Topic: The Aesthetics of Horror
Unit 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.
Mise-en-scene:
Around the 23 minute mark, the setting changes to the clock tower to indicate that it is almost 2am. It then cuts to a door that appears to swing open by itself, in order to show two pairs of legs wearing suits levitating a few inches above the floor, followed by a person walking quickly while crouching. The camera is aimed at the floor in order to hide the upper bodies of the legs, but most of the body of the crouched man. The two levitating figures then float by the clock tower shown previously, joined by others like themselves and the third man out the door. I believe the camera angle was used to show the mysterious nature of the levitating people in order to add horror, as it was followed by a shot that clearly showed the scary face of one of these men in suits as the woman looked out the window. I chose this scene because it seemed to purposely reveal an important amount of uncertainty to the city-wide loss of vocalized communication.
Non-diagetic:
Around the 26 minute mark, one of the characters opened his dorm room door to two of the scary looking suited men, as two of the crouched men in undone straight-jackets hurry in to hold him down. The suited men have closed eyes, and typical horror movie music starts playing. The music picks up in volume and tempo as the character realizes that the suited men are pulling out scalpels to cut him open. This music was from an unknown source that began after the sound of knocking, and drowned out the sound of the crickets that were heard a few seconds earlier. While this music would not be present were something like this to actually happen, the fact that it replaced any sound of talking or screaming added to the helplessness of a person unable to use his voice as these creatures harvested his organs.
Diagetic:
In the scene following the one where the men in suits silently clapped to the jars of hearts, the professor uses a projector to ask questions using transparencies that he had already written on. While fairy tale monsters stealing human hearts would be a terrifying prospect, he can’t speak. The only sounds that can be heard are those of the shuffling of transparencies where he tells the students the story of these strange people. This further emphasizes the helplessness of the people in the town, as they are unable to discuss killing these creatures vocally, instead writing on dry-erase boards about Buffy’s task.
Reflection:
Although I obviously realized the importance of the elements of theatrical settings, learning the terminology and definitions for mise-en-scene, diagetic sound and non-diagetic sound made pay far more attention to these elements while watching TV and movies. Like many people, I recently watched (and thoroughly enjoyed) the first season of True Detective on HBO. I thought that this show did a phenomenal job of employing non-diagetic sound to enhance the viewer’s experience, as much of the show is focused on the investigation of several murders tied to a person or persons involved in the occult. In the past I would have noticed the sounds being used to create suspense or add to the story, but now dig deeper while trying to interpret the message that the producer intends to convey.
In addition to paying more attention to the use of non-diagetic sounds onscreen, I have also become more interested in the ways that mise-en-scene, diagetic sound, and non-diagetic sounds can enhance the viewer’s experience in ways that a book cannot. While I would argue that books tend to do a better job of describing a scene, I find it interesting to compare a show or movie’s use of sound to make up for the lack of written description and/or a character’s thought process. This includes verbalization of thoughts and non-visual sensations, non-diagetic sound, and mise-en-scene elements like costumes.
Learning Goals for the Future:
In the future I would like to compare the strengths and weaknesses of diagetic and non-diagetic sounds while watching TV shows and movies. As a fan of horror shows like The Walking Dead and American Horror Story, I feel that the horror genre relies more heavily on non-diagetic sounds. I also find it interesting that many comedies (such as How I Met Your Mother) rely on the non-diagetic sound of a laugh track while others (such as Arrested Development) do not. In comedies this difference has a noticeable effect on the overall tone of the show, as HIMYM tends to be light and without much subtlety, while Arrested Development is quite dry. I struggle to think of a horror film or TV show that is mostly without non-diagetic sound, but will certainly keep an eye out in the future.