

Reflection:

By creating this artifact, I was able to build another viewpoint to see horror movies and approach the inside of those horror moments. Before reading the article from Carroll and creating this artifact, I thought the main reason that why people will feel scared by watching a horror movie was because the story, characters, and musics of the movie produce horror feelings for people. After reading the article and creating this artifact, I started to think about human psychological factors of feeling scared by watching those horror movies. In the reading from Carroll, he stated that “Thus, to a large extent, the horror story is driven explicitly by curiosity. It engages its audience by being involved in processes of disclosure, discovery, proof, explanation, hypothesis, and confirmation.” (Carroll, 279) The horror movie itself is not terrible, but when the audiences engage with those horror movies, they will feel scared by involving with their inside psychological behaviors and the horror factors in the movie. I agree with Carroll that curiosity help horror movies to produce horror feelings to the audiences. When the audiences started to make hypothesis and produce curiosities, they are engaging with the horror movies and they will be easier to produce horror feelings than those people who do not engage with the movies.

In addition, during the process of creating this artifact, I compared with Carroll’s opinions toward horror movies with other people’s opinions. I found both similar and different ideas, but there is one thing that most of articles supported which is the feeling of fear is related with people’s inside psychological behaviors. For example, Curiosity will help to produce fear because people make hypothesis and they actually know that something terrible will happen. Unfamiliar will also help to produce fear, because people will usually feel uncomfortable with unfamiliar things or unfamiliar surroundings and they will get easier to feel scared when they feel things are out of control. By creating this artifact, I was able to think about the relationship between the inside of horror movies and the inside of people’s mind. I also learned a lot about different characteristics of horror movies.

Learning Goals in The Future:

In the future, I will experience more horror movies and continually enhance my understanding about horror movies and people’s psychological behaviors toward horror movies. Also, I want to find out different reactions from different people with difference characteristics such as different age or gender toward horror movies and why people may react differently toward feeling of fear.

Bibliography:

Edge Staff (2006). “How to Make Fear”. Retrieved November 8th, 2013, from http://www.edge-online.com/features/how-make-fear/

Dharmbir Rai Sharma, “Fear of the Unknown – or of the Known?”. Retrieved November 8th, 2013, from http://www.trans4mind.com/counterpoint/index-meditation-eastern/sharma5.shtml

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.

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