Fear as fun

Another article I came across was one by Terrence Rafferty of the New York Times which was entitled, “The Thinking Reader’s Guide to Fear.” Rafferty decided to take a pretty simplistic approach to it. Other than trying to dive deep into why “the way in which the artistic presentation of normally aversive events and objects can give rise to pleasure or can compel our interests,” as stated by Carrol, Rafferty just says to enjoy horror if its something you like and to go away from it if it is not. Rafferty goes on just to say that horror to him is like an extended amusement park ride, he says he can tell you many reasons why its enjoyable, but again, that does not necessarily mean its for everyone. Basically, Rafferty is expressing that if horror is your thing, then come along and enjoy the ride, if not, then that is okay too.

I think this type of approach is compelling because I think for the most part that horror films are made for people to enjoy, I really doubt that film makers truly want to mess with people’s minds to the points where they can never go to sleep again or never be able to take a walk down a long dark road near the forest. I feel at times that yes, horror films are indeed an art and those who create it should be well respected for their work, but at the same time I find it amazing how people can go so deep into a subject which I never thought of to be so complex. I always thought of movies as just movies, I never thought about all the details and theories/themes that go into it, I just like being entertained but looking at some of the things people have written about different genres of movies, it almost feels like there is a whole other world out there that I have missing out on.

Bibliography:

Rafferty, T. (n.d.). The Thinking Reader's Guide to Fear. Retrieved May 2, 2007, from

     http://www.nytimes.com/2006/06/04/books/review/

     04rafferty.html?ex=1307073600&en=0ec84e8fc96e6257&ei=5088&partner=rssnyt&e  

     mc=rss