On his article “Why We Crave Horror Movies,” Stephen King discusses the constant hunger of people for horror flicks, stories, and any sort of related media upon which people can apply the genre of Horror; although, he concentrates on horror movies. He begins the essay with discussing the fear that seems to hinder people from doing what they wanted, and the outlet of showing that he or she is not afraid is through daring that fear. He uses the analogy of the roller coaster ride to a pretty good horror flick that could force out screams and goosebumps from people, during its climaxes.Weirdly, people have fun during such events—both riding the roller coaster and watching horror movies. According to King, it somewhat amuses the people when they seem to see others suffer (Paragraph 6). It has been mentioned that every single person has an insane version of themselves within.
Basically, these emotions has been repressed ever since the early stages of childhood, through punishments for committing the wrongs. King therefore reaches the point wherein the anticivilization emotions and traits lie dormant within people, and are only released through things like dirty jokes and horror movies.These repressed emotions are the cause for the development of anticivilization emotions, which does not really pose any threat towards the self or others. Agreeing with the statement given by Stephen King, it is actually possible for such emotions to contain within people since everyone has their own versions of being insane, and often release it from time to time, given that it has been triggered by something or someone, like what horror movies can do. Stephen King, the master behind some prolific horror novels and films, has raised a point about people having dormant insane version of themselves within (Paragraph 1).Indeed, it is fact that people tend to have certain traits that can be classified as weird, but does not necessarily entail any forms of insanity, yet.
As King mentioned, the people who exhibit such traits will just be left alone, to talk to themselves or to mind their own businesses (Paragraph 8). However, if it does pose a certain degree of threat to society, then it would be enough reason to place the person into an asylum, or be executed if the situation calls for it. There is no excuse for unleashing such anticivilization emotions towards the society. I believe that it may be the result of repressed emotions that just boiled over.Hence, Stephen King suggested the need to satisfy the insane version within each person, satisfying their cravings in order to unleash some of the anticivlization emotions locked away, using the horror movies as a medium to do so.
Horror films have been more rampant since the late 90s to the early 21st century. I agree with the King's claim that indeed these emotions needs to be let loose from time to time (Paragraph 11). A person that watches horror films tend to get a weird feeling inside when both fear and excitement forge into an emotion only explainable when one experiences it first hand.It gives a sort of adrenaline rush to the movie goer when he or she could not contain these two feelings that is exhibited through goosebumps and frantic screaming during the movie's climaxes. Watching the horror movie's characters would tap the audience's imagination, filling them inside the characters' shoes.
In other words, it becomes more of a dynamic experience when such emotions are let loose. Of course, law prevents them from doing something as drastic as killing off a dozen zombies like in the movie 28 days later since there are no real zombies within sight, to begin with.It just so happens that it permits people to become children once again, opening the world wherein they are not required to analyze or scrutinize the ridiculous situation, but to enjoy it since things like these never really do come true; well, not yet at least. I would disagree with the claims that horror films promote the anticivilization traits that people have.
Well, people who despise the genre tend to create such false claims and somehow, they tend to blame every morbid event that happened within society on horror flicks, violent video games, and the like.However, what they seem to be ignorant about is the fact that such cravings for such emotions and traits like brutality, violence, and destruction have been part of human instinct. As King would have claimed, it is the controlled insane half of people that most do not wish to unleash towards society. People tend to watch horror films to satisfy the needs of those traits, since if it continues to remain unsatisfied, it tends to boil over and amplifies into a society-destroying force.They may have linked the fact that some murders tend to follow the patterns that have been shown in some violent horror movies, concluding that horror movies tend to force people to do such things. However, the percentage of the people becoming such madmen are quite minimal compared to those developing a mental illness through real-life situations.
The amazing thing about horror movies is the fact that each new one tends to be more of a possibility in the future, rather than remain purely fantasy-filled.However, making it more realistic does not really ruin the function of it as a movie: purely for entertainment. In fact, people would be able to easily relate to the movie if it were more realistic since it taps certain situations that people have been under in. Examples for such are the virus or zombie horror flicks which still entails a certain ounce of reality since it is mainly caused by a virus, rather than terrifying demons from underneath. That certain realism added to the movie would intensify the feeling of fear and excitement for movie goers.
These movies remain mythical or an ounce of fantasy, in the sense that it does not necessarily have to happen in the future, or there is no proof so far of it happening in the future; it is entirely fictional. In conclusion, mythic horror movies could help satisfy people's need to unleash anticivilization emotions. It helps in alleviating such emotions before turning these into a destructive force that could be unleashed upon society. King saw this as a remedy rather than a catalyst of these emotions, and I believe in this claim.As King concluded in the end of his essay: “..
. hrowing a basket of raw meat to the hungry alligators swimming around in that subterranean river beneath. Why bother? Because it keeps them from getting out, man” (Paragraph 12-13). He is correct on his claim.
Maybe it is the need to satisfy these urges that would eventually control such emotions from getting out of hand. People need to satisfy it from time to time, to stabilize the madman inside them. These horror flicks give these locked madmen a time to relax and enjoy. How people would react without movies and games that simulates violence? I believe that it will drive them more insane than these mediums would.
