Why do we enjoy horror films? : Philosophy Forums

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Why do we enjoy horror films?

milkyrain
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Posted 12/05/07 - 09:51 AM: Subject: Why do we enjoy horror films?	#1
Most people do not search for real forms of horror in their lives, so why is it that fictionalised horror, even when accompanied by seemingly real fear and disgust, is pleasurable? There are two types of theory as to why this is. The integrationist theory states that the pleasure we get comes directly from the fear and disgust and the co-existentialist theory claims the pleasure is not directly related to the negative feelings we have. In this theory we enjoy horror because the positive feelings outweigh the negative. I am going to discuss Noël Carroll's co-existentialist theory that it is curiosity which drives us to horror films, and more specifically it is our curiosity of what we believe to be naturally, as apposed to logically, impossible. We find pleasure in curiosity, however to get this curiosity we need to be presented with an impossible being to be curious about. A being which will seem impossible to us is one that crosses over the boundaries we have used to classify nature (Mary Douglas) like something that posses qualities of more than one type of animal, something that flies but also has multiple legs or something that swims but also crawls on land. Or something living and dead, bodies which are not complete, or bodies of which there is more to them that we would imagine like the possession of one body by another. These creatures will inspire awe and fascination amongst us but due to their nature they will also disgust us. There is an exception to this and these are slasher films and other films which only really offer extreme violence and a bit of sex. Carroll thinks these are mainly films people go to as tests of endurance, and this explains why adolescent boys are the most persistent group to watch this type of horror. The aspect of the monster and what makes it frightening is a very important part of Carroll's theory. However a problem with this is that it is not explained why we want to watch horror and not just fantasy, where we see the monster but do not have to suffer the fear. This is better explained by an integrationist theory, in which we enjoy being scared. I think that people may prefer horror because it forces them to think not just of the impossible, but of the consequences that can arise if we do become too dependant on the beliefs our society gives us. People enjoy these negative results because they make us think in a different way to the positive results often shown in fantasy. Another criticism of Carroll's theory is that we do not find all monsters as he defines them to be disgusting. The reason people do not respond with disgust at monsters of fantasy, comic book superheroes or cartoons is that we look to the characters within the art-horror to see how we should respond. In 'The Fly' we feel sympathy when Veronica Quaife, the 'Fly's' girlfriend, does. In fantasy the nice monsters are treated as normal within an impossible world. This would cross over into non narrative art-horror such as paintings so that we do not fear a painting of a monster unless it is depicted in a way in which it implies we should be afraid. Carroll does not however, as pointed out by Levinson, explain why that must be the case. Levinson thinks that if the characters wanted to be attacked or devoured then that would be even more disturbing for us. Gaut, an integrationist argued that Carroll's theory does not account for human-monsters, simply leaving a paradox of serial killer films and psychological horror. A film such as 'Silence of the Lambs' or autobiographical films may not classify as horror by Carroll's definition. I think that we watch these films out of curiosity, but just not the curiosity of the impossible, rather out of curiosity into the dark side of human nature. Another criticism by Gaut is that horror films are so formulaic that it is hard to believe people would put up with the disgust they feel in able to experience the same curiosity over and over again. Carroll's response is that people will find new types of narrative worth investigating in every film as they will not be identical, and that different monsters can be presented differently over time. Our idea of vampires has evolved as we have, the vampires of 'Buffy' are different