StudentShare
Contact Us
Sign In / Sign Up for FREE
Search
Go to advanced search...
Free

Analysis of Why We Crave Horror Movies by Stephen King - Coursework Example

Cite this document
Summary
"Analysis of Why We Crave Horror Movies by Stephen King" paper argues that Stephen King is right when he says that horror movies are conservative and reactionary as they help in maintaining the tradition of ‘disgusting the ugly and gory’ and keeps the society from changing…
Download full paper File format: .doc, available for editing
GRAB THE BEST PAPER92.7% of users find it useful
Analysis of Why We Crave Horror Movies by Stephen King
Read Text Preview

Extract of sample "Analysis of Why We Crave Horror Movies by Stephen King"

?Introduction Stephen King, in his essay “Why we crave horror movies,” says that horror movies are conservative and reactionary. He says that horror movies are conservative as they reinforce the tradition of ‘normality’ by making people afraid of the abnormal. By this, he means that by showing fear and disgust at the horror, human beings try to portray and re-emphasize that they are psychologically normal people. It is a long held belief that only abnormal people can get joy and happiness by watching horror movies. People try to display this belief by reacting with horror at whatever gory happens in the horror movies. Hence, King is right when he argues that horror movies are conservative and reactionary as the horror movies show only those things that are acceptable to human limits of goriness and by doing that, prevents the social approach towards horror from changing. Movies as conservative and reactionary King says that horror movies are conservative as they help people to confirm to themselves and to the world that they are ‘normal’ people as they fear and loath things that horror movies show. According to him, horror movies limit their goriness and ugliness by showing only those things which can be digested by human mind. In doing so, horror movies conform to the social expectations and hence, they remain conservative. King also says that horror movies are reactionary as they help people to avoid social change. By that he means that people avoid the social change by refusing to accept their attraction towards the antisocial and gory aspects of their mind. The fact remains that despite of knowing that horror movies are about gory violence, evil spirits, sinister vengeance etc., people still choose to watch the movie. If they had really felt repulsive towards the ugly, gory, violent and disgusting things in life, they would have chosen not to watch the horror movies, which are full of these things. However, horror movies provide only that which can be accepted by the society. Hence, King says that horror movies are reactionary as they oppose social change and reinforces the attitude of ‘normality’ in people. Role of horror movies People find an outlet to their suppressed emotions and antisocial emotions through the horror movie. Their desire to kill, beat, tear apart or bite the hated person is fulfilled through the gory scenes in the horror movies. Horror movies also work as a representation of human desire to know the deeper aspects of human psyche and the universe. Horror movies serve as a path to the dark side of human mind. People who make horror movies are not machines. They are human beings and part of human society. It is obvious that whatever is shown in the horror movies are the things that they have imagined and thought about. The fact is that the gory, sinister and evil things interest and appeal to the human mind. However, in their waking state and to remain ‘normal’, people push these things to the unconscious. For example, the ideas of ghosts, vengeance after death, exorcism, possession by evil spirit etc., have always appealed to human minds. Sadly, they do not approve these things. They say that these are all imaginations and myths. However, innately they are still curious about it and feel that these can be true. Their fear of darkness, fear of closed rooms, fear of heights etc., show that human beings do believe in the existence of ghosts and paranormal. However, their rational mind demands proof and scientific approach. Hence, they do not express their curiosity about the paranormal openly. However, their thirst to know the unknown and their excitement is fulfilled through the horror movies. Horror movies serve the craving to know what happens if there are ghosts or devils or evil spirits. They serve the antisocial aspects of the society and hence, also give an outlet to the abnormal and antisocial emotions suppressed inside the unconscious. By doing so horror movies serve the society as it saves people from exploding their emotions in the society. There are many Hollywood movies which prove that horror movies are appealing as they cater to the hidden desire of knowing the unknown. My opinion In Hollywood industry, movies like ‘Psycho,’ ‘Silence of the Lambs,’ ‘Saw’ etc., which tell the story of crime and psychopaths, were considered horror. The gory violence and the psychic abilities were portrayed as ‘horror.’ However, in recent years, the trend of remaking of Japanese horror films like ‘Dark Water,’ ‘The Grudge,’ and ‘The Ring’ in Hollywood tells a lot about the psychology of the society. First of all, the original Japanese movies have a strong cultural and ethnic influence on their stories. The stories deal with the strong religious and ethnic beliefs that if the spirit of the dead is unhappy, then it comes to take revenge and makes your life hell. Surprisingly, these movies were highly appreciated by the Western audience. The success of their remakes in the West tells that even the West believes in the idea of life after death. In some way or other, these movies deal with a spirit taking its revenge. For example, in the movie ‘The Ring,’ the spirit or ghost of the dead girl works through a cursed video tape to kill people. The girl had been killed by her mother and now she is taking the revenge. It was understood that only Eastern cultures believe in existence of spirits after death. However, the remake and success of ‘The Ring’ in the United States proves that the idea of unhappy spirits taking vengeance and killing people appeals to the Western mind also. It appeals to the craving of knowing the unknown, which is suppressed in their unconscious mind. Conclusion The discussion above shows that the horror movies serve the society by giving an outlet to people’s antisocial emotions. It also serves the society by fulfilling their craving of knowing the aspects of the ‘other world,’ which their rational mind stops them from knowing. Hence, Stephen King is right when he says that horror movies are conservative and reactionary as they help in maintaining the tradition of ‘disgusting the ugly and gory’ and keeps the society from changing. Works Cited King, Stephen. “Why we crave horror movies.” drmarkwomack. n.d. Web. 27 Jan. 2013. < http://drmarkwomack.com/pdfs/horrormovies.pdf> The Ring. Dir. Gore Verbinski. Perf. Naomi Watts, Martin Henderson and Brian Cox. Dreamworks Pictures, 2002. Film. Read More
Cite this document
  • APA
  • MLA
  • CHICAGO
(Analysis of Why We Crave Horror Movies by Stephen King Coursework, n.d.)
Analysis of Why We Crave Horror Movies by Stephen King Coursework. https://studentshare.org/visual-arts-film-studies/1466872-why-we-crave-horror-movies-by-stephen-king
(Analysis of Why We Crave Horror Movies by Stephen King Coursework)
Analysis of Why We Crave Horror Movies by Stephen King Coursework. https://studentshare.org/visual-arts-film-studies/1466872-why-we-crave-horror-movies-by-stephen-king.
“Analysis of Why We Crave Horror Movies by Stephen King Coursework”. https://studentshare.org/visual-arts-film-studies/1466872-why-we-crave-horror-movies-by-stephen-king.
  • Cited: 7 times

