There are two types of movies that provide psychic relief. One of those types of movies could be a horror film that makes everyone scream. The other type is a movie like Marley and Me that provides catharsis by making everyone cry. In Stephen King’s essay ¨Why We Crave Horror¨, he explains that the reason why we watch horror movies is because ¨… horror movies provide psychic relief¨. This is because he believes it is rare for people to have that opportunity to express such negative emotions when watching horror films. King’s argument has elements that agreeable and disagreeable. On the one hand, he is right when claiming that our emotions and fears need to be controlled by an exercise; however, his belief that horror movies provide psychic
I have provided a clear evaluation of his essay in an organized way using the appropriate standards of evaluation. In understanding why humans “Crave Horror Movies” even when some people get nightmares after watching them we find the importance of our emotions and fears. We find those emotions and fears form a body of their own which needs to be maintained properly in order to remain healthy. We see how emotions can be controlled though viewing horror movies. Stephen King’s “Why We Crave Horror Movies” is a well written essay with convincing analogies, comparisons, and urban humor.
...usion, we find that from this essay we have a better understanding of why Stephen King believes all of us are mentally ill in some way, just maybe not to as high a degree as “Jack the ripper”. That we all enjoy the hunt either on the big screen or in a field, it’s part of our primal instincts. We see that humans crave things they are not supposed to and that’s ok as long as you are letting those emotions out in a healthy way. Stephen King has done a brilliant job of carrying out his thesis in this essay proving his theory that we are all mentally ill. We all need some way to release the dark feelings within us, we have all known this for many years, and movies seem to be the most current form of treatment. So treat yourself to a horror movie if you dare its great therapy.
When I was young I would always watch “scary movies” with my sister. For this reason, Every night I would have nightmares after each movie. By all means, I’d end up on the other side of the bed or on the floor. Given that, Stephen King claims his short story “ Why We Crave Horror” is to crave horror by facing our fears and, re-establish our feelings normalcy by getting used to the horror towards something that is called the human condition provided that, he is right about his claims. By all means, His three claims are “To show we can,that we are not afraid, that we can ride this roller coaster”. “ We also go to re-establish our feelings of essential normality”. “ If we share a brotherhood of man, then we also share an insanity of man”.
The article Why We Crave Horror Movies by Stephen King distinguishes why we truly do crave horror movies. Stephen King goes into depth on the many reasons on why we, as humans, find horror movies intriguing and how we all have some sort of insanity within us. He does this by using different rhetorical techniques and appealing to the audience through ways such as experience, emotion and logic. Apart from that he also relates a numerous amount of aspects on why we crave horror movies to our lives. Throughout this essay I will be evaluating the authors arguments and points on why society finds horror movies so desirable and captivating.
Overall, in Stephen King’s essay, “Why We Crave Horror Movies”, his suggestion that we view horror movies to “reestablish our feelings of essential normality” (562) and there is a “potential lyncher in almost all of us” (562) has brought forth many aspects that I have never really thought about. Why do we have so much excitement when it comes to horror films? Everyone has their own opinion, which will never end with one definite answer. Stephen King thinks there’s and evil in all of us, but I don’t think so. The evil only comes out if you make it, we do not need horror films for psychic
King chooses to compare the minds of a child and an adult to see the different resilience levels when exposed to the horror genre. He describes his findings as a paradox, “Children, who are physically quite weak, lift the weight of unbelief with ease” (PP 118). King assumes because the mind of an adult is mature it can handle the horrific depictions within the horror variety yet children seem too be able to withstand the pressure. King backed his theory by analyzing Walt Disney’s movies and their impact on a child’s imagination. Walt Disney’s movie Bambi is what Stephen King pinpointed when comparing the toll of horrific events in children and adult minds. King questioned adults about what was most terrifying about a movie when they were younger and they stated, “Bambi’s father shot by the hunter, or Bambi and his mother running before the forest fire” (PP 119). Another aspect King unveiled was the Doppler Effect and that, “A part of ‘growing up’ is the fact that everything has a scare potential for the child under eight” (PP 119). The cognitive imagination does not stop developing it just suppresses certain mental functions to draw a line between what is real and what is not. Horror novelist mask the tension with comedy yet with one swift motion it, “Knocks the adult props out from under us and tumbles us back down the slide into childhood” (PP
In his essay, “Why We Crave Horror Movies” King attempts to bring understanding to the phenomenon of the horror film genre. He states “sanity becomes a matter of degree” eluding to the theory that sanity is relative and that all humans are relatively insane. Jack the Ripper and the Cleveland Torso Murderer were the examples of humans on one extreme of the spectrum of sanity; saints represent the other safe end of the sanity spectrum. He illustrates the thought that in order for human kind to stay functionally sane there needs to be some sort of outlet for our violent “mad” thoughts. In King’s view horror movies provide a stable outlet and mental relief for innate madness. King argues that his insanity/ant civilization emotions are ingrained
“Why We Crave Horror Movies,” an essay by the legendary Stephen King, explains two challenging concepts to understand: why people like gory horror movies and how people are able to control their darkest desires. “I think that we’re all mentally ill; those of us outside the asylums only hide it a little better – and maybe not all that much better, after all.” King opens the essay by addressing the hard truth- we are all insane. People have dull lives, and often it’s the little bit of crazy within in us tha...