to those of Bram Stoker, but both are monsters. Also people can get used to the elements which are meant to disgust, if they are used to seeing monsters they will not seem so unnatural and unusual to them. Gaut also argues that people complain when the film is not frightening enough, this seems to make it clear that what they wanted was to be afraid, not just curious. Carroll thinks that they actually mean that they did not find the monster abnormal enough to provoke their curiosity. The one-to-one correspondence between curiosity and disgust is what makes easy for this to happen. It is also possible that the person that complains about the film in this way may really be saying this as a way to boast of their levels or endurance rather than as an aesthetic comment. Gaut of course disagrees with this and argues that the only reason we would not take the person at face value in their claim of wanting to have been more afraid is if there is indeed a paradox in this, and he believes there is not. Gaut thinks that emotions are value judgements, not just feelings, and so if we judge the monster as unpleasant but are not motivated to avoid it then we can enjoy it. Just as we would not want to be close to a wild tiger but can enjoy watching one in a zoo. I think that Carroll's theory is good but his mistake is to assume that people only enjoy horror for one reason. Another idea as to why we enjoy horror films is Aristotle's catharsis, the idea that we will feel relief having released or come to find a deeper understanding of our emotions. This theory is echoed today in psychoanalysis. The problem with this theory in the Aristotelian sense is that we do seem to enjoy the whole of the film and not just the feeling of having watched the film. It is also true that a horror film watched whilst in a state of real fear will not help us feel better. In the more psychological, Freudian sense, this theory can not work for every type of horror film. This is because psychoanalysts tend to think that the release needed is a release of sexual emotion which is repressed in our society, for example ideas of incest, rape or other taboo sexual practises. We do not want to admit to ourselves that we can enjoy them and so it is only in horror that we can allow ourselves the freedom to emotionally respond. By experiencing them through horror we will be able to tell ourselves that we are really disgusted. This theory works well for monsters like vampires or Freddy Kruger but not so well for creatures such as King Kong. John Mack argues that it is not just sexual ideas but any primitive infantile fear that can be released in horror, such as the idea of being consumed by your parents. Rosemary Jackson claims that horror is there so that we can experience things which are not found in our culture. Monsters are representative of unspoken possibilities that exist but are not thought of because we mostly only think within the confounds of our own society. Horror may show us how society can be different and so have a political message, this can be positive or negative. An obvious example is the case of horror being anti-feminist since it often features sexually active women being killed. For example 'Nightmare on Elm Street' has a naked women killed after having sex and later on in the film a bladed hand come up between the legs of a woman in the bath. This clearly implies thoughts of rape and violence. Edited by hyena in petticoat on 01/10/08 - 10:15 PM. Reason: Added spaces in between paragraphs for easier reading.
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Seneca
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Posted 12/05/07 - 12:14 PM:	#2
Good post. What is interesting here is that this need not apply to just horror, but all extreme experiences, whether on a screen or in real life. It is curiousity that instigates people to bunjyjump, or eat outlandish bugs, for example, and it is the catharsis that they feel that brings them back each time, and perhaps the curiousity that still lingers on. Any sort of sense perception narrative or otherwise, that provides a shocking(but evidently safe) experience can be freeing and uplifting. Everyone knows jumping off a bridge, or being raped, or eating potentially poisonous creatures can be damaging and even fatal, unless there is something seriously wrong with them. The main reason that it is acceptable as entertainment is the esoteric value that comes from being exposed to it in a safe manner.

