I contribute to a local newspaper with short articles on new films. I have a strong interest in the history of cinema, particularly in regards to horror films. In this short paper I wish to explain how colors interact with the idea of what horror is, and what monsters are. I will do this through the film The 7th Voyage of Sinbad.
Color Coded Wonders in The 7th Voyage of Sinbad
In the history of horror films, monsters are often strongly associated with specific colors. Count Dracula will always live in the mind of viewers with bloody red cape much in the same way that Godzilla's green skin will terrify audiences for years to come (Landis, 2011). Fatimah Rony’s claim that monstrosity is “essentially visual” (1996) is one definition of teratology
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The warm, bright tones of red and yellow are typically ascribed to the morally good, whereas the monstrous is most frequently depicted in colder colors, particularly blue and green. This becomes apparent even in the opening credits. A drawing of Sinbad and his men, wearing brown and red clothes, sailing in a dark blue sea where a green monster hides is one of the opening stills. Sinbad’s name is written in orange, marking him as a positive character from the start. Another example which provides an illustration to the complexity of color can be found looking at Sokurah’s robes. The first encounter with the magician in on Colosa and he is wearing a black robe. He uses the magic genie lamp to to ward off the cyclops but after losing the lamp, his obsession to find it, which would mean returning to a very dangerous place, warrants Sinbad’s hesitation and mistrust. At this point, the magician reads as an ambiguous character - he has saved the ship’s crew from the cyclops, yet his desire to recover the lamp could place the sailors in the face of even more peril. The next time we see Sokurah is in the palace in Baghdad. He is wearing a violet robe, a color between red and blue, which visually marks the uncertainty about his character and intentions. As the film progresses and Sinbad and Sokurah travel back to Colosa, the magician is once more seen wearing a dark robe. However, as the exploration of the island goes on, the color of Sokurah’s robe becomes a little lighter, it acquires a dirtier, muddier tone which comes off as natural given the mountain climbing and passing of rough terrain. Nevertheless, this visual shift from a black robe to a black robe with green hues parallels the more information audiences acquire about the magician. He is ultimately shown wearing a blue robe in his castle, and he is painted as completely
robe, which covers him all the way down to his feet, and a cape with a large,
Monsters are supposed to scare people and represent their fears. In most monster movies, the monster is a huge, ugly, non-human beast that terrorizes the city and destroys everything. But in the 1985 film The Stuff, the monster appears to be an innocuous dessert; what does that say about the fears of society? Jeffrey Jerome Cohen, an expert on monster culture, explains this and more in his article “Monster Culture (Seven Theses)” reprinted in the textbook Monsters in 2012. Cohen’s first thesis of monster culture, The Monster’s Body is a Cultural Body, argues that “The monster’s body quite literally incorporates fear, desire, anxiety, and fantasy, giving them life and an uncanny independence” (12). According to Cohen, the outward appearance of the monster reflects the fears and anxieties of the culture from which it originated. The first thesis says that the monster is not just a monster; it embodies the things the society wants to cast out as different from it, made into flesh.
Horror genre conventions are evident in both films and the way they are directed has given me obvious indications on the effect the horror conventions can have on a film when used well, and the adverse effect when not used well. Both Japanese and American society are evident in these films, and the style of the films are similar to the nationality of the two directors. Horror conventions are used in both films, but the way they are used are quite different, and these contrasting styles are key in how effective the two films are to their audience.
crimson base. The jacket was scarlet with white lining, collar, lapels and cuffs; golden lace and buttons. They wore a white stock, breeches, gaiters and gloves, a crimson sash, black shoes and a black sword scabbard with a golden point. The colors (royal colors) have a brown staff with a golden spearhead. The colors properly are the Union, having golden trimming and writing in the center and on the arms of the cross.
Title: Metaphors in Cinema: Gigantic Monsters Proposed Research: The metaphors in films like Godzilla, Big Bug Movies (Them, Tarantula), and King Kong. Trauma and fear of war, science, and humanity. Question: Develop an argument about how humans deal with their fear of death through the use of one or more monsters (zombies, vampires, etc.). Monsters like Godzilla are important for humans who are coping with a fear of death. The use of monsters is to lessen the fear of imminent threat and or distress of waiting for a catastrophe to happen.
