In horror stories there are a lot of problems with the people who witness the crime and they do nothing about it. All they do is just stand there and watch and don’t say anything about it. They are just stuck there, watching it all happen. The people in all of these stories seem to enjoy the crime and stand there smiling or they stand there watching because they are scared and can not seem to move. In the short story “Kitty, 40 Years Later” there are so many people that witnessed the crime, but none of them called the police or helped stop it. On March 13, 1964, Kitty Genovese was brutally murdered. She screamed for help and people heard the scream yet nobody helped. Not one person called the police. There were 38 people who witnessed the crime and apparently some man yelled out the window “leave that girl alone!” That is the only thing he did and nobody else did anything. They all just witnessed it and did nothing. If there is more than one person who …show more content…
The crime rates were very low back then so people did not know what to do when kitty got killed. Kitty got stalked by a guy when she was driving, then she got out of her car and he followed her on foot. She tried running away from him but he caught up very quickly and stabbed her in her back multiple times. When the killer heard the man yell he ran away. He then moved his car and changed his clothes and returned to kill her completely and he found that she moved to the back of her building. Later when the killer was captured he confessed to killing kitty and another girl. People said that there were three attacks when really there was only two. Where her death hit the hardest is with the ones who were closest to her. Her brother joined the Marines and when he went to war he kept thinking of his
In Chapter 4, In the Unlikely Event of a Water Landing, the author Lauren Slater starts the chapter off telling the true story of how a young woman, Kitty Genovese, was brutally murdered and raped outside of her apartment complex. What was most shocking in the aftermath is there were a total of 38 witnesses and not a single person did anything to help her. This raised many concerns as to why the witnesses did nothing. When they were being interviewed by the cops, they stated that they just did not want to get involved(p.94), thus “diffusing responsibility”, this is a term used by two psychologists John Darley and Bibb Latane, who were very concerned with and wanted to understand why nothing was done to aid young Kitty Genovese as she was being stabbed and raped.
When they found the body, they automatically started looking for clues as to why the person was killed. They wanted to find anything that looked suspicious so that they could search for the killer. When they were looking for clues as to who the killer was, the killer caught on to them. The killer realized that he was being followed up on, and he made it his obligation to get to the main characters instead. The killer got a hold of one of the main characters in the woods, where he killed his second victim. The other two main characters did everything in their power to find their friend and help her, before she would be
If an individual is familiar with their surrounding “they are more likely to help” (Altruism and Helping Behavior. Print). In the essay, the authors state “the scene of the crime, the streets, in middle class society “represents all the vulgar and perilous in life” (Milgram, Stanley, and Paul Hollander. Paralyzed Witnesses: The Murder They Heard. Print.). In society, the streets, especially at night, represents the dangerous and negative sides of society due to the crimes and chaos that occur on the streets (gangs, drive-by shootings, robberies, murders, large crowds walking, etc.). The crimes and dangers of the streets cause many people to fear being on the streets alone which leads to external conflicts. When the murder was occurring, the witnesses’ attitudes of the streets prevented them from calling the police due to the fear of the streets and since the witnesses were middle-class, they believed that Genovese was poor, a criminal, or someone who has nothing else to do and was expecting for the=is to eventually
He could have turned the guilty party to the police, but he thought that it would end up hurting him.
Halloween is rife with psychological scares that affect its audience greatly. “Symbolism, dreamlike imagery, emotional rather than rational logic” are present in Psychoanalytic criticism. Siskel and Ebert talked about how the movie makes you feel as if you are the protagonist, scared for your life and feeling every bit of suspense (Siskel and Ebert). The movie is purely fueled by emotional responses to what is happening to the characters and focuses itself purely on how the audience will respond. In the clip shown, the main protagonist talks about how she killed the killer but he is shown alive. The movie is not concerned with the logic; otherwise, the killer would have at least been slowed down by the injuries he sustained. Siskel and Ebert laud the movie on its set up of scenes, score, character development, and use of lighting to make the audience feel the terror the characters undergo.
shot him. This shows that when a person goes against what is moraly right to
Certain bystanders ignored what was going on even though they had perfect knowledge of it. Many of them say they were just minding their own business (Bystander in Relation) but according to Raul Hilberg, they had all of the clues right in front of them and made the choice...
A girl runs frantically through the woods trying to escape an axe wielding villain. The defenseless victim suddenly trips and collapses to the ground. The villain laughs wickedly as he lifts the axe above his head. The girl releases a final scream as the weapon quickly ends her life, causing the audience to go silent as they watch the villain drag away the lifeless body. Death, blood, guts, suspense, screaming, and terror are all just a few things to expect when watching a modern day horror film. What is horror? Horror can be defined as an intense feeling of fear, shock, or disgust. (Wilson) The description of horror is not very pleasant, but for some reason horror films are extremely popular. Why is this so? People are addicted to the synthetic feeling of being terrified.
