Rhetorical Analysis Of Horror Movies By Stephen King

Stephen King, a renowned author known especially for his horror fiction, revealed his thoughts on possible reasons to explain the human fascination with horror movies. He speaks informally to the audience and is blunt with his perspective on the matter at hand.
Based on the main idea centered around horror movies, the intended audience for this article is comprised of horror movie enthusiasts as well as fans of Stephen King himself. When King states, “When we pay our four or five bucks…in a theater showing a horror movie, we are daring the nightmare,” he is referring to those that watch horror movies. His statement about watching horror movies would not apply to an audience that has not watched any films of that sort. The blurb also states that King, “has more recently begun to attract significant critical attention…,” making it sensible to assume his fans are included in the audience that read the article. The purpose of the article is to encourage the audience to contemplate over the true reason why humans enjoy horror movies. This can be proven with just the title of the article which states, “Why We

He states, “The fun comes from seeing others menaced—sometimes killed.” Ethics relate to moral principles and King raises questions of the morality of enjoying images of people struggling to survive through various situations. The act of killing is undeniably an immoral act; therefore, King causes the readers to reflect whether or not watching such acts can be considered unethical as well.
• Pathos: An appeal to pathos is created when King compares horror films to sensitive topics. He writes, “the horror film has become the modern version of the public lynching.” Lynching is a topic that evokes intense emotions whenever it is mentioned in conversation. King takes advantage of those emotions and captures readers’ attention by speaking about such a