I kinda love Media Studies. ^__^
Genre: Horror
1) Analyze a code/convention used in your genre.
2) Analyze one development in the code/convention within the genre.
1)
A common convention in most horror movies is the use of violence. Contrary to the wording of the sentence, this is an ambiguous statement as it refers to the inclusion, as well as the exclusion of graphic violence. This convention is generally used more liberally in mixed genre horror movies like Action/Horror and Sci-FI/Horror. However, it is also found in varying amounts in regular horror movies.
The inclusion of violence usually occurs at certain key times through the movie. This is usually during the climax scene when the villain is defeated (or wins) or during scene where the villain claims his/her victims. There are some horror movies that use graphic violence all the way through- notably the Saw movies- but most movies stick to a fair balance of violent and non-violent scenes.
Violence is used for a lot of reasons. Depending on who is on the receiving end of the violence, it can make the audience feel sympathetic or angry/shocked. Brutally killing or wounding victims/heroes/heroines invokes feeling of anger and/or shock in the audience as most of the audience is likely to identify with the characters of the victims or potential victims. Watching the villain being brutally killed or hurt does not have the same effect; it is more likely to make the audience sympathetic to the relief and joy of the surviving characters, especially if it has taken a long time to kill the villain. Often, the audience will find the same amounts of violence sometimes crude and sometimes exhilarating depending on who is being attacked. A classic example of this can be found in Friday the 13th. The masked killer, Mrs. Voorhees, has spent a good part of a night excising revenge on hormonal camp counselors. Each death of an ‘innocent’ counselor builds up the fury and shock within the audience as they know that every counselor that died has never personally harmed Mrs. Voorhees or her son Jason. To the audience, the gruesome manner of their deaths (being stabbed through the chest or being pinned against trees, etc.) makes their deaths even more revolting. However, the killing of Mrs. Voorhees by a surviving counselor does not evoke the same anger or disgust. Indeed, the audience will watch wide-eyed as she is bloodily hacked up with an axe, even feel a sense of relief as the tension is released and sympathy towards the wounded and scarred young girl wielding the axe.
Interestingly enough, violence is also sometimes completely excluded from scenes to create a ‘bus’ effect. This technique was first seen in Cat People, where the audience has experienced a great build up of tension as they watch the ‘villain’ stalk the ‘heroine’, but the scene abruptly ends with the loud hissing of brakes on a bus, scaring the audience even though no actual violence has occurred. In recent years, this technique is still widely used. A classic example would be the cat Jones from the Alien movies, which is more likely than not to be the cause of bumps and hisses the doomed crew considers to be a Xenomorph.
Violence is also generally accepted and expected in horror movies as the audience is likely to be watching in order to experience and enjoy feelings that would usually be considered ‘taboo’. Most human beings have a primal drive that yearns for control and violence and watching movies with lots of blood, gore and violence is just a safe way to live vicariously through a fictional character and fulfill your drives without resorting to ‘evil’. To most people, these high levels of violence are perceived to be a bad influence on the audience. This is not true, as there is no reason to assume that just because violent acts are being committed that everyone will suddenly want to be violent (especially if the movie is a way for them to safely engage in indirect violence)- morals and values do still exist. However, one could rightly argue that horror movies don’t make killers; they just make killers more creative.
The convention of violence, or the use of it, is used more occasionally than not in recent horror movies. It is used in a variety of ways- inclusion, exclusion, implied- to help the audience feel the tension of a situation or to release the tension after a long build up. The effect it seems to have had on the genre is that the viewers are expecting more and more violence from each movie, and every film maker has to best the last by including more and more violence- sparking concerns that this may have ill effects on society.
2)
One of the most obvious developments in the horror genre has been an increase in the amount of violence used onscreen and a decrease in the amount of violence implied offscreen.
This first seemed to have started in the 1980s and 1990s with the release of films like Nightmare on Elm Street and Friday the 13th, but it was also seen more subtly in movies like Night of the Living Dead from 1968. More violent acts began to occur onscreen: the villain choosing to dismember his victims, or heads being blown off with high powered rifles. In Nightmare on Elm Street, the killer reached a whole new level of violence- a victim was pulled out of the audience’s view and revealed once more as a fountain of blood and guts that sprayed across a ceiling for a few seconds. Over the years, the amount of violence has increased drastically, especially in horror movies that have Science Fiction elements to them. Today, it is nigh impossible to watch a horror movie where blood doesn’t spatter all over someone’s clothes atleast once.
This development is probably the cause of various reasons. One of them is that each movie has more violence than the last, implying the increase in violence is like a snowball effect- it increases with each consecutive movie. What started this effect, however?
