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.

Original Post:

The first article I found talks about the reasons why some people love horror movies. First, it explains that horror movies make people’s heart rate and blood pressure increase and this feeling excites people. Scary movies cause people to experience real fear in a small form. People enjoy this. The article then goes on to talk about why some people don’t enjoy horror movies. It is explained that some people are simply wired differently. Some enjoy the thrill of scary movies while others despise it and can’t bear to watch. In addition to this, the article discusses the idea of individual empathy. It is said that people who enjoy watching scary movies have less empathy. Those who are empathetic don’t like horror movies because they respond negatively to watching others suffer.

In the reading this week, Caroll says, “There appears to be something paradoxical about the horror genre. It obviously attracts consumers; but it seems to do so by means of the excessively repulsive” (Page 275). Horror films attract people, but not in the way that people are usually attracted to things. In fact, it is almost the opposite. With horror films, people are attracted to a feeling they don’t like. Naturally, the human body doesn’t like being afraid. However, people seem to be drawn towards scary movies that instill fear in them. In the article I read, it responds and builds on this idea: “One reason for the appeal is how you feel after the movie. This is called the excitation transfer process. Sparks’s research found that when people watch frightening films, their heart rate, blood pressure and respiration increases. After the film is over, this physiological arousal lingers.” Not only do scary movies frighten people while they are watching them, but this excitement and fear stays with a person even after the film ends. Many people can relate to this. After you finish watching a scary movie, you don’t want to be alone. You are scared to walk into a dark room, or you may even be afraid that there is someone hiding under your bed. These are the feelings that the article is talking about. Horror movies create these feelings that linger with people.

The second article that I found first explained what horror was. The article then went on to describe several theories about why people enjoy horror. One theory said that watching violent horror movies or playing violent video games helps people to release pent up anger that they may have. Another theory said that people like horror movies because they enjoy watching people get killed when they deserve it. One more theory suggested that the negative feelings created by the horror movie actually intensify the positive feelings when the hero triumphs in the end. These are just a few of the theories that were included. The article then went on to talk about four different categories of horror watching. These include gore watching, problem watching, independent watching, and thrill watching.

In the reading, Caroll said “Monsters arouse interest and attention through being putatively inexplicable or highly unusual.. Monsters are, then, natural subjects for curiosity, and they straightforwardly warrant the ratiocinative energies the plot lavishes upon them” (Page 281). People are drawn to monsters because they are foreign and unusual. People are very curious about them. In the article I found, it builds on this idea and explains further why people might be attracted to monsters: “The last factor, which may be the most counter intuitive is unrealism… we all know at some level that what we are watching is not real.” This is explaining why people are able to tolerate horror films. We all know that they aren’t actually real. This relates back to the fascination with monsters that Caroll was talking about. Everyone knows that these horrible creatures are not real; that is why we are drawn to them and curious about them. These monsters excite people when they see them on the screen. If these monsters were actually real, people would not have the same feelings towards them.

Reflection:

This assignment was fun for me because I personally enjoy horror and horror films. When I was younger, I always steered clear of anything scary. However, as I got older, I found these creepy and scary films to be intriguing. This assignment really helped me to learn exactly why people enjoy horror.

This assignment also helped me to delve deeper into the aspects of horror. I learned about the “unique aesthetic qualities of art”. For example, I learned about diegetic and non diegetic sound. It was fun for me to analyze a film and the aesthetic qualities of art that it had to make it scary.

Future Goals:

In the future I think this will help me to appreciate the horror films I watch even more. I will now be able to think about all of the aesthetic qualities of art that are within these films and how they cause people to enjoy them.