In the introduction to Kendall Phillips’ book, “Projected Fears,” he discusses “horror films that made such an impression on American culture that they became instantly recognizable and, indeed, redefined the notion of what a horror film is.” (Phillips 3). This list of movies includes many favorites, such as Halloween, Texas Chainsaw Massacre, and Scream. Phillips later states his thesis, “...my argument in this book is that these [movies] are the most ‘successful’ and ‘influential’ in American history and that their level of success and influence can be correlated to broader cultural anxieties into which they somehow tapped” (Phillips 3).
Stephen King is a well-known American author of many contemporary horror and science-fiction books. According to King, we crave horror movies because "we're all mentally, ill those of us outside the asylums only hide it a little better" (King, 598).”Why We Crave Horror Movies” was first published January of 1981 in a Playboy magazine, it has now transitioned from a magazine to a college text book. During this time, he proposes three causes of the popular appeal of horror movies. When writing this essay king is conversing with a various group of different people about horror movies. In this paper, Stephen King expresses the rhetorical strategies ethos, pathos, and logos to convey his reasoning that those who engage in horror movies all have
Take the Saw series for example. The Saw movies are some of the most popular horror movies ever made. Ever since the 2004 release of the original movie, people everywhere waited and hoped for another one. Although considered a horror movie, Saw is more like a torture film. It is not just something with clowns and a murderer.
Sara Constantineau’s critical essay “Black Christmas: The Slasher Film Was Made in Canada”, (2011) provides an exploration into Bob Clark's Canadian production Black Christmas, (1974), emphasizing the narrative’s Canadian perspective/sensibility, overtly feminist subtext, revolutionary induction of slasher tropes and conventions, as well as it’s progressive social commentary. In her essay, Constantineau argues that Black Christmas is a revolutionary narrative and the true originator of the (now) extremely popular modern day slasher (a sub-genre of horror cinema). Moreover, she engages in a comparative analysis of Black Christmas with John Carpenter's universally revered slasher Halloween, (1978), to effectively challenge the widespread myth
Early American history consists of many debates amongst the writers of the American Constitution. Mainly due to the fact that the United States was a new territory and citizens had many fears in mind. The controversy over what exactly would be entitled into the document that would become the rule of the land was not nearly unified however, the men all agreed that the Articles of Confederation needed to be abolished by guidelines of better foundation. “Yet they were ‘neither fit for war nor peace,’” Spoke Alexander Hamilton. It was obvious at its surface that the Articles of Confederation were not going to carry out a strong independent nation for generations and generations to come.
The American obsession with spectatorship is a phenomenon created by the inaccessibility of timely and relevant knowledge. This oddly leads to an increase in the demand and likeability of terror. In her piece “Great to Watch”, Maggie Nelson explores the origins of this fascination with horror and gives an
Horror movies are always so intense and suspenseful, the music slowly playing in the background making you more anxious for that one scene that is about to scare you out of your chair. You know you’re
Horror is a genre that is often overlooked due to vacuous reasons. Readers tend to think of vampires or werewolves, but it is so much more. Horror is a genre that if assimilated, can help the reader understand the correspondence to society. The Horror genre has been around since the 1890s when Georges Méliès was credited for creating the first horror film, which emphasized the idea that horror films have a deeper meaning. In Georges Méliès famous short film, Le Manoir du Diable, or The Haunted Castle, the main character confronts Satan and has nowhere to run.
Beginning with Psycho (1960), American culture has been obsessed with the gender implications of horror films. Feminists and non-feminists alike have explored the meanings of the roles of different women in horror films ranging from slasher and stalker movies to possession movies. What does this obsession reveal about our social values and our society’s fears? Prior research has focused on the feminine being portrayed through one of two major tropes: the final girl or the monstrous girl. These tropes have traditionally been seen as two very separate entities, each symbolizing differing views of femininity.
The concentration is on comparing and finding the changes that history made to this movie genre, especially considering the gender roles. Results will clearly explain the psyche of society in two different periods, which confirms that people reflect the movies as movies have an impact on people. The Introduction It is often said that the element of surprise makes the movie more interesting and leads the plot. There are many masters of storytelling
"Looking At The Monster: Frankenstein And Film." Critical Inquiry 24.1 (1997): 133. Academic Search Complete. Web. 20 Apr. 2016.
For years, with its phenomenal success as a midnight movie, The Rocky Horror Picture Show has had an ever-growing cult audience. The film continues to be viewed by critics and audiences as the ultimate theatre experience, which has drawn a recurring audience of cult film followers year after year. More than just a movie, The Rocky Horror Picture Show (RHPS) has become a community of cult film freaks: the creative, the beautiful, the lovers and the lost. Despite the show’s success as a play and then initial failure when produced as a mainstream film, RHPS has become a successful cult classic due to its strange and unusual theatrical display and the films blend of visual and verbal elements.
The Cultural Influences in Japanese Horror Film and Its American Remake (A case study of Ju-On: The Grudge (2002) and The Grudge (2004)) Abstract: Hollywood has produced a number of remakes of Asian horror films, especially Japanese horror films. As the remake is embodies the cultural aspects or American point of view, this research is conducted to see the cultural differences between Japanese horror film and its Hollywood’s remake. Using Joseph Champoux 's observational model and David Edelstein’s Hollywood adaptation rules, this research will identify the specific cultural elements in both movies. The result is separated into two subdivision where the cultural aspects of both country is depicted in both films; the clear explanation of the cause of
This hasty generalization of the genre of horror as a whole does not save any emotional value to the sentence now. King is unmindful that not every horror film aims to scare or entertain its viewers in the same way, discrediting himself at the same
However, film critic, Robin Wood, argues that ‘since Psycho, the Hollywood cinema has implicitly recognised horror as both American and familial’ he then goes on to connect this with Psycho by claiming that it is an “innovative and influential film because it supposedly presents its horror not as the produce of forces outside American society, bit a product of the patriarchal family which is the fundamental institution of American society” he goes on to discuss how our civilisation either represses or oppresses (Skal, 1994). Woods claim then suggests that in Psycho, it is the repressions and tensions within the normal American family which produces the monster, not some alien force which was seen and suggested throughout the 1950 horror films. At the beginning of the 60’s, feminisation was regarded as castration not humanization. In “Psycho” (1960) it is claimed that the film presents conservative “moral lessons about gender roles of that the strong male is healthy and normal and the sensitive male is a disturbed figure who suffers from gener confusion” (Skal, 1994). In this section of this chapter I will look closely at how “Psycho” (1960) has layers of non-hetro-conforming and gender-non conforming themes through the use of Norman Bates whose gender identitiy is portrayed as being somewhere between male and female