The earlier horror movies such as Frankenstein (1938) or Cat People (1942) had an underlying supernatural theme. The villain was generally fictitious- Nosferatu, ghosts, curses, etc- as this was a time when most people were God-fearing and religious and science had not yet begun to radically alter people’s belief. Accordingly, the idea of violence was shocking and appalling, and even implied violence such as the scene where Frankenstein just lifts up the little girl in the cut version of the movie sparked intense controversy. However, over the years, killer grew psychological. Psycho’s Bates is a classic example of the new Freudian theories that were defining the human brain- he was the Oedipus complex at work. Science finally began to explain the natural world and the supernatural no longer held as much terror or interest. Even then, violence was not as prominent. Its purpose was still to shock and appall as people saw murder as an act against nature.
This changed, however, when the idea of ‘evil’ was abolished. The rise of psychology came with the growing belief that people are not inherently evil, that their so-called ‘evilness’ is just the result of genes or upbringing- nature, not nurture. As this happened, the audiences became less likely to be horrified by personality disorders and implied violence. For example, the shower scene in Psycho, that was so chilling it dropped shower sales in the United States by around 30% after its release is considered boring and anti-climatic by present day audiences. They were becoming desensitized to the supernatural because of science and ‘evil’ because of psychology. The genre didn’t have many options left other than to eradicate plot and rely on lots of disturbing violence instead. We can see this in most horror movies today, like Doom (2005), in which hideous aliens are riddled with bullet holes, and zombie-fied humans feed on the dead, rotting flesh of their former companions often, and even in remakes of the older classics like Rob Zombie’s Halloween (2008) which was revamped to include a lot more blood than the original.
This increasing use of violence has had an effect on the reception and criticisms of the genre. Most critics whine about the level of violence and how it is making the audience more violent and destructive, along with a constant whining about a lack of plot. However, most horror movies receive good reviews on the basis of exactly that: not a very complicated plot and lots of good quality scares. The increasing violence has also resulted in a general rise in the age restrictions on horror movies. Compared to the M rating of Cat People of 1942, most horror movies are now sporting R16 (Mirrors: Reflections of Evil, 2008; Final Destination 4, 2009) and more often, the R18 ratings (Lake Dead, 2008; Saw VI, 2009). This has resulted in the audience being narrowed down and horror movies containing more adult specific aspects like nudity and unnecessarily explicit sex scenes to accompany the mindless violence.
In conclusion, the level of violence has been gradually increasing ever since horror movies were made. It has risen dramatically in the past decade more than ever due to the effects of the rise of science and psychology on the general mindset of the society. This has served to push ratings up, and start a snowball effect, where each movie is more violent than the last. This has not been limited only to Hollywood; European movies have suffered the same fate, among other industries. For example, the early German expressionist films like The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari stand in stark contrast to the gorier, bloodier horror (horror/comedy, in this case) flicks like Dead Snow.
1) Analyze a code/convention used in your genre.
2) Analyze one development in the code/convention within the genre.
1)
A common convention in most horror movies is the use of violence. Contrary to the wording of the sentence, this is an ambiguous statement as it refers to the inclusion, as well as the exclusion of graphic violence. This convention is generally used more liberally in mixed genre horror movies like Action/Horror and Sci-FI/Horror. However, it is also found in varying amounts in regular horror movies.
The inclusion of violence usually occurs at certain key times through the movie. This is usually during the climax scene when the villain is defeated (or wins) or during scene where the villain claims his/her victims. There are some horror movies that use graphic violence all the way through- notably the Saw movies- but most movies stick to a fair balance of violent and non-violent scenes.
Violence is used for a lot of reasons. Depending on who is on the receiving end of the violence, it can make the audience feel sympathetic or angry/shocked. Brutally killing or wounding victims/heroes/heroines invokes feeling of anger and/or shock in the audience as most of the audience is likely to identify with the characters of the victims or potential victims. Watching the villain being brutally killed or hurt does not have the same effect; it is more likely to make the audience sympathetic to the relief and joy of the surviving characters, especially if it has taken a long time to kill the villain. Often, the audience will find the same amounts of violence sometimes crude and sometimes exhilarating depending on who is being attacked. A classic example of this can be found in Friday the 13th. The masked killer, Mrs. Voorhees, has spent a good part of a night excising revenge on hormonal camp counselors. Each death of an ‘innocent’ counselor builds up the fury and shock within the audience as they know that every counselor that died has never personally harmed Mrs. Voorhees or her son Jason. To the audience, the gruesome manner of their deaths (being stabbed through the chest or being pinned against trees, etc.) makes their deaths even more revolting. However, the killing of Mrs. Voorhees by a surviving counselor does not evoke the same anger or disgust. Indeed, the audience will watch wide-eyed as she is bloodily hacked up with an axe, even feel a sense of relief as the tension is released and sympathy towards the wounded and scarred young girl wielding the axe.
Interestingly enough, violence is also sometimes completely excluded from scenes to create a ‘bus’ effect. This technique was first seen in Cat People, where the audience has experienced a great build up of tension as they watch the ‘villain’ stalk the ‘heroine’, but the scene abruptly ends with the loud hissing of brakes on a bus, scaring the audience even though no actual violence has occurred. In recent years, this technique is still widely used. A classic example would be the cat Jones from the Alien movies, which is more likely than not to be the cause of bumps and hisses the doomed crew considers to be a Xenomorph.