CHECK THESE SAMPLES OF Analysis of Why We Crave Horror Movies by Stephen King

The Usage of Camera in Mel Gibson's Brave Heart

This paper depicts the usage of camera in Mel Gibson's "BraveHeart" (1995).... That's a movie where Mel Gibson is present in both sides of camera.... Paper brings out the various usage of camera like: camera angle, camera position and camera movement in that movie.... hellip; It also outlines various camera shots....
6 Pages (1500 words) Movie Review

Alfred Hitchcock's Psycho and the American Horror Film

The following paper “Alfred Hitchcock's Psycho and the American horror Film” tries to analyze the reasons behind the movie “Psycho” turning out to be a benchmark film, not only for its introduction of a new genre but for the presentation of art in such a unique and unconventional manner.... This scene from the movie “Psycho” embellished the presence of a new sub-genre of horror in Hollywood.... It marked the birth of new types of horror films, unknown, unexplored and uncharacteristically entertaining....
4 Pages (1000 words) Movie Review

Analysis of the Heroine of Carrie from the Movie Based on Stephen Kings Book

The movie Carrie is based on stephen king's book depicting a high school girl with telekinetic power.... king's truest sympathies are always with the high school rejects; they are not only victimized by the cruelty of the majority, but because of their status as pariahs they often possess a level of intelligence and sensitivity sadly missing in their more popular peers.... Her only power is her telekinetic ability, and movie eventually arrives at the same point: king seems most unfavorably inclined toward the superficially well-adjusted, popular student with an overly active libido and a underdeveloped value system....
4 Pages (1000 words) Movie Review

Effect of Horror Movies

As the story unfolds, the reason for the dog's reluctance became obvious, that there was something different living in the Full On horror movies Stories of the paranormal are often the themes of horror narratives and they are quite intriguing to many audiences for some reason.... movies are often more powerful in their effects than written stories because the producers and actors help bring to life the characters and images described by the storyteller.... On the other hand, watching movies is more powerful because one does not simply see the scenes but he also hears the sounds that help viewers imagine themselves witnessing the scenes as they happen in real life....
1 Pages (250 words) Movie Review

Horror Films In American Cinema

The appearance of ghosts in real life, their existence, the debate around it horror movies are an all-time favorite for those looking to learn from the world of the unknown that surrounds us.... lthough the 1890s was when horror movies began in cinematic history, it was not till epic creations like Frankenstein, Dracula, Dr.... Additionally, an author of this paper would examine two particular movies: The Evil Dead 1982 and The Evil Dead II: Dead by Dawn by Sam Raimi....
23 Pages (5750 words) Movie Review

David O'Russel's Three Kings to Steven Spielberg's Saving Private Ryan

Such features show that Saving Private Ryan may be the greatest film ever produced about horror and heroism in war situations.... This movie review "David O'Russel's Three Kings to Steven Spielberg's Saving Private Ryan" presents these two fictional American war films that analyze much information by use of the narrative of conflict to describe a study of beliefs and attitudes surrounding military operations....
5 Pages (1250 words) Movie Review

The Movie the Last King of Scotland

This movie review "The Movie the Last king of Scotland" focuses on the film that is primarily based on an acclaimed novel by Giles Foden.... The movie 'The Last king of Scotland' ends in a dilemma leaving its audience with a lot of questions lingering in their heads.... have watched a film called 'The Last king of Scotland,' which is primarily based on an acclaimed novel by Giles Foden.... =the+last+king+of+scotland+screenshot&client=firefox-a&hs=Y04&rls=org....
8 Pages (2000 words) Movie Review

Cinema and Sound: Psycho Movie

It changed the screen and tone of all thriller movies across the globe.... The movie begins in thick sunlight we meet Marion Crane, a secretary with her lover Sam Loomis whom she is madly in love with.... She is very frightened and already regretting why she had stolen the money....
9 Pages (2250 words) Movie Review
sponsored ads
We use cookies to create the best experience for you. Keep on browsing if you are OK with that, or find out how to manage cookies.
Contact Us