Goals
- 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: HORROR
In an article by Danielle Braff called, “Movies may cause special effects on the body” she goes into great detail and talks about how different movies can cause effects on the body. When looking at horror films Braff talks about horror films by saying, “horror movies tend to be the same people who love to sky-dive, go rock climbing, and try extreme skiing adventures.” (Braff) Basically what Braff is trying to say that people who watch horror films mostly like the adrenaline rush, and will do things that most people wouldn’t do. I would have to disagree with this comment because I personally love horror films, but wouldn’t do extreme skiing or rock climbing. Horror films do cause special effects on the body because when watching horror films especially at times when you know something is going to happen your adrenaline kicks in. This is technically a special body effect, and I guess when looking at it people who like horror films are the same type of people that like adrenaline sort of activities. It is said that if you have heart problems to not watch horror films because of how much harder your heart works due to intense moments in horror films.
This article can relate to our reading of “Why Horror?” by Noel Carroll because in one part when the author defines horror movies they say, “that of explaining the way in which the artistic presentation of normally aversive events and objects can give rise to please of can compel our interests.” (276 Carroll). Basically Carroll is saying the same thing about horror films, and the effect it may have on your body when watching them. I think that Braff and Carroll have the same idea about horror films, and I agree with Carroll that horror films do rise pleasure in people that watch the movie. I think it is always very interesting to see peoples’s perspectives on horror films, because for people its either they love them or hate them. There is never an in between, like there are with other categories of films. I think this is because with horror films it is a different type of category that can’t really be explained. Some people just really don’t like being scared in a movie so they will never like horror films. I think Carroll and Braff could draw great conclusions together because they have the same kind of ideas as one another.
Another article I found called “Why Our Brains Love Horror Movies” by, Sharon Begley she goes into detail and talks about why movies like Paranormal Activity 3 was such a hit in the box office. Begley talks about the age of people who would mostly enjoy horror movies saying, “Teens and twenty-somethings ‘are more likely to look for intense experiences…'” (Begley). I think I would have to agree with this statement because when you go to a movie theater, and watch a horror film you normally never see any adults in the theater because I don’t think that horror films apply to that age demographic anymore. People that watch horror films are looking for that rush, and adults I feel like don’t need to feel that rush anymore. Another thing that I found interesting that this article said was “Horror Movies help young people learn to manage terror. ‘They can either succumb or learn to manage.”‘ (Begley). I found this to be interesting because although I would agree; what about the people that don’t like horror movies as a whole? Are they automatically considered to not be able to manage terror? It was very interesting to read this article because to me it brought up some great points, but also doesn’t take into consideration people that may not enjoy horror films.
Carroll has some great points that seem to back up Begley’s ideas. The first one being, “It is not that we crave disgust, but that disgust is a predictable concomitant of disclosing the unknown, whose disclosure is a desire the narrative instills in the audience and then goes on to gladden.” (284 Carroll). Basically this is saying that we enjoy the gore and suspense of horror films, and we don’t shy away from disgust. It almost draws us in to the movie more especially when it comes to horror films. I think this is what teens and twenty year olds are appealed to because it is something different from any type of movie. Carroll really gives us great perspective on the ideas of horror movies and why it appeals to people, which is also what Begley did as well. Carroll really puts ideas out there that make you think about what horror films, and almost put it in a different perspective for me. I think horror films is a pleasure that certain people enjoy. Horror movies really aren’t for everyone and Begley, Carroll, and Braff all seem to have that same idea.
To me it was very interesting to get perspectives on horror films and to do this weeks assignments because horror films are something I truly enjoy. I think that this weeks assignments has helped me broaden my perspective on horror films and look for more than just the surface of costumes and sounds. I think that horror films although aren’t liked by all people it is a true form of art due to how it hits your emotions in so many different ways. Some of what both authors said I sort of questioned, which I think made this artifact so appealing to use as part of my project.
Carroll, N. (2002). Why Horror?. In Neill, A. & Riley, A. (eds.) Arguing About Art: Contemporary Philosophical Debates (2nd ed., Chap. 17). New York, NY: Routledge.
Braff, Danielle. “Special Effects: Movies Affect the Brain and Body.”Chicago Tribune. N.p., 22 June 2011. Web. 11 May 2014. <http://articles.chicagotribune.com/2011-06-22/health/sc-health-0622-movies-impact-on-body-20110622_1_horror-films-intense-movies-birgit-wolz>.
Begley, Sharon. The Daily Beast. Newsweek/Daily Beast, Oct.-Nov. 2010. Web. 11 May 2014. <http://www.thedailybeast.com/articles/2011/10/25/why-our-brains-love-horror-movies-fear-catharsis-a-sense-of-doom.html>.
Reflection:
This assignment was very interesting because I got to get the perspectives of different people from articles that were posted on the internet. My first article I talked about by, Danielle Braff called, “Movies may cause special effects on the body” where she talks about the different effects different movies have on people. I found this interesting because I would almost agree with what she was saying. She said that “horror movies tend to be the same people who love to sky-dive, go rock climbing, and try extreme skiing adventures.” (Braff). I would almost agree with her because as a horror movie lover I like that adrenaline rush I get when I sit in a movie theater and watch horror films. Another article I looked at was called Why Our Brains Love Horror Movies” by, Sharon Begley, where she goes into detail and talks about why some horror films were such a hit in the box office numbers. I think when Begley talks about horror films and how they are helpful to young people by saying, “Horror Movies help young people learn to manage terror. ‘They can either succumb or learn to manage.”‘ (Begley). I found this point very interesting and sort of question her proof to this, but at the same time I can see how it could help young people manage terror. Both of these articles that I found were so interesting to me especially since horror films are some of my favorite videos to watch.
I chose this artifact as part of my project because horror films are something I truly have a passion for. I have always loved watching them, and read other perspectives on what people have to say about horror films is so interesting to me. People don’t realize all the attention to detail that needs to happen during a horror film, and I think thats what makes them unique.
I chose these two pictures as part of my artifact because these are two of my favorite horror films. I have one that came out recently in The Conjuring that I saw in theaters and I was pretty scared throughout the whole movie. The other picture of a movie called, The Shining is a classic horror film that seems to be liked by a lot of people including myself.
Future Intentions:
I think that in the future I will continue to watch horror films and try to analyze them in a way that we have learned from this class. I will also continue to look up articles that people write about horror films because most of the ideas that the authors bring up are perspectives I never really think of when I watch horror films. I will also continue to develop my knowledge of horror films, and try and watch all of the classics that I haven’t gotten around to watching.
Bibliography
Braff, Danielle. “Special Effects: Movies Affect the Brain and Body.”Chicago Tribune. N.p., 22 June 2011. Web. 11 May 2014. <http://articles.chicagotribune.com/2011-06-22/health/sc-health-0622-movies-impact-on-body-20110622_1_horror-films-intense-movies-birgit-wolz>.
Begley, Sharon. The Daily Beast. Newsweek/Daily Beast, Oct.-Nov. 2010. Web. 11 May 2014. <http://www.thedailybeast.com/articles/2011/10/25/why-our-brains-love-horror-movies-fear-catharsis-a-sense-of-doom.html>.