King disclosed that people watch horror movies to maintain sanity in everyday life. Karen Lasser,(2000) wrote an article based on mental illness and smoking, which compared and contrasted statistics, of which these doctors had preformed. Their goal was to come to a conclusion on whether smoking was a sign of mental illness. After preforming their tests the outcome of their article is, “ persons with mental illness are about twice as likely to smoke as other persons but have substantial quit rates.” This shows that the validity of King’s claim is poor. People with mental illness maybe more likely to some but this does not prove that those who suffer from a mental illness smoke to keep their sanity. People may do some weird acts that are sometimes un explainable but this does not mean they do these act to maintain sanity. Smoking is not something that everyone does, there are many other practices that more people do which can be more generalized, such as telling
We all have cravings, be it for snacks or sweets, there is always something we desire. We crave horror in the same way. In Stephen King’s essay, “Why We Crave Horror Movies,” he argues that people need to watch horror films in order to release the negative emotions within us. King believes that people feel enjoyment while watching others be terrorized or killed in horror movies. King’s argument has elements that are both agreeable and disagreeable. On one hand he is acceptable when claiming we like the thrill and excitement that comes from watching horror movies; however, his views regarding that the fun comes from seeing others suffer cannot be agreed with because the human condition is not as immoral as he claims it to be.
“The Sweet Hereafter” portrays the grief stricken citizens of a remote Canadian town traumatized by a terrible accident, and the impact of an ambulance-chasing lawyer who is attempting to deal with the grief in his own life. The film also depicts the grieving subjects susceptibility to convert grief and guilt into both blame and monetary gain and the transformation this small community faces after such a devastating event.
Walking in the dark at night isn’t everyone’s favorite thing to do. Stories would always be told that anything could happen, and so for most people watching a scary movie it would always make them jump. Being alone while watching a movie is totally not fun, so most of the time its groups of people going to see scary movies together. I get that craving horror is a thing that we as humans do, but not all claims could be true for why we like it. In Stephen King’s essay “Why We Crave Horror” and it being part of the Human Condition to crave horror, I feel as if Stephen King is telling the truth in the claims of being “mentally ill,” us getting that “adrenaline rush” through horror, but he is wrong about when we watch horror that we’re “facing our
13th March, 2014 In the poem “Mirrors”, by Sylvia Plath, the speaker accentuates the importance of looks as an aging woman brawls with her inner and outward appearance. Employing an instance of self-refection, the speaker shifts to a lake and describes the discrepancies between inevitable old age and zealous youth. By means of sight and personification, shifts and metaphors, the orator initiates the change in appearance which relies on an individual’s decision to embrace and reject it. The author applies sight and personification to accentuate the mirror’s role.
The mind’s subconscious is a complicated and touchy subject for some, it goes without saying that few speak of it and tend to leave it undiscovered. More and more in daily lives we tend to do things without knowing why or even stopping to think twice about it. People tend to view horror or violence as a bad omen. Violence is always something the concerned mother or protective family tend to steer their children away from. But what if it is truly beneficial for our children to be exposed to doses of violence or for people to experience a good horror movie and it be ok? These matters are discussed in “Why we Crave Horror Movies” and “Violent Media Is Good for Kids”.
Movies are the most wonderful medium created by mankind. They can affect the subconscious as no other means can do. No television show, no book has a power like that of the audiovisual image projected on a large screen. Since its origins, cinema has always acted as a model that shapes attitudes and lifestyles, as a mirror in which we all look to decide our models and our patterns of behavior. That's why film movies have such a great influence on our perception of reality.