Iconography in horror movies 2000
I believe that horror movies change throughout time not just as technology advances but as generations change. More conservative generations will be scared by less vivid imagery meaning the horror movies of their time will be tamer and more ridiculous. More radical and open-minded generations will have vivid and extreme movies. Horror movies exemplify the fear of a generation where sci-fi has more utopian beliefs and shows the generations ideal future e.g. back to the future and star trek horror movies often show the worst possible outcome e.g. 28 days later and resident evil. Horror movies are more Intune with the mindset of the generation rather than the technological advancements made.
As feminism has become a more popular concept horror moves made female characters stronger and more central to the plot. While women characters have often been strong they lacked depth or personality that male the characters included. Horror movies are also a way for cultural myths to stay relevant the often-gruesome tales can be televised and told to a new generation keeping folklore and mythology an interesting and relevant topic. New filmmakers can also make up their own aesthetic which they are known for becoming an auteur.
Horror intentionally goes against social boundaries and challenges the preconceived conceptualisations of modern society. This is often seen as transgressive. This challenge of the social boundaries is meant to put in question the topic subconsciously. The concept that there are pre-determined societal rules is false so the way these movies bring light into this fact incites questions on morality and what is acceptable. Without even trying most horror movies can question the preconceived notions about society. Horror has often been about social commentary especially at times of depression and censorship. This makes the horror genre tied tightly to the generation it was produced in.
Theoretical background 400-700 research papers
Horror movies are a body genre they often rely on the human figure to draw interest to their plot like using realistic gory/painful scenery or showcasing attractive features to promote a bond between cast and audience. The horror genre also relates to the dystopian beliefs held by society centralising infamous topics like murder disease and religious zealotry to name a few. Horror changes according to the audience as it is meant to incite a fearful reaction and as some tropes become Cliché less people become scared of them. So filmmaker have to use different or new techniques to keep the audience interested.
A scholarly article says that horror movies use a dark setting and the feeling of an inevitable instance that’s going to happen. This has proven itself both true with most horror being dark but horror movies that deviate from this have acquired either equal or more popularity. The horror genre uses transgressive iconography to incite a reaction in the watcher either to prove a point to be plain scary.
In the book Towlson, J., 2016. The Turn to Gruesomeness in American Horror Films, 1931-1936. McFarland. States that horror made a dramatic move from being clean and subtle to gory and abrupt. This time of the films change was during the interwar period. A reason for this was society’s shared trauma and the new influence of war experiences could have shifted society’s opinion on gore and censorship.
In Wells, P., 2019. The Horror Genre: From Beelzebub to Blair Witch. Columbia University Press explains that horror has an amorphous property so it is not clear what truly defines horror but some symbols or icons can connotate the deeper meaning that horror holds through the power of semiotics.
Textual analysis 700-1000
Comparing the 1990s IT and its remake is a good example while technology has advanced since the original. The remake shows radically different changes that show just how much society has changed in regards to censorship and what constitutes a good horror movie. Newer directors have a more vivid and gruesome aesthetic to go along with the theory that todays youth has been desensitised to violence. Newer horror films now cover more relevant topics like disease or more imaginative concepts like demons or mutation.
Directors like Sittisiri Mongkolsiri and Gore Verbinski have used Asian mythology and folklore to create horror movies that have gained popularity outside of Asia and made a new aesthetic forming a platform for Asian filmmakers in the horror genre. Crucifixes pentagrams and the number six hundred and sixty-six are common amongst most horror films as they relate to the negative aspects of the bible. Filmmakers use symbolism to convey a large amount of information at once E.G the ring if a teaser has the glowing ring in it that means it is probably a ring movie even without using the name.
A very common thing for horror movies to use is peoples fears like arachnophobia and Coulrophobia. These horror moves give validation to these fears as well as intensifying the experience for the viewer. These movies make symbolic representations of the fears like making spiders bigger and clowns bloody this gives the fears and image to fixate on. For instance, claustrophobia and hemophobia would cause films to use small enclosed spaces and blood. This means that you can see common fears in the movies that were made at the time.
If a horror movie becomes too outlandish or unrealistic it won’t be liked so as the audience becomes more knowledgeable about what would happen in the general story the narrative is changed to include these elements. This means that the tropes of a movie are dependent on the target audience. The horror genre has been around since the 1890s enough time for it to change and evolve several times over. This means that the horror genre has made a distinct change that is diverse from the rest of film and tv.
The movie it uses common fears and circumstances that would make most people uncomfortable using newer iconography like balloons. This plays into the irrational fear of balloons that has only recently been recognised. The idea of an object witch at any time could burst and create a abrupt sound it is a symbol for the horror genre. It also uses spiders when pennywise moves to his true form in the western world spiders are thought to be symbols of fear both because of their limbs, mouth and eyes when extravasated by the movies nature it becomes a true symbol of fear.
The nun uses religious icons and symbols to make intertextual references and distort them in a transgressive nature. The Cristian religion has been used by horror moves since their conception this is due to its clear morals and hidden themes of betrayal with a clear sense of darkness and fear. This means that directors could use the ingrained fears of their imposed societal beliefs to make them have a base fear of the themes and topic involved.
The slasher sub-genre uses blades or objects with fine points and sharp edges. Movies like nightmare on elm street, Friday the 13th or hellraiser use metal objects. Society fears these objects because they can harm others with no effort. These movies play on fears that society has given itself after the invention of bladed weapons. These fears are also ingrained on society movies portray these topics because we have chosen these fears rather than letting individuals develop their own as previously deemed by society. This means that the minority hold individual fears making it easier to impose a set of beliefs.
Conclusion 200
Peters Media Blog 