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How do horror films reflect the fears of society
- 1. How do Horror films reflect the fears of society? The horror genre is one of the oldest genres in storytelling and it has evolved over time to appeal to the fears of the time. Horror films specifically use several aspects to frighten audiences however in a quote from John Carpenter he sums up the factors behind creating fear by saying; “There are two different stories in horror: internal and external. In external horror films, the evil comes from the outside, the other tribe, this thing in the darkness that we don’t understand. Internal is the human heart.” (Carpenter, 2011) This quote is useful for explaining the dynamics of all horror films such as how the external fear in most horror films comes from how they can reflect our societal fears and the darker side of our society. Since the first horror films in the late 19th century up until the most recent horror films the themes and subtext of horror films have reflected the fears of society and tropes of the genre have been influenced by discrimination, racism and sexism and looking at the releases of horror films it becomes clear to see how these tropes that were once used to keep a status quo have been twisted to progress the views of our own society. In this essay I will show how horror films have been influenced by societal fears by explaining how several periods of horror films incorporated the fears of society into the subtext of the film and also looking at the discrimination shown in the tropes of the genre. I will also discuss the impact horror films have had on our society in ways both good and bad.
- 2. Societal fears have influenced horror films in many different ways as cultural fears have changed. Before I talk about horror films I need to talk about America because most horror films are created in America or are made by Americans. I think that American society is explained fairly well in this quote. “America is a nation that was built on violence. The country has faced a long history of trauma and turmoil; the massacre of the Indigenous population, slavery, the Civil War, Prohibition, the Vietnam War… Jim Crow segregation and the KKK, the LA riots and police brutality…the list goes on.” (McNeely, 2018) From this list it’s easier to see how the fears of American society have influenced and shaped horror films. Horror films from the 1910’s up until the 1940’s seemed to mostly be about similar things with the monster being some kind of creature such as Frankenstein (Whale, 1931) or Dracula (Browning, 1931) who tends to live segregated from the nearby village, these concepts may have reflected the fear of war from foreign countries as the monsters in these films were detached from normal society. Dracula also represented the fear aristocracy, that the high class were evil because they were also detached from society. In the 1950’s there was growing fear of nuclear weaponry and the possibility of human extinction, which stemmed from World War 2 the Hiroshima bombing in 1945. This fear was implemented into horror films such as Godzilla (1954) and Them! (1954) Which both feature the world ending threats of giant creatures caused by American nuclear experiments and it’s clear that both films are a commentary on America that have a surprisingly similar message as a warning to society about the world ending power of nuclear weapons which is a message that’s still relevant today.
- 3. In the 1970’s some of the most prolific horror films were made such as The Exorcist, Carrie, The Wicker Man and Jaws, which have all influenced societal fears however I think that the horror film that represented the biggest fear of society at the time was Halloween (Carpenter, 1978) which drew it’s influences from many places such as Alfred Hitchcock’s Psycho (1960) and Bob Clark’s Black Christmas (1974) as well as real life serial killers such as Ted Bundy and John Wayne Gacy however because Halloween was made during a time when these killers were most prevalent the film dug into the fear of serial killers in American society. Halloween was so influential in its concept that it ended up creating a new sub-genre, the Slasher genre which continued into the 80’s with film franchises like Friday the 13th (Cunningham, 1980) and A Nightmare on Elm Street (Craven, 1984) that drew their fear from real events of serial murders which may seem insensitive however I believe that these fears are placed in films as a warning to the audience that society is unsafe especially for teenagers who were the main demographic of these films. In the new age of Horror there are new fears that have been conceived by our society however I believe that horror directors are now making the fears of society more explicit in their work. “I find campfire stories and urban legends are kind of the bread and butter that inspires a lot of people who are making horror and thriller. There is a nugget of truth behind these sort of cautionary tales.” (Jordan Peele, 2016) I think that this quote sums up how a lot of modern horror films are explicit warnings for issues in our society as the fear that they create is aimed to make people see these fears. This is made especially clear in Jordan Peele’s Get Out (2017), which was a wakeup call to society that exclaimed that racism was still a prevalent part of American society and I think that this opened the eyes of a lot of Americans as the film grossed a total of 176 million in the United States alone which is a lot for a horror film
