Insanity: “doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results” a quote by Albert Einstein that helps sum up humanity’s love for horror movies. People go see horror movies all the time, each time the graphics are clearer and more intense than the last. Are people expecting them to change? If not then why would anyone in their right mind, make a conscious decision to go see the next horror movie knowing what they know, understanding that someone will get stabbed, beaten, shot, or killed? Its simple humans crave them, we enjoy horror but why? In this essay Stephen Kings thesis “I think we’re all mentally ill; those of us outside the asylums only hide it a little bit better” (405). In that statement he provides a twisted example of “Why we crave Horror Movies” claiming it’s mainly because of our mental state. King explains there are many reasons for going to see them, he says we go to have fun, we go to dare the nightmare and we go to re-establish our since of normalcy. All of which I find are strong arguments were he states his case. With his use of urbane humor, he says “the potential lyncher is in almost all of us”(406). King uses practical wisdom to lead his audience to believe that without horror films, humans are all ticking time bombs set to explode from buildup of pathos, just waiting to become another “funny farm crazy” or “Jack the ripper” to some degree or another. Some would say watching horror movies and being scared out of your wits is a fun way to spend their hard earned money. They go see these movies on average once a week, each time choosing a newer version of a trilogy like “Chucky” or “The evil Dead”. Film making has come a long way over the last few decades, the graphic... ... middle of paper ... ...usion, we find that from this essay we have a better understanding of why Stephen King believes all of us are mentally ill in some way, just maybe not to as high a degree as “Jack the ripper”. That we all enjoy the hunt either on the big screen or in a field, it’s part of our primal instincts. We see that humans crave things they are not supposed to and that’s ok as long as you are letting those emotions out in a healthy way. Stephen King has done a brilliant job of carrying out his thesis in this essay proving his theory that we are all mentally ill. We all need some way to release the dark feelings within us, we have all known this for many years, and movies seem to be the most current form of treatment. So treat yourself to a horror movie if you dare its great therapy. WORKS CITED Stephen King “Why We Crave Horror Movies” Published in Playboy Magazine (1981)
There are two types of movies that provide psychic relief. One of those types of movies could be a horror film that makes everyone scream. The other type is a movie like Marley and Me that provides catharsis by making everyone cry. In Stephen King’s essay ¨Why We Crave Horror¨, he explains that the reason why we watch horror movies is because ¨… horror movies provide psychic relief¨. This is because he believes it is rare for people to have that opportunity to express such negative emotions when watching horror films. King’s argument has elements that agreeable and disagreeable. On the one hand, he is right when claiming that our emotions and fears need to be controlled by an exercise; however, his belief that horror movies provide psychic
The article Why We Crave Horror Movies by Stephen King distinguishes why we truly do crave horror movies. Stephen King goes into depth on the many reasons on why we, as humans, find horror movies intriguing and how we all have some sort of insanity within us. He does this by using different rhetorical techniques and appealing to the audience through ways such as experience, emotion and logic. Apart from that he also relates a numerous amount of aspects on why we crave horror movies to our lives. Throughout this essay I will be evaluating the authors arguments and points on why society finds horror movies so desirable and captivating.
In his essay, “Why We Crave Horror Movies” King attempts to bring understanding to the phenomenon of the horror film genre. He states “sanity becomes a matter of degree” eluding to the theory that sanity is relative and that all humans are relatively insane. Jack the Ripper and the Cleveland Torso Murderer were the examples of humans on one extreme of the spectrum of sanity; saints represent the other safe end of the sanity spectrum. He illustrates the thought that in order for human kind to stay functionally sane there needs to be some sort of outlet for our violent “mad” thoughts. In King’s view horror movies provide a stable outlet and mental relief for innate madness. King argues that his insanity/ant civilization emotions are ingrained
“Why We Crave Horror Movies,” an essay by the legendary Stephen King, explains two challenging concepts to understand: why people like gory horror movies and how people are able to control their darkest desires. “I think that we’re all mentally ill; those of us outside the asylums only hide it a little better – and maybe not all that much better, after all.” King opens the essay by addressing the hard truth- we are all insane. People have dull lives, and often it’s the little bit of crazy within in us tha...
Through the use of insanity as a metaphor, authors such as William Shakespeare, Edgar Allen Poe, William Blake, and Charlotte Perkins Gilman, have utilized the extreme feelings of fear, love, hate, anger, and revenge to illustrate: the creation of a weakened psychological state that renders the victim susceptible to bouts of madness; the internalization of stimuli that has permeated the human psyche resulting in the chasm between rational and irrational thought; and the consequences of the effects of the psychological stress of external stimuli demonstrated through the actions of their characters.