Violence is also generally accepted and expected in horror movies as the audience is likely to be watching in order to experience and enjoy feelings that would usually be considered ‘taboo’. Most human beings have a primal drive that yearns for control and violence and watching movies with lots of blood, gore and violence is just a safe way to live vicariously through a fictional character and fulfill your drives without resorting to ‘evil’. To most people, these high levels of violence are perceived to be a bad influence on the audience. This is not true, as there is no reason to assume that just because violent acts are being committed that everyone will suddenly want to be violent (especially if the movie is a way for them to safely engage in indirect violence)- morals and values do still exist. However, one could rightly argue that horror movies don’t make killers; they just make killers more creative.
The convention of violence, or the use of it, is used more occasionally than not in recent horror movies. It is used in a variety of ways- inclusion, exclusion, implied- to help the audience feel the tension of a situation or to release the tension after a long build up. The effect it seems to have had on the genre is that the viewers are expecting more and more violence from each movie, and every film maker has to best the last by including more and more violence- sparking concerns that this may have ill effects on society.
2)
One of the most obvious developments in the horror genre has been an increase in the amount of violence used onscreen and a decrease in the amount of violence implied offscreen.
This first seemed to have started in the 1980s and 1990s with the release of films like Nightmare on Elm Street and Friday the 13th, but it was also seen more subtly in movies like Night of the Living Dead from 1968. More violent acts began to occur onscreen: the villain choosing to dismember his victims, or heads being blown off with high powered rifles. In Nightmare on Elm Street, the killer reached a whole new level of violence- a victim was pulled out of the audience’s view and revealed once more as a fountain of blood and guts that sprayed across a ceiling for a few seconds. Over the years, the amount of violence has increased drastically, especially in horror movies that have Science Fiction elements to them. Today, it is nigh impossible to watch a horror movie where blood doesn’t spatter all over someone’s clothes atleast once.
This development is probably the cause of various reasons. One of them is that each movie has more violence than the last, implying the increase in violence is like a snowball effect- it increases with each consecutive movie. What started this effect, however?
The earlier horror movies such as Frankenstein (1938) or Cat People (1942) had an underlying supernatural theme. The villain was generally fictitious- Nosferatu, ghosts, curses, etc- as this was a time when most people were God-fearing and religious and science had not yet begun to radically alter people’s belief. Accordingly, the idea of violence was shocking and appalling, and even implied violence such as the scene where Frankenstein just lifts up the little girl in the cut version of the movie sparked intense controversy. However, over the years, killer grew psychological. Psycho’s Bates is a classic example of the new Freudian theories that were defining the human brain- he was the Oedipus complex at work. Science finally began to explain the natural world and the supernatural no longer held as much terror or interest. Even then, violence was not as prominent. Its purpose was still to shock and appall as people saw murder as an act against nature.
This changed, however, when the idea of ‘evil’ was abolished. The rise of psychology came with the growing belief that people are not inherently evil, that their so-called ‘evilness’ is just the result of genes or upbringing- nature, not nurture. As this happened, the audiences became less likely to be horrified by personality disorders and implied violence. For example, the shower scene in Psycho, that was so chilling it dropped shower sales in the United States by around 30% after its release is considered boring and anti-climatic by present day audiences. They were becoming desensitized to the supernatural because of science and ‘evil’ because of psychology. The genre didn’t have many options left other than to eradicate plot and rely on lots of disturbing violence instead. We can see this in most horror movies today, like Doom (2005), in which hideous aliens are riddled with bullet holes, and zombie-fied humans feed on the dead, rotting flesh of their former companions often, and even in remakes of the older classics like Rob Zombie’s Halloween (2008) which was revamped to include a lot more blood than the original.
This increasing use of violence has had an effect on the reception and criticisms of the genre. Most critics whine about the level of violence and how it is making the audience more violent and destructive, along with a constant whining about a lack of plot. However, most horror movies receive good reviews on the basis of exactly that: not a very complicated plot and lots of good quality scares. The increasing violence has also resulted in a general rise in the age restrictions on horror movies. Compared to the M rating of Cat People of 1942, most horror movies are now sporting R16 (Mirrors: Reflections of Evil, 2008; Final Destination 4, 2009) and more often, the R18 ratings (Lake Dead, 2008; Saw VI, 2009). This has resulted in the audience being narrowed down and horror movies containing more adult specific aspects like nudity and unnecessarily explicit sex scenes to accompany the mindless violence.
In conclusion, the level of violence has been gradually increasing ever since horror movies were made. It has risen dramatically in the past decade more than ever due to the effects of the rise of science and psychology on the general mindset of the society. This has served to push ratings up, and start a snowball effect, where each movie is more violent than the last. This has not been limited only to Hollywood; European movies have suffered the same fate, among other industries. For example, the early German expressionist films like The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari stand in stark contrast to the gorier, bloodier horror (horror/comedy, in this case) flicks like Dead Snow.