My mother always tells us how when
she was younger her little sister, Simi, had a birthday party where Simi and
her friends watched the movie Nightmare on Elm Street. To this day my
mom still remembers the film and is terrified by it. In fact, for quite some
time my mom would tell us this story and not even say the name of the movie she
watched!
It is a very interesting phenomenon
for people to enjoy watching horror films, or reading violent and horrific
films, or even engaging in “thrilling behavior” such as sky diving or roller
coasters.
Perhaps the suspense caused by books and films
causes an adrenaline rush and people enjoy raising their heart rates; or perhaps
the thrill is more due to the fact that people enjoy engaging in risky behavior
but without the intense physical risk that would accompany such danger (as
described in horror stories) in real life. With regards to the roller coasters
the same idea could apply—people enjoy engaging in what feels to be dangerous
and risky and still causes the nervous system to go into “fight or flight”
response, yet they intellectually know (or hope) that the roller coasters are
in theory safe and regulated. (Just to define “fight or flight”: Wikipedia
defines it as the “physiological reaction that occurs in response to a
perceived harmful event, attack, or threat to survival.” This response has
various ways of manifesting itself in our body. For example, a signal is sent
to stimulate more blood flow to the muscles so a person can run faster and
fight with more energy. Furthermore, digestion slows, as the body wants to use
the energy that would be used for digestion, for a process that will assist in
survival, such as running, or yelling…Additionally, increased blood pressure,
and heart rate occurs in order to give the body more energy to either
run-“flight”- or stay and “fight.”) Perhaps the increased heart rate gives an
adrenaline rush and thus people enjoy watching and reading such horror films so
they can experience this feeling, but from the safety of their homes.
WebMD
describes this concept of watching horror films and reading horror books as the
“horror paradox.” It does seem to go against human nature as most individuals
enjoy being happy and satisfied rather than being terrified.
A professor
of communication at Purdue University
Stephen
King, an American horror and suspense novel author, explains that watching
horror films is a safe outlet for humans’ brutal and violent desires. This idea
is known as “symbolic catharsis.”
The fear
(no pun intended) remains, however, that via watching such films and exposing
oneself to such violence, humans are becoming much more desensitized to such
violence in real life (WebMD).
H.P.
Lovecraft, in his story The Call of Cthulhu, has created a masterful
work of horror. Perhaps he felt he must appeal to his readers, and that since
it is human nature to be drawn to the gory and violence, he must therefore
employ such graphic and horrific imagination.
However, I am not so convinced.
I’d like to believe that we do not
have natural desires for guts and gore. I think that this fascination with
violence and horror is more because it is not so common (thank G-d) in our
society that we are fascinated by it. It is natural to be curious about the
unknown, and such violent actions and emotions are truly unknown to most of the
public! This is true with regards to outer space, aliens, and the like, as well
as to fairy tale endings—fairy tale endings are truly unrealistic and thus so
many people love to watch them, Exactly because it is not real, we are truly
fascinated and curious, and therefore enjoy exploring such fields.
People want to know how it feels to
experience fear, thus, roller coasters, horror movies/books, are different ways
of going about this.
I will also venture to say that the
reason why some people do not watch horror films despite their curiosity, is
because their fear is greater than their desire to know (as in my case). For
those such individuals, perhaps their burning curiosity is directed towards
finding out about other unknowns, such as outer space explorations, or even
following a celebrity in the media—that person’s life is so foreign and unknown
that following him/her is the individual’s attempt at satiating his/her
curiosity of the unknown and unreachable.
The Malaysia
flight that recently disappeared has captured the world’s attention, not only
because so many lives have disappeared along with it, but, I may suggest, also
because of the fact that it just disappeared and we do not know
what has happened to it.
Humans desperately desire
knowledge.
In our Torah, it says that Jacob
mourned for Joseph and could not be comforted (when the brothers sold him into
slavery). The commentaries say that this is because one cannot be comforted for
the loss of someone who is not dead. If a loved one passes on, with time, the
wound may heal. But if someone, G-d forbid, goes missing and his/her fate is
unknown, healing is impossible.
The Unknown is scary and
fascinating to humans at the same time, hence, in human attempts to discover
and learn, we delve into emotions and engage in even such bizarre actions as
going on roller coasters, watching terrifying films, and reading horror books
not unlike H. P. Lovecraft’s The Call of Cthulhu.
