That's the question I mean to address, What Gives Horror Its Appeal. This topic hits home for me on a number of levels, the biggest of which is that I think it was the horror genre more than anything else that got me into film, via first exposures to it online via websites like X-Entertainment and I-Mockery and my young reading of HP Lovecraft and Steven King.
I also wanted to talk about it because I feel horror is at a low point now compared to how high it was in the 80s, due to the plague of remakes and the fact that the studios' current strategy of "big-budget, safe, PG-13 CGI spectacle" fits horror really; really poorly, but I feel that it's due for a renaissance due to the growing undercurrent, hence its relevance to pop culture. And I know sooooo much about the topic that it's not even funny, thanks to my vaguely autistic browsing of the internet for horror data and my nigh-religious attendance of the Loft's Mondo Mondays and All-Nite Scream-O-Ramas.
I'd personally respond that it's a combination of both a genuine love of being horrified for the thrill, the joy in seeing the macabre creativity that the genre does and the natural human interest in the unknown (which also happens to be the greatest and oldest source of terror), but that's before doing all the research. And in my research I need to find specifics. Academically trackable specifics so I can make the paper publishable and rub it in people's faces.
So yeah. That is the state of the Union. Any tips?
I think that its good that you have chosen to do something that you personally really enjoy. I think the the idea that you have right is really good and is in the right direction. I like how you talk and compare the horror movies form today and from the 80's. I think that is a great way to go about the paper when expanding it. I also lie how you talk bout how you feel about it and thing you like and don't like about it.
ReplyDeleteI have an idea that may help! I think that the topic is still pretty broad but if you combined your expertise on horror films with our education in social media, I may have a new way you could address the topic. You say that the genre is in need of a come back. What would that come back take? Analyze maybe a couple other genres that had positive come backs and track the steps it takes as it goes through popular culture. Then you can sketch out a battle plan to bring horror back on top. You're essentially analyzing past data, creating a hypothesis, and then applying your hypothesis in a potential experiment. Sounds pretty awesome to me. But this is of course just an idea.
ReplyDeleteHorror has always been something of my interest. In terms of writing an academic paper, you have to figure out the connection the change of horror of 80s as it is now to popular culture. Look into the specifics of the technology and special effects being used to create the horror. See if the audience of horror has changed from the 80s till now. Try to find out why the change in audience has occurred. Overall how the concept of horror has changed over the years.
ReplyDeleteMaybe you could just make the paper a complete comparison between the 80's and now. Maybe just compare the two in every way you can think of to fill up the paper. Like, the change in budgets, the change in audiences, the amount of remakes, things like that. Then maybe you could take all that and analyze it somehow. Maybe take it and figure out why all those changes have happened and who they benefit. Just some ideas.
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