Horror & Comedy In society today, there are thousands of genres in the world that can be used in a plethora of ways. Probably the most common and most popular genres in this current generation are horror and comedy. These genres are found at the opposite end of the spectrum but it is not rare to see them side by side in movie theaters or even some libraries. Horror and comedy are known for their fictitious storylines along with some semblance of a lesson to be learned. Although in most cases lessons that are taught in horror films or novels are more likely to stick then in a comedy situation. Horror and comedy have been around for a long time from the black and white horror films to the silent comedy videos with Charley Chaplin. These genres are seamlessly ageless and do not seem to be leaving anytime soon. Both of these genres come in multiple of forms. Horror comes through Stephen King’s hundreds of classic novels to chilling blockbuster hits such as Friday the 13th. While comedy seeps into children’s books and movies like The Hangover. Both have storylines that unfortunately at times get repetitive and reused in every adaptation with horror …show more content…
In society today, many people favor both genres. However, in some cases there are some people that are horror junkies and do not care for comedy and on the other hand there are people that cannot handle horror themed situations and settle for comedy. There are many movies and some novels that take horror movies and make fun of them. These film makers or authors typically use comedy to make light of the horror films they chose to make fun of. On average these genres clash, but at the same time can complement each other. Since some people will watch a comedy after a horror films to calm themselves down or watch a comedy first to calm themselves and mentally prepare themselves for a good
Most authors use 4 utilities to make a story entertaining. They use the setting, mood, tone, and the archetypes to keep the author entertained. Cinderella by Jacob and WilHelm Grimm and Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde by Marsha Hatfield were both scary because they showed how the tone and mood affected the story, themselves, and the readers at the same time. The horror genre is spooky and unlike other genres, because they are written to scare audiences. In order to do that authors and directors have to change settings, establish tones and moods, and use archetypes that are darker than all other genres. Multiple authors make similar decisions to create archetypes, setting, mood, and tones that uphold the horror genre.
There is one primary reason why science fiction and horror are not one and the same. That is, they each have their own distinct traits that make them unique. Mainly, to separate a piece of literature from being classified as science fiction or horror fiction, one must get down to the law of science offered by each piece. In order for an author to separate his or her work as science fiction, the story must contain an environment based upon science in the real world as humanity knows it today. This is not the case with horror, as horror fiction has the option of creating its own set of rules to work with.
The first stage of the genre cycle is called the primitive stage. During this stage of the cycle, the genre of horror is very new. Filmmakers are trying to decide what makes a horror film a horror film, while audience are figuring out what they should expect every time they see this kind of film. For example, Todd Browning’s Dracula is the basic, stripped down blueprint for many monster-horror films today. It features the “bad guy” accompanied by the “good guy”. After several horrifying events, Van Helsing kills the vampire, Dracula, and good prevails, again. Thus, establishing that in horror films no matter how grue...
The horror genre of film captives the frightfulness of individual fear, horror is the only genre that is meant captive the terror of the audience. The horror- the genre has been around well over one hundred- years there has been an extension of different types of horror and how the audience perceives horror. Many would even argue that horror films often reflect the fear of society in that certain time period. The evolution of horror reflects the evolution of society’s fear.
The Horror Movie in Late Modern Society’ that labelling films such as these as postmodern may be an overreach. He argues that the hybridity of the genre as seen in horror-comedies such as ‘The Cabin in the Woods’ and ‘Scream’ are nothing ‘new’ and that comedy has always played a prevalent role in the horror genre. He goes on to state that, “much of the comic fun to be had (in contemporary horror-comedies) derives from the excess of gory detail. The other aspect, in this case more a development characteristic of the 1990s than the 1980s, is the tendency to reflexively generate humour by openly appealing to a knowing audience’s familiarity with the genre conventions.” This view suggests that Tudor views the emergence of a more comedic element to horror movies as more of an evolutionary step in horror, than a deliberately postmodern outlook. He cements this as his view as he uses the example of ‘Scream’ and the films made in its wake (such as ‘Scary Movie’ (2000)), Tudor claims “It is films such as these that have so often attracted the designation ‘postmodern’, if only superficially, because of their studied self-consciousness and their use of pastiche.” (Tudor, p.107) Tudor’s view is that films such as these bear only surface-level post-modernism that the term is used too liberally and the films would be better suited towards the term parody than a post-modernism. Tudor argues that their “studied self-consciousness” disqualifies them from being labelled as postmodern, however it can be argued that parody and self-consciousness elements of these films are what make them postmodern at
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)
Comedy films are films designed to make the audience laugh. A common characteristic of comedy is an exaggeration of events, which is done to provide further amusement to viewers. Comedies also tend to have happy endings, keeping in line with the general light-heartedness of the genre. Some movies may even take typical frustrations experienced by most viewers and portray them in a non-serious manner. As with all movies, comedies contain at least one conflict. These conflicts may be caused by numerous events, such as an exaggerated misunderstanding or a case of mistaken identity. Comedy allows the audience to “take a break” from the hassles of life and enjoy a couple hours of pure amusement (Dirks, 2017).
