Trashing The Academy: Summary

The horror genre is synonymous with images of terror, violence and human carnage; the mere mention of horror movies evokes physical and psychological torture. As remarked by noted author Stephen King “the mythic horror movie…has a dirty job to do. It deliberately appeals to all that is worst in us. It is morbidity unchained, our most base instincts let free, our nastiest fantasies realized.” (King, 786). At manageable intervals, we choose to live these horrific events vicariously through the characters in horror movies and books as a means of safely experiencing the “what if”. The horror genre allows us to explore our fears, be it spiders, vampires, loss of our identity, or death of a loved, under the most fantastic and horrible

Margo DeMello begins her chapter, Theorizing the Body, by making reference to the history of horror films and their relation to how society interprets the human body (3). I found this aspect to be particularly engaging in that, when examining western culture, a high number of people consume a form of entertainment, whether it be film, television, music or books. With that in mind, it is crucial that one considers how a person is meant to navigate the storylines and imagery presented to us. What subconscious messages are being relayed? What blatant propaganda is being communicated? Mass media is a powerful outlet in conveying ideas and, as DeMello opened her book discussing horror films (one of which she mentioned, I have a scene from tattooed

Stephen King wrote the short story “Why We Crave Horror Films” explaining why our mind gets so excited during horror movies. He continues to make the statement “the horror film has become the modern public lynching” (paragraph 6) showing that no matter what generation a person is in the excitement of gore will always exist. King proves this statement discussing emotions and psychiatric points in his work.

King, Stephen. "Stephen King -- Why We Crave Horror Movies." Scribd. N.p., n.d. Web. 17 Nov.

In the modern movie genre, horror movies accounts for very great proportion of the number of followers. Relevantly, the zombie film genre has been developed into a dominant part of mainstream horror, replacing the previous monster such as vampires and werewolves. In Max Brooks’s essay “The Movies That Rose From the Grave”, he offers his opinion that throughout the process of zombie film transformation, it increasingly captivates viewers while gradually generates the modern horror. Brooks’s essay should be an appropriate inclusion of a college textbook which explains the phenomenon of the “undead explosion” in various kinds of media, proving to the audiences with enthusiasm, interest, credibility and specific examples that zombie culture is resurrecting a formerly obsolete genre.

Quentin Tarantino is well known and often criticized for his depiction of violence in his films. Although at times graphic, Tarantino’s violence holds a purpose. This paper will look at two films, Jackie Brown and Pulp Fiction, and their depiction of violence and the aesthetics used. It will also look at classic film conventions and ultraviolence aesthetics used by Tarantino.

In Stephen King's "Why we Crave Horror", the famous novelist argues for a rather depressing explanation of society's fixation with horror movies. He insinuates today's generation's obsession over gory and demonic storylines is a result of our internal need for violence that must be satisfied. Such claims may shock readers at first, however, King's use of diction, imagery and tone leave us no choice but to agree with his analysis of human behaviour. He uses these rhetorical tools to prove to the naive reader that we truly are "mentally ill".

Many horror films provide their audiences with scares and screams.  Not many viewers follow what kind of model the films follow to appease their viewers.  However, after reading film theorist Carol Clover’s essay, watching one of the films she associates in the novel “Halloween”, and also watching the movie “Nightmare on Elm Street” I say almost every “slasher” or horror film follows a model similar to Clover’s.  The model that is a female is featured as a primary character and that the female tends to always overcome a situation at some point throughout the film to become victorious.

During 1981 there was a huge development in technology. In that same year of 1981, Stephen King published an article in the Playboy magazine by the name of “Why We Crave Horror Movies.” In his essay he wrote about why people enjoy watching horror films. King intends this essay toward young men who watch horror films. He mentions that everyone is a little insane and that it is okay to be that way. He wants young men to know and understand that there is something more to it then just wanting to get scared when watching horror movies, it is for young men's insanity relief so that the good emotions can be expressed. Back then there was a stigma, mostly in religious people, parents, and psychiatrists, but it is still present today. Critics believe that horror films were made to scare viewers and draw in the negative things. King is famous for horror movies and is known to be the king of them. The article “Why We Crave Horror Movies” was written forty years ago by King who is the author of many popular horror books and films King persuades young adults that it is okay to watch horror movies because everyone is a little bit insane in the inside.

The goal of the film community is to make films. Things taught in the classroom are necessary, but are standard. Things taught in lecture are meant to make us better at watching films, which, of course, makes us better at making films, but indirectly. For example, a lecture is usually followed by an academic article on some aspect of that day’s topic. The article “Graphic Violence in the Cinema” by Stephen Price was assigned to be read after the class had watched two horror films with plenty of gore. This piece analyzes the history of gore and violence in film and the escalation of it in films over time. This worked to give more context to the violence we had been watching in class. This article, along with several others, help to teach the class about the history and the current state of cinema, preparing us for the outside filmmaking world that awaits our arrival. These fundamentals taught in lecture make the film class a discourse community, but they don’t make it a strong one. Any discourse community has a bedrock foundation of lectures and some group work. But

Horror can be defined as a genre meant to psychologically trigger individual fear with the presence of certain supernatural or abstract characteristics. The genre is dependent on people’s fascination with unrealism and the sensation that comes from experiencing fear personified into tangible elements on a screen. Horror films have thrilled audiences for decades, revealing stories of the more sinister parts of life. The popular allure that stems from the genre comes from the tension moviegoers experience when aroused by specific stimuli uniquely present in these cinematic features (Walters). Over time, as the genre progressed, the standardized elements found in a typical horror movie began to shift in different directions primarily due to changing societal circumstances and increasing consumer demand for cinematic innovation. The expansive nature of the different codes and conventions within the horror genre, coupled with the evolution of society’s fascination with these characteristics, has led to the mutation of the genre itself in order to allow for unique approaches to a familiar style in response to both economic developments and taste shifts within the consumer industry.

In Stephen King’s somewhat subjective essay in the 1984 Playboy magazine, Why We Crave Horror Movies, King describes his reasoning behind why so many people are fond of watching movies residing in the horror genre. The content of his essay, though inserted in an unconventional area for

As King argues, the horror genre serves a specific purpose to allow us an outlet to let out anticivilization emotions. These movies let us lapse into our most simplistic mindset, enjoying the pain and suffering of other people. As King says, “it urges us to put away our more civilized and adult penchant for analysis and to become children again...the invitation to lapse into simplicity, irrationality, and even outright madness is extended so rarely” (King 2). The human

For century human are fascinated with the concept of death and the creepy crawlers that wonder through the night. As years progress the art of scary storytelling has stayed the same but, in modern day, film producers makes it more enjoyable for all people. The concept of horror movies and scary thing intrigues people for some reason, making it strange that people can actually enjoy these type of things. In 1981 Stephen King wrote an article called Why we crave horror movies. He described the people who enjoy horror movie are the mentally insane, the deep dark void in the back of your head secretly wants to come out.

Creed, B. 1999. Horror and the Monstrous-Feminine: An Imaginary Abjection. Feminist Film Theory, a Reader, edited by. Sue Thornham. New York: New York U P.