We live in a world inhabited by Monsters. Monsters have been identified and represented in a myriad of ways since the birth of time and humanity. The intrusion of uniformity as we define it, the monster. Monsters have been depicted to frighten and agitate, to destruct and clout arguments, and to shape societies. In the chapter “Monster Culture (Seven Theses)”, Jeffrey Jerome Cohen argues with logic and reasoning to the way monsters have been interpreted far and near time. In everything we create, monsters are the by-products of our technology, the products of the things unconsidered. By inspecting our monsters, we divulge the intricacies of our culture, past and
Have you ever experienced that feeling when your heart beat goes into hyper drive, your palms start to perspire, and your muscles tense up? Fear is an emotion that everyone has succumbed to at least once in their lifetime. Our fears are like our shadows, for they follow us around to wherever we may go. They are lingering in the back of our minds from the moment we wake up in the morning until our heads hit the pillow at night. Fears are so powerful, however, that they can even crawl into our dreams and manifest into other beings. We, as humans, like to put names or concepts to either faces or objects; we like to possess the ability to visualize what something or someone looks like. As a result, our fears are personified into monsters. Prolific essayist, Chuck Klosterman, points out how “Frankenstein’s monster illustrated our trepidation about untethered science” and “Godzilla was spawned from the fear of the atomic age.” In Klosterman’s article, “My Zombie, Myself: Why Modern Life Feels Rather Undead,” he tackles the
Asma, Stephen. On Monsters :An Unnatural History of Our Worst Fears. New York: Oxford University Press, 2009. Print.
Morgan, J. The biology of horror: gothic literature and film. Carbondale, IL: Southern Illinois University Press, 2002.
Horror movies are one of the most fascinating genres of film that exists. They are unrealistic but at the same time, they are also realistic. This realism that they contain is what draws people’s interest towards them because viewers are able to associate aspects of their own lives with the film. Every horror movie, no matter how farfetched the theme or plot may be, contains an element that people can relate to. This element may not be observable to a conscious mind, but to an unconscious mind, it brings back memories of something that has been repressed earlier in our lives (Wood, 197). This recollection of suppressed memories is how horror films create a sense of fear and it is literally what Robin Wood means when he talks about “the return
How the Opening Sequence of Halloween Captures the Attention of the Audience ' 'Halloween' was made in 1978 and is a good example of the 'Slasher' movies from that time and this is an interesting piece of cinema as it can be related to the German expressionism of the late 1920's which used jerky camera shots and high contrast lighting to enthrall the viewer .In this essay I will discuss how the opening to Halloween captures the audiences attention and how codes and conventions create suspense and tension for the audience.
Modern day horror films are very different from the first horror films which date back to the late nineteenth century, but the goal of shocking the audience is still the same. Over the course of its existence, the horror industry has had to innovate new ways to keep its viewers on the edge of their seats. Horror films are frightening films created solely to ignite anxiety and panic within the viewers. Dread and alarm summon deep fears by captivating the audience with a shocking, terrifying, and unpredictable finale that leaves the viewer stunned. (Horror Films)
Cassandra’s costume has the most detail, the use of black and white paired with a sheen pattern, added a movement to her clothing. It accents her oracle profession and character. It shines under the light and reflects it like the vision she spews from her mouth. Her silk like wrap shined so much like glitter that it communicated a magic feeling. It just reinforced her oracle character.
Colors were also used to distinguish certain characters between good and bad people. For example, Newt is the only character that has bright red hair. Red is a warmer color and is often associated with moral people, so it shows that Newt is one of the good characters. It also identifies Newt as the main character because it causes him to stand out. Another character that is distinguished by colors is the Obscurus, a magical thing that is a clear orb filled with floating black stuff.
Jack Morgan, The Biology of Horror: Gothic Literature and Film (Carbondale, IL: Southern Illinois University Press, 2002) null03, Questia, Web, 29 May 2010.