American Horror Films Have Often Played On Our Societal Fears

‘The word genre means ‘type’ or ‘category’’ (Teach yourself film studies) it is really important as an audience member to recognise genres as then things become categorised and easier for them to understand which is more comforting. Sometimes however genres are crossed and categories are broken for example sometimes we have ‘action thrillers’ or ‘sci-fi horrors’ this is known as a hybrid genre. This often intrigues the audience and draws them to the film as it changes their outlook as they have no expectations for the film as they have never been exposed to this genre before.

Setting conventions play a huge part within the horror genre. Since horror first existed it has been set in ghostly abandoned castles with spooky dark dungeons, gloomy forests and spine-chilling secret passageways. Since these, settings in the horror genre has evolved into a more terrifying definition of scary. In horror movies today we mainly see old, haunted, broken down houses set in isolated forests exactly like the new house the family moves into in ‘The Conjuring’ or like in the horror movie ‘Halloween’, set in a neighbourhood during the night time. Horror has moved into these more sophisticated ideas of creepy and scary as the setting is more relatable to everyday life, and takes a toll on the audience's psychological mind set to start

This movie Directed by Paul Haggis who also directed Academy Award Winning "Million Dollar Baby" and had also won an Academy Award for this movie as well puts a twisted story in this film. This movie is trying to symbolize what goes on in the world today in regards to racism and stereotypes. He tries to make a point on how societies view themselves and others in the world based on there ethnicities. This movie intertwines several different people's lives, all different races, with different types of beliefs. Such ethnicities include Caucasians, African Americans, Hispanics, Asians and Middle Eastern. This movie includes conflicts on both sides of the picture from cops and criminals as well

Genres are categorized in several ways. The use of genre is important in film because producers believe it would be good for marketing. There are different types of films. Action films is where the protagonist is involve in physical fights or chases. Adventure films involve the explorations the protagonist has throughout the story. Comedy films is mainly about humor. It makes the audience laugh by its comedic sense. Crime and gangster films is about the adventures of criminals or gangsters who break the laws, does robberies, and murder people who they despise of. Horror films involves the antagonist who kills victims in a terrifying and shocking manner. It causes the audience to feel uneasy and panic when murder takes place. Mystery films involves

Most horror films tend to be relatable, forgettable and follows mostly the same routine. However, it is so great to have an original mind of a horror and a comedy film that originates from Jordan Peele. It has a racial and stereotypical difference that is a socially important issue. But, it does not reveal or throw completely its issuance theme to the viewers which may find uncomfortable and unsettling. It breaks the stereotypes towards different race than white and gives black men more encouragement and the advantage aspect than being victims. It seemingly waves its social critique wave to a new level of a blend of horror, thrills, and comedy making this a professional and masterful film amongst these genres. It is a good, surprisingly new debut for a first-time writer and director for a widely releasing film around the world, a one to be praised and

In looking at the 1992 horror film entitled Candyman that was directed by Bernard Rose and Clive Barker, race is one of key parts of the film. Many aspects of the film were changed from the short story that Clive Barker wrote in 1985 entitled The Forbidden. Most the notable aspects of the film are missing in the original story and this brings the to mind the idea that something caused Clive Barker to change so many key features of his story as he brought the story to life on the silver screen. As mentioned by Mark Pellegrini in his article about Candyman “as he appeared in “The Forbidden” was actually a white guy with long blonde hair and incredibly pale skin. Another difference was Candyman’s garb. In the film he wears a long overcoat, while in the book he is clad in a brightly colored patchwork outfit. The actor that plays Candyman in the film is the furthest possible image from The Forbidden could ever be as a 6’5-foot African American actor named Tony Todd. Another notable change was the location of the story itself as it was supposed to be set in London, England but was instead moved to the housing project in Chicago, Illinois for the film. The film, Candyman, is notable not only as one of the few slasher films that features African Americans but it is one of the few horror movies that not only showed African Americans as racially inferior human beings and as products of victimization while also challenging racial stereotypes of the period of the late 1980s through

RACISM AS A CAUSE FOR CRIME AND VIOLENCE: CINEMATIC ANALYSIS OF “BOYZ N’ THE HOOD”

Horror movies throughout history have been known to have their cheesy storylines or continuous bad acting. Especially horror movies. People nowadays could easily spot the flaws in a film and judge them drastically in reviews. Yet, little do people notice the ongoing discrimination between genders. Horror films tend to portray males and females substantially differently because of stereotypical views. There seems to be a pattern in which each gender takes a certain role in a movie continuously. Females are shown to be “objects” such as sex and emotional symbols, while males are shown as strong or powerful and moreover as the main bad guy. Although some of the newer edition films of the horror genre are displaying each gender more and more equal throughout the ongoing years, the gender discrimination dilemma still exists and can be seen by the statistics in the movie industry in general.