- 4. however I believe that this is because of its message which was bound to be controversial due to the racial tension at the time of the film’s release however the film is made important as Peele presents a very modern interpretation of racism that feels very real to a certain point. Modern horror films such as Get Out use horror to try and make an impact in how the audience thinks (in this case showing how racism can still be prominent even if it isn’t implied) and I think that this shows how horror is more than just a way to scare the audience but it’s something much more powerful, a way to spread cautionary tales about the society we live in. Horror films haven’t just taken inspiration from society but the entire industry has been greatly affected by society. One of the biggest problems that has occurred in the horror film industry is racism that has been present from when horror films began in the 1890’s and it’s still an issue that continues today. In the early 1900’s Black characters were played by white actors in makeup which reflects the racism of society at the time black people weren’t accepted in America and they weren’t allowed a role in the film industry they were only mocked and caricatured by white actors which further spread hatred and racism. Black characters are often the first to die in horror films and are often given very little development compared to their white counterparts and this is an issue that can still occur in the industry however it has become spoofed in films such as Scary Movie (Wayans, 2000) and Get Out which means that the racism in films of the past have been mocked and experimented with as a trope in modern films this shows that there has been a shift in the mentality of horror films and a development in the overall attitude of society. The beginning of a new attitude in Horror was The Night of Living Dead (Romero, 1968) which featured Ben who was the first Black protagonist ever in horror film and unlike most (if not all) black characters in horror at the time he was smart, capable and shared similar
- 5. heroic qualities to any white hero character in other horror films however at the end of the film he is shot as he is mistaken for a zombie which may have been social commentary on gun violence against black people. The film was very progressive and paved the way for more horror films which challenged racism and society. In the 1970’s the blaxploitation genre began and with it came more horror films that featured black protagonists such as Blacula (Crain, 1972) and Abby (Girdler, 1974) which were basically just reinterpretations of popular horror films with black characters replacing the white ones however this was enough to show society that the genre belonged to all people regardless of race. “Despite the genre's potential to reinforce negative stereotypes, a large majority of the black community considered blaxploitation cinema to be a sign of progress…the typical depiction of African Americans in television and film was as sidekick or victim…this new cinematic movement would seek to put an end to that.” – Viddy Well This quote is important as it shows how the blaxploitation genre divided society at the time as it could be seen as both progressive and regressive depending on who was watching it but ultimately the goal of the genre was to give an un- conventual view of black characters in cinema and in achieving this it inspired various modern directors which I believe has shaped society for the better. Although the blaxploitation genre took many forms I believe that it’s link to the horror genre still has influence today on horror films such as Candyman (Rose,1993) and Get Out. The most recent film I’ve found in the horror industry which I found to be problematic is with a film called “The Curse Of La Llorona” (Chaves, 2019) La Llorona is a Mexican folktale which was adapted into this film. The film does feature Latino characters and some insight into Mexican culture however it’s set in Los Angeles instead of Mexico and the protagonist is a white American and although this
- 6. isn’t too problematic however it’s clear that the film was intended to have a strong Latino audience from it title alone which is disappointing as it feels like the decisions to have the film set in America with a white lead were made to keep a low budget yet it also strips away Mexican culture from a film that should be all about its culture. This quote from Code Switch shows how a Latino audience ca affect a films performance at the box office Latinos...are big moviegoers — 22 percent of audiences on any given weekend. But when it comes to horror, that proportion jumps to as much as half the box office. - Vanessa Rancarno I think that films such as La Llorona can be problematic as they use culture as a way to gain an audience and if they can’t respect the culture that they’re basing their film off it becomes a cash- grab and I think films that do this are the most relevant problem in the horror industry. From the beginning of horror films in the 1890’s horror films have mirrored atrocities and events that have shocked our society and I think that this is something that makes horror a special genre as the fear that it causes can be used for change, a message of warning that the evils in films can exist in our society. The issues of society at its various stages of progression and regression have seeped into the horror films that we know and love and I find this important as they can feel like time capsules of the darker sides of society where most classic films can feel nostalgic to the period it was made in I believe that horror encapsulates the importance of fear in these different periods. Overall, I think that horror is dependent on a society as it takes advantage of it’s fears and social norms to create a cautionary tale that can be used to overcome the fear.
- 7. Bibliography Quotes 1. John Carpenter 2011 interview with Vulture 2. Kelly McNeely 2018 article for Salem Horror Fest 3. Jordan Peele 2016 interview with Forbes 4. .. (2018). thehistoryof blaxploitationcinema. Available:https://www.viddy- well.com/articles/the-history-of-blaxploitation-cinema.Last accessed 18th Dec 2019. 5. Vanessa Rancarno 2015 Code Switch article Films Frankenstein 1931 James Whale Dracula 1931 TodBrowning Godzilla 1954 Ishiro Honda Them! 1954 Gordon Douglas The Exorcist 1974 William Friedkin Carrie 1976 Brian De Palma The WickerMan 1973 Robin Hardy Jaws 1975 Steven Spielberg Halloween 1978 John Carpenter Psycho1960 Alfred Hitchcock Black Christmas 1974 Bob Clark Friday the 13th 1980 Sean Cunningham A Nightmare on Elm Street 1985 Wes Craven Get out 2017 Jordan Peele Scary Movie2000 Keenan Wayans Night of The Living Dead 1968 George Romero Blacula 1972 William Crain Abby 1974 William Girdler Candyman 1993 Bernard Rose The Curse of Llorona 2019 Michael Chaves