Quote:
Originally Posted by Disastermind
If there ever was a time for horror it's now.
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lots of good points in this thread, so no need for me to congratulate you all on good posts, but I did find this interesting...
I could not agree with you more, though I think in America today you would find most people would disagree. Why? Because most Americans are of the mindset of, "There's so much
real-life horror in the world today, why create more things to be afraid of?"
well, if that is the case, my fellow American, then you just argued against your own point.
the "real life" world is a scary place, and, in most folks's opinion, getting worse every day. environmental issues, war, ever-rising crime rates, the steep plummet of an economy based on consumption... you name it, the earth, and all those aboard it, are doomed (can you tell my glass is half-empty?).
but it's now, more than ever, that we need Michael Myers, or Freddy Krueger, or Frankenstein, to let us blow off some steam and walk out into the sunlight after a matinee and say, "Well, the dollar might not be worth shit, but at least I don't have a burn victim with a knife-glove coming after me in my sleep! whew!"
we need horror films, to remind us that maybe things aren't as bad as they seem, or if they are, at least they're not
that bad.
there have been unending books and essays about how the horror film, more than any other genre, is a reaffirmation of life. I know it seems counter-intuitive, but just thing of that high you get after watching a good horror movie (in b4 "horror movies don't scare me" bullshit). that's because your mind went into "fight or flight" and you fought (unless you ran screaming from the theatre which, if you did, please tell what movie it was so I can take the rest of the day off from work and visit my local theatre). not only did you fight, but you
won. you survived it, and that satisfies some primal instinct in us, which in turn reminds us, once again, that we are alive and could, presumably, overcome any obstacles set before us (except perhaps that dude in the sweater). :D