I think it is very true that people love the thrill that they get from this fear while still being safe. But I think it could go even further than this, connected to your second part, about humans desiring knowledge. In addition to that thrill that is achieved in the moment of danger, there is also that relief when they come out OK, or in worst case, when the bad is over, knowing nothing else bad is coming. There is idea that the greatest happiness is that relief when there are no more doubts (in a Purim theme- Ein Simcha K'Hataras Ha'Sfeikos). So maybe part of this love of thrill is not just the thrill at the moment, but also getting that huge sense of relief and happiness after, a feeling hard to manufacture in a "boring" life
ReplyDeleteThanks for your comment Shulie! Point well taken. It is interesting to think how human nature likes to engage in activities to enjoy the aftermath effects/feelings. My rabbi in high school would always tell us when we complained that his tests were too hard, that if the tests were too easy and we all received easy A's we would not feel the satisfaction of having done well due to hard work. In other words, people enjoy engaging in activities, not only for the process but also for the feelings afterwards--we will even endure hard work in order to feel that sense of having earned it, after the work and results are present. This is what what your post reminded me of, when you said that "part of this thrill is not just the thrill at the moment, but also getting that huge sense of relief and happiness after,"--we do things so that we can feel certain ways after, not just in the moment. I guess this also goes hand in hand with such ideas as, say, dieting, or exercising :) One will withhold him/herself from eating certain foods, or make him/herself go to the gym, in order so that after these actions are accomplished, one will feel good and healthy about one's self. Thus, maybe this idea of people watching/reading horror stories, is just another manifestation of a recurring theme throughout our lives.
ReplyDeleteIt's interesting how horror can appeal to two opposite sides of human nature, emotional and intellectual. On one hand, there's the emotional fulfillment found in sensation seeking. Both the adrenaline rush while taking a risk, like Tamar said, or the relief that comes when the threat is removed, like Shuli said, are emotional aftereffects of fear. On the other hand, there’s also an aspect of intellectual curiosity to it, which plays into our fascination with the unknown and the extent to which we try to understand it, and are ultimately unable to. An unknown feeling, vs. an unknown idea. Reaching for new experiences might be the cause of watching classic horror films or other fear inducing media, while psychological thrillers cause fear from unknown ideas.
ReplyDeleteWhen it comes to reading horror fiction, the difference gets reduced to how involved we are with the story. If we feel like we’re part of the story, then we sympathize entirely with the main character’s reactions, and are vicariously terrified, elated, etc. If we’re not emotionally involved, then the enjoyment stems from general suspense or tension that comes from not knowing the the story will progress. Both are plot driven, I think, and they’re not mutually inclusive or exclusive, though they could be. I found that when reading Call of Cthulhu there was more of the latter than the former. There was a passive curiosity to discover the unknown, and a passive disquietude at not being able to understand a monster outside the scope of human understanding, with unknown, but dire, rituals and consequences that stem from it. There wasn’t the quaking, shaking, mindless fear that the characters had experienced though.
I think the common denominator between the two main phenomena being discussed, horror and the draw to the unknown, is suspense. However, suspense isn't a particularly pleasant experience. It isn't too enjoyable to have to wait for one's midterm grades for weeks on end. Neither is the anxiety experienced when one is waiting for a loved one to successfully emerge from an operation. Moreover, how is it possible that we feel suspense when reading a story we clearly know is fiction? What is so attractive about this experience of suspense?
ReplyDeleteWhen one watches a scary movie, they are not just feeling scared, but they are actually experiencing fear. The idea of danger triggers fear, whether or not something is threatening to the one experiencing that fear, or an on-screen, fictitious characters. This brings us full circle to the adrenaline theory that Tamar proposed; that the thrill of feeling fear, without the usual danger that would present itself with that feeling of fear, is a feeling many human beings crave. Perhaps it could be taken a step further though, and we can deduce that in fact feeling fear without experiencing danger is a thrill in it of itself. There is a certain sense of triumph, somewhat like a second tier adrenaline surge, that accompanies the ability to overcome an intense emotional experience. When one reaches the end of a horror story there is an unquestionable feeling of accomplishment and gratification for having reached the end and having mastered the frightening ideas that the story contains.
I remember the first time I watched Nightmare on Elm Street. I was home alone, it was late at night, and I could have sworn I heard noises coming from outside the door. It was scary but not nightmare inducing. Your analysis of why people enjoy horror is interesting. People engage in all sorts of risky behavior that causes adrenaline. Some people are addicted to the feelings it can induce and actively seek out danger. I think it is more about experiencing the actual feeling safely rather than a desire to know what fear feels like. To clarify, yes people want to know but being in the moment of fear is consuming and perhaps that is what people are after. Dexter is probably the exception. Knowledge comes after the fear. A lot of people are more afraid of being afraid than what is making them afraid so maybe in a controlled setting they are able to face the fear and experience it and work through it. It is one of the ways to treat debilitating phobias.
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