What is madness? Is madness a brain disorder or a chemical imbalance? On the other hand, is it an expressed behavior that is far different from what society would believe is "normal"? Lawrence Durrell addresses these questions when he explores society's response to madness in his short story pair "Zero and Asylum in the Snow," which resembles the nearly incoherent ramblings of a madman. In these stories, Durrell portrays how sane, or lucid, people cannot grasp and understand the concept of madness. This inability to understand madness leads society to fear behavior that is different from "normal," and subsequently, this fear dictates how they deal with it. These responses include putting a name to what they fear and locking it up in an effort to control it. Underlying all, however, Durrell repeatedly raises the question: who should define what is mad?
King talks mostly about horror movies. He says that he loves horror movies, and that the best ones are the most aggressive. Then, King says that we are all crazy. King says that horror movies are a release. To distract us from everyday life. He also says that we watch horror films to feed our dark side. Meaning that you get your “fix” of hurting people just by watching the movie. That way you can keep your humanity and don’t go out and hurt anyone in real life. Another reason for watching horror movies is simply for the fun of it. We go as if it was a dare, saying that I’m not afraid to watch this. Just like a roller coaster, we go acting brave and confident and as it goes on it plays with our emotions and might get a scream out of us at certain times. Also, King mentions that horror movies are like sick jokes. “They have a dirty job to do” (King, 563). He says that because it releases our nastiest fanatics and appeals to all of
Do you ever wonder why you or other people like horror movies? What makes them so interesting? Why does the general society enjoy entertaining themselves with the horror genre? Well, Stephen King might have the answer to that. Mr. King strongly agrees with the idea that we might all have a little craving for watching such morbid scenes or reading about them, and creating our own gruesome scenario. Stephen King believes that humans crave horror for the purpose of facing our fears, to reestablish our feelings of normality, and to have an unusual type of ‘fun’, and he’s right.
The functioning of the average human mind has intrigued and plagued philosophers and thinkers over centuries, one of the most curious and fascinating studies have been made into personages with dual personalities, schizophrenia being one of the factors. Similarly, in the book, The Strange Case, as well as in the film, Psycho, the books are taken place in late Victorian London, but Psycho is in late 60’s in the USA. The respective authors in these two texts portray that duality of human nature exists in society and humanity through the use of characterization and setting.
With a firm belief that people are all mentally ill, Stephen King, a well-known horror novelist, composes his essay, titled “Why We Crave Horror Movies,” to elaborate on the popular appeal of these types of films. Within the essay, King studies the human race and claims that all of mankind needs to release their insanity. With many years of experience in the field of horror, he believes that horror films lets individuals release the bad that lives within themselves in a safe and socially acceptable way. He starts by addressing the basic reasoning of why men and women alike willingly buy a ticket to see a horror movie before deeply analyzing why horror movies are so alluring. King states that the public goes to see horror movies for three reasons:
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.
Edgar Allen Poe may just be both-- a 19th-century genius and a literary lunatic. His tales mentioned here, of mystery and murder, are wrought with insanity, instability and the ramblings and doings of mentally deranged psychopaths. Though his themes are many, and the character motives always up for interpretation, the theme of madness and insanity seem to grab hold of the reader and pull him or her directly into the story. Critic Patrick Mcgrath ends his essay, “Method to the Madness,” by stating, “The reader who’s been successfully enlisted as a kind of psychiatric detective will find herself engaged with minds blind to their own dysfunction, which makes them as rich in complexity as any in our literature.”
Modern day horror films are very different from the first horror films which date back to the late nineteenth century, but the goal of shocking the audience is still the same. Over the course of its existence, the horror industry has had to innovate new ways to keep its viewers on the edge of their seats. Horror films are frightening films created solely to ignite anxiety and panic within the viewers. Dread and alarm summon deep fears by captivating the audience with a shocking, terrifying, and unpredictable finale that leaves the viewer stunned. (Horror Films)
Stephen King believes everyone has a mental illness. His goal in his essay was to prove to his audience that, everyone has some kind of a mental illness, its just that some hide their illness better than others. Szasz, Thomas S. (2016) who wrote “The myth of mental illness” claims that mental illness does not exist which disagrees with King’s claim in his journal abstract. He counter claims that mental illness is nothing but a myth.
We all have cravings, be it for snacks or sweets, there is always something we desire. We crave horror in the same way. In Stephen King’s essay, “Why We Crave Horror Movies,” he argues that people need to watch horror films in order to release the negative emotions within us. King believes that people feel enjoyment while watching others be terrorized or killed in horror movies. King’s argument has elements that are both agreeable and disagreeable. On one hand he is acceptable when claiming we like the thrill and excitement that comes from watching horror movies; however, his views regarding that the fun comes from seeing others suffer cannot be agreed with because the human condition is not as immoral as he claims it to be.