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.
This weeks topic was on horror films and why we as humans like them and what about them is scary to us. And to me it doesnt make sense, I don’t like to be scared or the feeling of adrenaline pumping through me while im in the movie theatre. So I went out and looked for articles on what happens in our bodies to make us want to watch the movie.
The first article I read was about why our brains love fear. And in that article they talked about many things that are different between people, first is that our bodies release a different amount of dopamine when we are scared so people who release a lot of dopamine could have a better experience at the movie.”Lots of people also enjoy scary situations because it leaves them with a sense of confidence after it’s over” (Ringo). This is to go back to our primate instincts and say that we get an ego boost out of proving that we are better than someone who is scared by the same movie. The article concludes with a comparison to why some people refuse to see scary movies or go to haunted houses and it could be because of a traumatic experience that they had when they were growing up and saw a movie or went to a haunted house and thought it was real. Our brains develop differently and sometimes when we are young we can’t distinguish what is and isnt real so seeing a monster could have lasting effects on someone. This connects with the topic this week because of how different sounds can have different effects on someone. I would say that non-diegenic sounds have a greater influence on fear on a person than the other two because of the suspense of not seeing the sounds or how film makers these days are relying on the music to foreshadow.
The next article I got was from WebMD and I picked this one because while it is not necessarily a real doctor giving advice, they consult real doctors and therefore it is a secondary source on what is really happening to you. This article was again on what happens to a person when they see a scary movie. “When people watch horrific images, their heartbeat increases as much as 15 beats per minute, Sparks tells WebMD. Their palms sweat, their skin temperature drops several degrees, their muscles tense, and their blood pressure spikes” (Sine). So when we see a movie we have the same bodily reaction as if we were in the situation, but the lasting effects arent the same. They go on to say that we as humans get a confidence boost out of seeing a scary film but at the same time “Cantor suspects that the brain may store memories of these films in the amygdala, which plays an important role in generating emotions. She says these film memories may produce similar reactions to those produced by actual trauma”(Sine). So while we might get an immediate confidence boost and the effects arent the same as if we were actually in the situation, we do retain some of the negative feeling and it could cause some problems in growth.
Ringo, A. (2013, October 31). Why Do Some Brains Enjoy Fear? Retrieved February 15, 2015, from http://www.theatlantic.com/health/archive/2013/10/why-do-some-brains-enjoy-fear/280938/
Sine, R. (n.d.). Why We Love Scary Movies (L. Chang, Ed.). Retrieved February 16, 2015, from http://www.webmd.com/mental-health/features/why-we-love-scary-movies?page=3
Reflection
I chose to study the brain and how it interacts with horror because I think there are people in this world that get a high from watching horror films and I also think that the chemicals released in people are similar to that released in people who are experiencing flight or fight reactions. By doing some research into the topic I learned that there really are people who get that type of reaction when watching horror films, thankfully I am not one of them. By doing this assignment it allowed me to appreciate horror films more and from that understand why they are made and why people go watch the films.
How this assignment helped me fulfill the objectives is by understanding the psychological and emotional responses people have to movies as well as the techniques used by filmmakers to allow people to get that feeling. In Buffy the Vampire Slayer when everyones voices were removed you could really tell that there was supposed to be an emotional response from the audience and to be able to out yourself in that situation and not have a clue for what to do.
Future Goal
I will probably not look into horror very much after this assignment, mostly because I don’t like to be scared and if I were to do more research into horror it would require me to watch more horror films which I do not really wish to do.
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