In Stephen King’s short essay “Why We Crave Horror Movies”, King argues that every person needs to feed the “potential lyncher in all of us”(2). King implies that people enjoy watching gory, violent horror movies because they help keep our insane human nature from getting out of control. Not only are these actions taken to feed our inner selves but to show that “we are not afraid”(2). Watching horror movies is a type of activity that people indulge into to show that they aren’t afraid and can expect the unexpected. The tone of the text appears to be humorous and one-sided. King engrosses the reader with humor and proves his point by sharing sick jokes. For instance he asked “what is the difference of a truckload of bowling balls and a truckload of dead babies”(3). King feels the need to share these types of jokes shared by a young kid to show that young children also find disturbing jokes and images humorous. However, King only addresses the “shared insanity of man”(3) and never the opposition. He only ever develops an opinion for the horror movie lovers never vice versa. Therefore, King develops questions around his statement, what if people don’t like horror movies, and generalizing that all people have a sick appeal of entertainment. …show more content…
He also references specific examples to the loss of sanity in “Jack the Ripper” and the “Cleveland Torso Murderers” (2) by cementing his accusation that sanity is measured in matters of degree. He also suggests that as one gets older so does the liking of activities that could hurt their psych, as horror movies “have been the special province of the young”(1). Young adults, especially teens, have a strong liking of being scared and enjoy the thrill of being scared and the adrenaline
...ing horror movies. Stephen King’s “Why We Crave Horror Movies” is a well written essay with convincing analogies, comparisons, and urban humor. With the use of logos, ethos and pathos in unison he easily wins his argument persuading his audience to believe his thesis, convincing normal people they are mentally ill. Kings argument convinces his readers not only that mental illness lies within us all, but that without horror movies we wouldn’t have a way to fix our mental state. If sanity is being normal, and insanity is madness, then how is it that being normal is watching insanity repeatedly?
One of America’s famous actress film director and producer Katie Aselton once said,” I don’t love horror movies with something surreal happening. That doesn’t work for me. What’s terrifying is something that could actually happen to me and what I would do. I don’t know how to throw a punch, and I’ve never had to do it.” This quote shows connection to King’s article. I’m starting to consider that everyone has a crazy side. Why We Crave Horror Movies explains the reason people want to go see horror movies. The average person enjoys the horror movies because they are in a safe environment knowing they can not be harmed. By discussing the argumentative strategies such as ethos, logos,
The genre of horror films is one that is vast and continually growing. So many different elements have been known to appear in horror films that it is often times difficult to define what is explicitly a horror film and what is not. Due to this ambiguous definition of horror the genre is often times divided into subgenres. Each subgenre of horror has a more readily identifiable list of classifications that make it easier to cast a film to a subgenre, rather than the entire horror genre. One such subgenre that is particularly interesting is that of the stalker film. The stalker film can be categorized as a member of the horror genre in two ways. First, the stalker film can be identified within the horror genre due to its connection with the easily recognizable subgenre of horror, the slasher film. Though many elements of the stalker film differ from those of the slasher film, the use of non-mechanical weapons and obvious sexual plot points can be used to categorize the stalker film as a subgenre of the slasher film. Secondly, the stalker film can be considered a member of the horror genre using Robin Wood’s discussion regarding horror as that which society represses. The films Fatal Attraction, The Fan, and The Crush will be discussed in support of this argument. (Need some connector sentence here to finish out the intro)
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.
King talks mostly about horror movies. He says that he loves horror movies, and that the best ones are the most aggressive. Then, King says that we are all crazy. King says that horror movies are a release. To distract us from everyday life. He also says that we watch horror films to feed our dark side. Meaning that you get your “fix” of hurting people just by watching the movie. That way you can keep your humanity and don’t go out and hurt anyone in real life. Another reason for watching horror movies is simply for the fun of it. We go as if it was a dare, saying that I’m not afraid to watch this. Just like a roller coaster, we go acting brave and confident and as it goes on it plays with our emotions and might get a scream out of us at certain times. Also, King mentions that horror movies are like sick jokes. “They have a dirty job to do” (King, 563). He says that because it releases our nastiest fanatics and appeals to all of
Often times I wonder if people go to see horror movies for enjoyment, or is it something much more than that? I have mixed feelings about the idea that, “the horror film has become the modern version of public lynching” (King 562). Horror movies do promote violence and can influence the mindset of the audience, but sanity people is not based on the excitement we receive from watching a horror film. Instead, it is based on what is already within us, not what we witness on a movie screen, but what we experience throughout our lifetime.
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 “Who Killed Benny Paret?,” Norman Cousins discusses why sports are as violent as they are, when they can be safe and still as physically challenging. Cousins’ thesis blames society for the extreme brutality in sports, “The primary responsibility lies with the people who pay to see a man hurt.” (Cousins, 340) In “Why We Crave Horror Movies,” Stephen King takes a different approach by explaining why people watch gruesome and blood filled moving. Without others playing out our own sick fantasies, or fueling our blood drive, we would be more inclined to becoming violent. We, as humans, want to see blood and guts that are as real as possible to make us feel more comfortable, and to feed the “hungry alligators.” (King, 2) The initial need to release of primal and violent instincts are catered to through visual stimulation such as bloody boxing matches, and gruesome horror films.
People are addicted to the synthetic feeling of being terrified. 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.
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
In his essay, King mocks the very habits that are done undercover and the possible things which people are terrified about. When the readers read this, an automatic chuckle emerges either as a cause that it applies to them (or someone they know), or simply because it is hilarious. In the opening paragraph, King writes: “we’ve all known people who talk to themselves…people who have some hysterical fear…” (King, 86). He articulates about the many habits which are embarrassing and humiliates those addictions while comparing it to the reasons why people don't mind going to the horror movies only to get embarrassed with their priceless reactions. He compares the horror movies to roller coasters: “and horror movies, like roller coasters” (King, 87), and the reactions when watching horror movies to the screams when riding the roller coaster: “horror movie may not surprise a scream out of us at some point, the way we may scream when the roller coaster twists…”. This is a metaphoric comparison to top off the humor.
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.
Stephen King wrote a very brief essay titled "Why we Crave Horror Movies", in which he explained some of the reasons that people choose to go to horror movies to be entertained. In his essay, King goes on to explain that we as a people need horror movies as a sort of release; to feed the darker elements within all of us without having to sacrifice our humanity (also, civility). King does this by comparing people based on their levels of sanity whereas some societal "eccentricities" are completely acceptable, while some will get you thrown right into the loony bin. It’s summed up pretty well in this quote:
Stephen King, a very well-known writer and director, has a passionate voice when it comes to anything dealing with horror. In “Why We Crave Horror Movies,” King calls us out for knowing that we love the adrenaline rush and how we are so captivated by horror movies. He explains how we watch horror movies for the level of fun. King proposes that we go to defy ourselves; to see how far it can push us and that is what makes the experience so interesting. We lock our inner psycho from reality and feed it with the demonic, bloody violence found in horror movies. Doing this suggests that horror movies are our fix for our psychotic thoughts. Stephen King’s “Why We Crave Horror Movies” portrays that we are all insane in some weird way through
“Horror films don’t create fear. They release it.” – Wes Craven. Considering the nature of horror, enjoying horror serves as a paradox. If horror is revolting why is it enjoyable? However, many people take pleasure in the thrills and suspense of horror. In the genre of horror, the quality of work is dependent on whether a book/film succeeds in scaring people since fear is an emotional response. Readers and viewers of the genre horror experience fear from an author's ability to provoke emotional responses through the element of fear of the unknown, placing the reader in the character's perspective and engaging the audience's curiosity.