All over the news, all over the silver screen, all over the streets...violence is an every day occurence and constantly surrounds us. Half a century ago the most exciting event on the news was the weather. Now you can't get through a newscast without hearing reports of a murder, rape, or robbery. What has this society come to? Is it just "normal" to have this happen? Are we just supposed to accept this as an everyday occurrence and go on living our lives? What has happened over the years? Did our tolerance just gradually increase over time to watch such violence on television and not bat an eye? In the 1960's, people would watch a horror film and scream at the sight of Dracula leaning over his victim to sink his blood thirsty fangs in to their pulsing, soft flesh-but you wouldn't actually witness this for his cape would block your view and force the viewer to use his or her imagination. As Carroll would put it...this is art-horror at it's best. You have a monster who is threatening and also disgusting when he becomes crazed at the sight or smell of blood (disgusting). He evokes fear in the audience when he shows his fangs and those legandary bulging eyes before he strikes. But that is all you get..no blood or tearing of flesh; just a woman's scream and the crash of gothic music combined to send shivers down your spine. In today's age, though, that would be enough to bore one to tears. Why you ask? Because people want more, they don't want to leave anything to the imagination. They can see more in a commertial or a trailor to the latest scary movie than what you get in the older horror films such as Dracula. It seems as though plastic fangs and gothic music just doesn't cut it anymore. If 90% of the movie doesn't involve gore and the most detailed murderous scenes, people won't waste their time or money to watch it.
I conducted a small survey one evening during a time when my house was infested with twenty-year-olds because I was curious to see what these testosterone-filled minds thought of the horror film/genre. My results were as I expected. None of them would go see a movie that did not involve some sort of combat, fighting, or killing. They claimed to grow bored if the action was not persistant. They were even generous enough to come up with a small list of requirements for a "good" movie.
1. The movie must have violence of some sort (very specific list)
2. The movie must show excessive gore or gruesome scenes throughout the film.
3. Someone has to die-and die violently at that. The more blood the better the movie
4. The occasional "hot chick" would be just fine with them. They claim it makes the film well rounded and not all about violence. (see above requirements if you want a nice giggle)
5. The movie must be rated R because a PG-13 movie is not gruesome enough for their taste.
These young men grew up watching Power Rangers, Are You Afraid of The Dark?, Goosebumps, VR Troopers, Mortal Kombat, Alien, The Terminator, etc... This is mild compared to what they are into now, but much more violent and invasive than the Sesame Street and My Little Pony that I grew up watching.
If anyone is interested in why this country is going to Hell in a handbasket, maybe they should ask why the television industry is airing such violent shows to be viewed by the public and allowing more and more to be uncensored. Flashing a little icon in the upper right corner of the screen is not going to mean much to the kid who's parent's aren't attached to his hip. At least you can prevent a ten-year-old from seeing the newest slasher film in the theater; but once it hits the shelves he will have much less trouble getting his hands on it. It is very easy to see why this society is so tolerant to what they watch on television or what they witness on the playground. Violence surrounds us every day and the movie industry has an obligation to it's viewers to keep up with their needs or they know that they will lose business due to the fact that their viewers will grow bored. The post-modern horror is almost too outdated to be called post-modern. Will this thirst for violence and human destruction slow down, or will the horror genre become too horrifying to handle? I suppose only time will tell..
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