ink?
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Posted 12/06/07 - 01:26 AM:	#3
This is a really interesting topic! I have wondered about these ideas a lot, mainly because I personally can't stand horror; I can't relate to enjoying it at all. I have theorized that perhaps people enjoy horror and other "negative" experiences because of an innate dependence on contrast to facilitate perception. Perhaps people search for negative experiences in a safe and contained environment because a completely sheltered and unmarred life leaves us starved of the contrast we need to appreciate existence. This theory would imply that people who have experienced real life trauma must tend to have less need or desire to explore horror in films or art. I know that this isn't necessarily true. I know for example of children who have had to face real life trauma and violence and seem to be abnormally attracted to violence in film and art. Maybe people also use horror as a means of normalizing their life experiences. Ultimately I believe that there are no unbroken rules where psychology and art are involved, and everyone behaves with slightly or drastically varied motives. That doesn't stop us trying to identify patterns to follow though!

Allhazred
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Posted 12/06/07 - 07:42 AM:	#4
Well, hmm, personally I love horror films, I have yet to find one that scares me, but many seem to have something behind them, a profound thought about human existance, I enjoy watching horror flicks to find the profound thought behind them.
A lie told often enough becomes the truth. Vladimir Lenin your awareness of the whole is marred by your awareness of that which moves contrary to the whole - the sixth dimension Maybe... if you spend your life worrying... then the only way that your life will have meaning is if what you fear becomes real. - tagline from Sublime

Ratfather
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Posted 01/10/08 - 06:34 AM:	#5
A good horror movie, for me, is one where I during some scenes actually regret going to see it due to the effect it has on me. So I guess the reason I keep going to see horror movies is to experience fear/horror in a safe environment. Maybe it is a kind of a hardening process, training to become immune to fear and thus increasing my chance of survival if should become fear struck in real life some day. Also I'm intrigued by the fact that a fictional movie can scare the crap out of me, despite I know that it's all smoke and mirrors. So there's defenently some kind of exploring your own reactions involved.

loui100
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Posted 01/10/08 - 11:21 AM:	#6
Well, its funny because I don't find horror movies enjoyable at all. Fear and disgust brings just that. And yes, there is thrill, but quite frankly, I would rather watch an action movie rather than an absolute gore-fest and spend money on therapy later on. If I watch a "horror" movie, its gotta be one that is intellectual, interesting in plot. For me, horrors are allright so long as they are not centred around gore but rather make the best of the freedom fantasy-horror settings give. So personally, to me enjoyment from horror movies is completely alien to me. But it might be the curiosity, I agree. I guess, it depends on the, how should I say, direction of one's curiosity. Some people are interested in human nature or some just satisfy themselves with macabre visuals and gore which they do not experience, in such great magnitude, in their daily lives.

hyena in petticoat
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Posted 01/10/08 - 10:40 PM:	#7
Hmmm... I like horror films. A long time ago, I was able to appreciate texas-chainsaw-massacre-kind of movies but well, it gets tiring if one gets to watch practically the same brutality and gore over and over again. Since The Ring japanese version and Feng Shui a Filipino horror movie, I haven't come across a film that I found really scary (thus good). As to why, I pondered about it when I came across this thread, and I think maybe it's because of our inherent curiosity. What's never ascertained we often find interesting. Like "fear of the unknown". Or maybe simply because we love excitement and thrill towards a temporary "escape" from the often "normal/ moderate/ routinary" life. But of course, these are just my humble non-expert opinion.
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Posted 01/26/08 - 10:57 PM:	#8
I don't particularly like horror films, but I wouldn't mind if someone offered me one. I think we enjoy them because our love of excitement and our love of marvelous. I pretty much agree with what "hyena in petticoat" says. We are inclined to find an escape from out monotonous life, especially you are living in a perfectly safe and peaceful and happy environment. You desire something that can excite you. For the love of marvelous, one of the reasons is that we all have curiosity. We want to know thing that are being kept mysterious. Another reason is that we are counterintuitive. This has something to do with neuroscience. We are interested in things that resemble us, but on the other hand, some characteristics that are wholly different from us. If you are interested, please refer to the book "Religion Explained" by Pascal Boyer. He uses religion as an example to explain how this mechanism works. I don't think I am knowledgeable enough to explain it.

Tarek_A
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Posted 05/24/08 - 08:36 PM:	#9
I don't enjoy horror movies at all

Evangelos
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Posted 05/25/08 - 05:49 PM:	#10
We like to feel alive. We live in a world where there is a large absence of life-or-death circumstances. We don't need to fight off sabretooth tigers or hunt mammoths anymore, but we still have that wiring in us, so we experience extremes, more often than not, in the safety of our homes. Which is sort of funny when you think about it, we're trying to relive our glory days, and all through history our ancestors have tried to get away from them.

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