Various film genres are recognisable by the way they are presented and patterned or the way that they portray a certain emotion or feeling, as those of humour or horror. There is no distinct way by which we can define genre. Some films incorporate various aspects of different genres, thus we cannot define exactly what kind of text-book definition genre it is and being that all people are different, a comedy to one person may be a complete bore to the next. In a sense, certain films portray their genre as a subjective opinion.
Horror films are designed to frighten the audience and engage them in their worst fears, while captivating and entertaining at the same time. Horror films often center on the darker side of life, on what is forbidden and strange. These films play with society’s fears, its nightmare’s and vulnerability, the terror of the unknown, the fear of death, the loss of identity, and the fear of sexuality. Horror films are generally set in spooky old mansions, fog-ridden areas, or dark locales with unknown human, supernatural or grotesque creatures lurking about. These creatures can range from vampires, madmen, devils, unfriendly ghosts, monsters, mad scientists, demons, zombies, evil spirits, satanic villains, the possessed, werewolves and freaks to the unseen and even the mere presence of evil.
A fine example of the separation of foreign and American horror can be found in a comparison between Dario Argento's Suspiria and Sean S. Cunningham's Friday the 13th (1980)...
It’s no question that genre is a very important factor in a screenwriter’s pursuit of creating a highly marketable film. Considering genre types in writing a script for an upcoming film is important to not only the target audience, but the technical characteristics of certain genres. Every film created is categorized into a specific genre based on elements of that genre type, as well as accompanied by technical aspects that classify a film as a specific genre type. Some films are finalized as purely one type of genre, while in other instances the film gains the classification of type different genre types. Sound, cinematography, mise-en-scene, editing, and narrative are the formal elements of film that help determine a final product into a genre class, or multiple genre classes. Yet even dwelling in the subcategories of major genre types, like science fiction or action, films also have the ability to shift genre within their screen time and not only be placed in a genre category but jump genre types as well. This is caused greatly by the blending of genre types that have elements that complement each other’s qualities well and can easily be transitioned from one type to the next. Where Ridley Scott’s Alien (1979) series prequel Prometheus (2012) began under the science fiction type genre and develops a gradual transition into horror, Joss Whedon and Drew Goddard’s Cabin in the Woods (2012) flips the two genres, beginning as a horror genre than transitions into a science fiction category.
In a comparison of comedy and tragedy, I will begin by looking at narrative. The narration in a comedy often involves union and togetherness as we see in the marriage scene at the end of Midsummer's Night Dream. William Hazlitt tells us that one can also expect incongruities, misunderstandings, and contradictions. I am reminded of the play The Importance of Being Ernest and the humor by way of mistaken identity. Sigmund Freud tells us to expect excess and exaggeration in comedy. Chekhov's Marriage Proposal displays this excess both in language and in movements. Charles Darwin insists that in a comedy "circumstances must not be of a momentous nature;" whereas, Northop Frye identifies comedy as having a happy ending and using repetition that goes nowhere.
Almost everyone has a favorite genre of film, but how everyone defines their favorite genre can differ greatly. Horror is one of the genres where its definition can be perceived differently by many people. Like all other genres, horror does have rules and traditions that must be included in order for a film to be considered a horror film. These rules and traditions include a protagonist, an antagonist, an escape or escape attempt of some sort, and very influential audio and visual effects.
In both, the feelings of dread and fear are experienced simultaneously. The goal for these films is to scare and thrill the audience. Horror can thrill and Thrillers can horrify. Another similarity is the dramatic context. Characters are confronted by some conflict and usually flee from the turbulent situation. In the end, the characters end up being forced to confront the conflict. Both genres contain some level of suspense and mystery. Overall, horror and thriller are two genres that are easily mistaken for each other because of the overlapping
A tragedy is defined as beginning with a problem that affects everyone, i.e. the whole town or all the characters involved, the tragic hero must solve this problem and this results in his banishment or death [run-on sentence]. A comedy is defined as also beginning with a problem, but one of less significant importance. The characters try to solve the problem and the story ends with all the characters uniting in either a marriage of a party. Although these two genres are seen as being complete opposites of each other, through further analysis one can gather that though they are different certain similarities can also be seen.