Fear And Risk In Home Alone

A film is a medium that has diverse options through which to express a story, and likewise various methods through which themes may be explored. The use of film to explore themes and concepts is an interesting method in that through its creative character leaves open seemingly limitless possibilities. In this essay, the film Home Alone will be explored as it relates to the themes of fear and risk. First, the understanding of fear and risk at the beginning of the paper will be explored, followed by a comparison of articles on the subject. Following this, the way in which Home Alone employed fear and risk, and the dynamics thereof, will be considered, linked to both film and life.

Risk is something that generally entails the potential of loss, and also the potential of gain. A risk is undertaken when the end result is considered to be greater than the potential damage that could be done in the event that the end result is not reached. The decision depends upon the level of fear of the individual and how likely they feel the opposing development inherent within the risk to occur. Individuals in today’s society go against their self-control and voluntary perform risk to see how far they can push their limits (Lupton, 1999).

Fear is something that comes about due to the potential of harm. Harm may take on many forms, whether physical, emotional, financial, or other. Should a person feel their body, their mind, or their bank account to be threatened, they may experience fear. Fear is a reaction to a perceived threat, and may in fact be a valuable element of human emotion. Fear notifies an individual of the potential of harm, encouraging them to proceed with caution to prevent the harm from being realized. Fear can be both ...

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... to be frozen in fear by the dark, he may have been unable to move when the burglars began their entry, an occurrence that should generate very real fear.

Risk must be recognized to be effectively guarded against, and a proportional amount of fear is of value in that it may motivate the individual to guard against the risk that it is based upon. While Home Alone illustrated the relationship between risk and fear very well, the level of risk and fear employed was fictional and childish given that it was a child’s film, and failed to reflect the humor of a home invasion in reality. Fear can be beneficial when based upon real risk, while a failure to perceive risk may result in a lack of safety. Therefore, it is important to measure risk when attempting to determine the required level of fear to apply to a given situation, in addition to the level of security.