Whilst researching ideas around being scared, i began thinking about people who actually enjoy horror, people to actively do/watch scary things because they enjoy them. This thought enabled me to find the journal The Journal of Aesthetics and Art Criticism, "The Paradox of Horror", by Katerina Bantinaki.
It was an interesting read as to why some people enjoy being scared, i personally cannot think of anything worse. I am going to list a few of the more interesting points and slightly 'discuss' them!
1) Most major box office winning films are of the horror genre, for example Jaws and The Exorcist. With these films there are three main things one needs to consider when making the films: narrative structure, camera viewpoint and musical score. Often, the most important feature to a film is the musical score, the sound that accompanies a film can instantly heighten emotions as it taps into another sensory. I am becoming ever more understanding to the importance that a piece of sound can do/ add to a film.
2) Watching or reading horror is fine, as at any moment you can break away from it, get up, move away. Unlike with real horror, you are not subjected to any physical pain. This is all about control. The audience is controlling, to a large degree, what they are experiencing and having to deal with. It is this control which is closely liked to pleasure, see 4).
3) The 'symptoms', if we must call them anything, of fear are very closely linked to symptoms of enjoyment: accelerated heart rate, muscle tension and nervousness. It is no wonder that people don't rebuke from fear in media. Spiking a little fears in ones life can be sought after if your own life is very dull and you never get to experience these emotions. Children often do scary things to see how far they can push themselves, climbing trees or stick fighting for instance. They are curious to see the line between fear and pleasure.
4) Pleasure can be gained from fear, not just from the feelings and emotions that become aroused. You would be willing to do something fearful/ painful if it gained you pleasure. You enjoy watching the film at the end upon reflection. After the scary feelings, your body feels refreshed from them. An example used in the journal was a soldier who throws himself on a grenade to save his friends (pleasure of saving them) over seeing them die (emotional pain). Our need for pleasure over rules any amount of fear that can be bared for a while.
5) Finally there is the point that horror/pain can be both positive and negative. Nostalgia is a positive (reminds you of a happy time/ thing) and negative (that memory might be of something now dead) emotion. Other examples within the text: sweet sadness and tormenting love.
I want to continue on making my films slightly scary, in order for them to give this confusing experience. Where its something that you wouldn't necessarily want to watch, yet you just cant help yourself.
It was an interesting read as to why some people enjoy being scared, i personally cannot think of anything worse. I am going to list a few of the more interesting points and slightly 'discuss' them!
1) Most major box office winning films are of the horror genre, for example Jaws and The Exorcist. With these films there are three main things one needs to consider when making the films: narrative structure, camera viewpoint and musical score. Often, the most important feature to a film is the musical score, the sound that accompanies a film can instantly heighten emotions as it taps into another sensory. I am becoming ever more understanding to the importance that a piece of sound can do/ add to a film.
2) Watching or reading horror is fine, as at any moment you can break away from it, get up, move away. Unlike with real horror, you are not subjected to any physical pain. This is all about control. The audience is controlling, to a large degree, what they are experiencing and having to deal with. It is this control which is closely liked to pleasure, see 4).
3) The 'symptoms', if we must call them anything, of fear are very closely linked to symptoms of enjoyment: accelerated heart rate, muscle tension and nervousness. It is no wonder that people don't rebuke from fear in media. Spiking a little fears in ones life can be sought after if your own life is very dull and you never get to experience these emotions. Children often do scary things to see how far they can push themselves, climbing trees or stick fighting for instance. They are curious to see the line between fear and pleasure.
4) Pleasure can be gained from fear, not just from the feelings and emotions that become aroused. You would be willing to do something fearful/ painful if it gained you pleasure. You enjoy watching the film at the end upon reflection. After the scary feelings, your body feels refreshed from them. An example used in the journal was a soldier who throws himself on a grenade to save his friends (pleasure of saving them) over seeing them die (emotional pain). Our need for pleasure over rules any amount of fear that can be bared for a while.
5) Finally there is the point that horror/pain can be both positive and negative. Nostalgia is a positive (reminds you of a happy time/ thing) and negative (that memory might be of something now dead) emotion. Other examples within the text: sweet sadness and tormenting love.
I want to continue on making my films slightly scary, in order for them to give this confusing experience. Where its something that you wouldn't necessarily want to watch, yet you just cant help yourself.