For example, according to Loudon, “For the most part the witnesses, couching in darkened windows like watchers of a late show, looked on until the play was passed their view. Then they went back to bed…” (Wrainright). This insinuates that none of Kitty’s neighbors contacted the police or did anything else to help in the situation until the next morning. If one of the neighbors would have just stood up for Kitty, or even called the police before the murderer returned to finish the job, then she may not have died. In addition, after the incident, one of the witnesses went on to say, “There are people over there who saw everything… And there hasn’t been a peep out of them yet. Not one peep” (Wainright). The reason for this may be that the people are scared to be the first to come and give statements to the police after not having done anything to stop the murder. The witnesses may also be feeling guilty or ashamed after realizing that they had just stood by as their fellow neighbor was killed. It is for this reason that it is so imperative that people not be pressured into conforming, because now all of the witnesses will have to carry the guilt of having not helped for the rest of their lives. Lastly, other witnesses admitted to not wanting to get involved, in the event that they may be taken in as a possible suspect or
The topic of murder itself can be a very emotional subject for some people. But, when you add in the fact that she had 38 known witnesses that did nothing, it makes the story and subject much more heartbreaking. The first example of an emotional appeal in the editorial is, “All we want is a phone call. We don’t even need to know who is making it.” This quote was said by Police Lieutenant Bernard Jacobs. The purpose is to show that anyone that hesitated to get involved, in fear of being questioned, or having to go to court, still could have done something. By saying the witnesses could have remained anonymous, creates a sense of guilt for the witnesses that only watched, and turned the other cheek. Jacobs goes on further to say, “He said he figured nobody would do anything to help.” This is what Kitty Genovese’s murder said after they caught him. This is a very emotional sentence because it is showing that he knew Kitty would be a good victim to target. He knew that people were only worried about themselves, that they wouldn’t step in and help. To readers the sentence is a wake up call, that some people, that may end up a killer, can judge other people's human
The article “The Murder They Heard” written by Stanley Milgram and Paul Hollander is a response to the article that Martin Gansberg “38 Who Saw Murder Didn’t Call the Police”. Milgram and Hollander explain why they do not agree that the neighbors of Catherine Genovese should have called the police. Milgram and Hollander give reasons why they disagree with Gansberg, and why I should agree with what they are saying. After reading both articles, I felt very conflicted with who I agree with, but after much deliberation, I realized that I agree more with Milgram and Hollander. The neighbors should not be blamed for Genovese’s death. We should try to understand why they did not call the police. There are a few things you need to take into consideration,
The presence of the two cats in the tale allows the narrator to see himself for who he truly is. In the beginning the narrator explains that his “tenderness of heart made him the jest of his companions”. (251) He also speaks of his love for animals that has remained with him from childhood into manhood. However, Poe contradicts this description of the narrator when he seems to become annoyed with the cat that he claims to love so much. While under the influence of alcohol the narrator is “fancied that the cat avoided his presence”(250) and as a result decides to brutally attack the cat. This black cat symbolizes the cruelty received by slaves from whites. The narrator not only “deliberately cuts one of the cats eyes from the sockets” (250) but he also goes on to hang the cat. Once the narrator successfully hangs the cat the tale begins to take a very dark and gothic-like turn. The racism and guilt of the narrator continues to haunt him once he has killed the black cat. Th...
Horror films are designed to frighten the audience and engage them in their worst fears, while captivating and entertaining at the same time. Horror films often center on the darker side of life, on what is forbidden and strange. These films play with society’s fears, its nightmare’s and vulnerability, the terror of the unknown, the fear of death, the loss of identity, and the fear of sexuality. Horror films are generally set in spooky old mansions, fog-ridden areas, or dark locales with unknown human, supernatural or grotesque creatures lurking about. These creatures can range from vampires, madmen, devils, unfriendly ghosts, monsters, mad scientists, demons, zombies, evil spirits, satanic villains, the possessed, werewolves and freaks to the unseen and even the mere presence of evil.
Reporting a crime could save lives. Every minute that passes, the chance of a crime victim getting help, or the criminal being caught, lessans. In the article, Thirty-Eight Who Saw Murder Didn’t Call the Police”, Martin Gansberg explains, “It was 3:50 by the time the police received their first call, from a man who was a neighbor of Miss Genovese. In two minutes they were on the scene.” In this article it tells a story of a woman who was murdered outside of her home, and how many neighbors heard the altercation but decided not to call the police. If someone who heard her being stabbed the first time would have called the police, there would have been a higher chance of her surviving. Even if the neighbors did not physically see the murder happening, many heard the disturbance. Witnessing or hearing a disturbance calls for you to report it to the authorities. A couple told the police, “We thought it was just a lovers quarrel.” Even if there was uncertainty, calling the police to be safe is crucial in today's age with crime.
It is intriguing how we as human beings are afraid of something. Yet when it comes to horror films, people all around the world are attracted to these type of films. The ones who can’t watch this type of genre film question people who enjoy it. They can’t seem to understand how people can get through watching the whole film or how people get excited viewing it.