Many films, and sometimes film genres, are dismissed as being part of the cinema of escapism. This assumes that in times of particular social or economic hardship (often on a national or international level), people go to movies for the sole purpose of “getting away from it all.” While some films may follow this overall trend, it is important to note that it cannot be a generalization made for all films. During the Weimar era in Germany, the nation was in the midst of a national struggle on many fronts. As a people, Germans attempted to deal with their past (the problems during World War I as well as the consequences of their loss) and move toward the future (finding a solution for their economic struggles and defining themselves

“What’s your favorite scary movie?” is the most well known line in all of the horror film genre which comes from the opening scenes of Scream (1996). The movie Scream is about a series of murders around the one year anniversary of Maureen Prescott’s death, mother of Sidney Prescott (Neve Campbell). The killer known as Ghostface is after Sidney Prescott to make her pay for the sins committed by her mother. In the beginning of the film, Ghostface calls Casey ( Drew Barrymore) and one of the questions during their phone call is “What is your favorite scary movie?” Scream is one of the most famous scary movies because of Randy’s (Jammie Kennedy) played by three rules for surviving a horror movie. The rules are (1) never have sex, (2) never do drugs and drink alcohol, and (3) never say “I’ll be right back”. Randy makes the argument that the people murdered are the fornicators, substance users, and

Race is a difficult subject to speak about, but it is essential not to shy away from this significant issue no matter how shocking the truth. No one can merely watch a film and understand racism. However, Paul Haggis develops a film that sheds light on an extremely grim place that still exists in America. One curious aspect of racism in the film is highlighted by characters who try to tear down others to show how their race is superior. Regardless of their skin color, almost every character in the movie has prejudices towards races other than their own.

When someone mention ‘Racism’ what comes to our mind? Most people think that Racism is the discrimination of one's race through their genetical and physical characteristics compare to the other race. Racism is easy to recognize and separate ourselves from easily. Former President Barack Obama stated that “It’s not just a matter of it not being polite to say ‘nigger’ in public. That’s not the measure of whether racism still exists or not. It’s not just a matter of overt discrimination. Societies don’t, overnight, completely erase everything that happened 200 to 300 years prior (National Public Radio).” Racism is everywhere but the causes of the racism still exist even though we are created equally. But sometimes due to lack of the knowledge of other culture, which could develop Racism among the other race. What does it take when Horror film takes fear of racism? It can be unsettling when we can see clear dichotomy between good and evil and the obscure fear we create on. And so Horror films are used to guide those people who are discriminating black people on how they feel. Black characters in the film are often offer subtle difference on how we deal with the matters of race. Jordan peele, a director of Get Out, has done a great job in the Horror genre of showing the fear of being black in the modern world. He had placed a modern social issues which dealt with race into an thrilling and entertaining horror film.

From bloody massacres to demonic possessions, the genre of horror has come a long way, todays horror movies have a variety of things in common with horror movies from the early 1900s. Although horror movies have been around for decades, they’ve changed through out the years. From extreme gore and gushing blood to edge full suspenseful horror; horror movies have different and unique styles.

When in a scary movie does the director have a nice and pleasant scene when they are trying to display a feeling of fear? He or she usually does not do this when trying to portray fear for the audience. The setting themselves might not be a terrifying scene to begin with, but with the right conditions almost anything can turn into a picture straight out of a horror movie. These pictures do this perfectly to portray the thought of a bad outcome or a menacing turn of events. The thought of a church like the once in the pictures seem to be of a place only the dead shall walk, or ghost to appear floating around. The mountain might be a beautiful sight during the summer months when all the flowers and green grass is out. During the winter though

The media has a way of influencing people of all ages. Specifically, violence and horror in the media are the most debated. Why do people go to watch violent movies or horror movies? They go for entertainment without realizing the physical or mental effects. Kathy Benjamin’s “5 Scientific Ways Watching Movies Effects You” and Bernie DeGroat’s “Scary Movies Can Have Lasting Effects on Children and Teens” both mention the negative effects of movies, especially horror movies, with research or studies. However, only one of the essays, “5 Scientific Ways Watching Movies Effects You,” mentions some positive effects. Statistics have shown that watching these type movies can have short and long term repercussions.