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
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. American in 1929 face the stock market crash-inducing The Great Depression.
Audiences love to be scared. Horror films attempt to find some sort of trigger in the audiences mind, and develop it to create horror. Preceded by the great horror novels such as Dracula, and developed in the early nineteen twenties and nineteen thirties in Germany. From slash movies, to the post-modern psychological thrillers, horror films have evolved into an art form. This genre relies heavily on the basic horror conventions.
Comic Cinema has become more inept to show the visual comedy and instead rely on sound, particularly dialogue. Take the scene from comedy film Old School where Will Ferrell tries to explain to a group of college kids why he cannot drink. (Figure 1.9) In a cinematic standpoint the scene just seems is a simple shot reverse shot of a grown man and a couple of college kids who seem to disapprove of his decisions. The chunk of the humor lies solely in the dialogue and the way the characters in the scene react to the one speaking. Since the introduction of sound and cinema, audiences have been more drawn to the pleasures of the act of hearing and seeing that they need less and less from both instead of a masterpiece of both. Visual comedy will always
For this paper I chose to explore Alfred Hitchcock’s Psycho because it has remained the only horror movie I’ve seen to date. I went into a couple others but immediately left; let’s just say horror is not my favorite genre of film. People may or may not always call Psycho a horror film, it may be more of a thriller to people nowadays, but I still believe the correct genre analysis is horror because it should always refer to the genre at the time the film was created and released. I chose Psycho because I spent multiple weeks in high school studying Hitchcock, and Psycho specifically, so I feel comfortable writing on it. I also thoroughly enjoy the film, its backstory, and the character development. Plus, it’s been roughly adapted into one of my favorite shows: Bates Motel, which I will also briefly explore.
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.
Film scholars around the world agree that all genres of film are part of the “genre cycle”. This cycle contains four different stages that a specific genre goes through. These stages are: primitive, classic, revisionist, and parody. Each stage that the genre goes through brings something different to that genre’s meaning and what the audience expects. I believe that looking at the horror genre will be the most beneficial since it has clearly gone through each stage.
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)
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
Horror, crime and thriller movies are three entirely different genres, but they share some similarities. Crime movies typically focus on a hero and the pursuit of a criminal. In the end, the protagonist solves the crime. On the other hand, horror movies usually focus on the dark side of life. Evil spirits or supernatural powers often creates destruction, but the protagonist defeats them. The end of the film, however, suggests that such forces will likely come back. The horror films are designed to get frightened and give panic attacks to the viewers. Again, the thriller is a genre that revolves expectation and suspension. Marion Crane and Norman Bates crimes, guessing
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).
Genres are helpful in the general public as they give spectrum to different people and their different tastes. It also accommodates for any mood one may be in if they wanted to watch a film. It characterizes the films and sorts them into place for the viewer’s pleasure, “At all levels of the filmmaking and film-viewing processes, then, genres help assure that most members of society share at least some general notions about the many films that compete for our attention.” (Bordwell & Thompson, 2004: 110)
Would you rather be horrified beyond repair or thrilled to the point of no return? In horror, the main purpose is to invoke fear and dread into the audience in the most unrealistic way. Horror movies involve supernatural entities such as ghosts, vampires, teleportation, and being completely immortal. As thriller films are grounded in realism and involve more suspense, mystery, and a sense of panic. Though both genres will frighten the audience, it will happen in two different ways. Whether the horror thrills or the thriller horrifies, a scare is always incorporated.
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.
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.
If there is one way to bring a smile to someone’s face, it is laughter. Funny jokes, comical stunts, sarcasm- Every person is different when it comes to what makes them laugh. Some find dry humor comical. Others think sarcasm or joke-filled ranting are the best. ‘Comedy’ is such a broad term, broad enough to allow everyone to find something they find comical. In fact, ‘comedy’ includes a specific type of drama, one where the protagonist is joyful and happy endings are expected. Comedy is like a drug; it allows you to escape reality. When we say the word ‘comedy’ in the present, we are generally referring to a type of performance which provides humor. However, in its broadest sense, comedy has only one purpose: comedy makes people smile and