Horror, I will readily admit, is not a subject that I would choose to discuss at a cocktail party or care to bring up in casual conversation. To view a horror movie or to read book about monsters are not on my list of things to do on a rainy day, and yet I find myself taking a college course on the Philosophy of Film; in particular "horror film." I actually have a distaste for literature and films based upon stories that deal with the scary, ghoulish, creepish, gory, freakish genre that is labeled "art horror". I will admit however that I have been intrigued about what Carroll has to say about "art horror" and its empowerment over rational beings. I am starting to feel somewhat like an oddity because I don't have an attraction to the horror genre and the entertainment that it seems to bring to many thrill seekers. I have probably watched more horror films this past week than I have in the past ---- years of my life; that's a long time.
Noel Carroll in his book "The Philosophy of Horror" has been able to develop a philosophical approach and an in-depth understanding to the "art of horror" genre that has provided me with an appreciation of what lies hidden within the human person that only horror can evince and evoke. I never really considered tragedy and fear a normal part of the human experience that brings about a catharsis within the human person. Carroll doesn't accept every monster story line as coming under the heading of true "art horror" but specifies those particular elements and requirements that are necessary in order to define true horror as an art. Only true "art horror" can achieve the sublime ideals of the highest order.
What is it that causes the rational being to be drawn to what can be termed the unbelievable, at least in the truest scientific sense? Is it the thrill of peering into the "weird" and possibly the supernatural? Do we have a natural attraction to the abnormal, mysterious, and dangerous possibilities that may cower around every person's corner? Do we like to see others in danger, distress, and peril? These are the questions that I believe Carroll wants us to think about and possibly discover about ourselves. H.P. Lovecraft will surmise that "the oldest and strongest emotion of mankind is fear, and the oldest and strongest kind of fear is fear of the unknown." Could it be true as Lovecraft says that "we are hard-wired psychologically to fear the cosmic unknown" and because of this we are in a certain sense helpless to resist. Perhaps it is this idea that explains what causes traffic jams on major thru-ways because people have slowed down while "rubbernecking" to view an vehicle accident. Do we instinctively have a need to fulfill a basic human attraction to view other peoples pain, sorrow, distress and mishap or are we better than that?
The "art-horror" that Carroll wants to elicit is that kind of horror that truly brings out the deepest level of emotions in the audience. When he speaks about "art-horror" he distinguishes it from horror in the general sense of the term. He is not satisfied with a general analysis but segregates art-horror as something purgative in its makeup. The elements situated in Carroll's definition are 1) a profound elicitation of a fear emotion on the part of the audience. He knows that even though the audience is rational, and knows that what they are viewing is not real, the affect of what they are viewing elicits a real experience of fear and emotions to the highest degree; 2) the means of establishing this fear into the minds and hearts of the viewers comes about by the actions and/or reactions of the actors and the monsters within the story line. The audience in fact picks up on the emotions of the actors and a transference takes place that seems to place them in danger as well; and 3) that the monster is beyond the ordinary and naturalistic known world, literally a world that only the imagination can seek to discover and create. Carroll's monster's are disgusting, repulsive, icky, dangerous, and deadly. There is no escape from its throws. What helps to create this affect in the audience and how does it keep the viewer spellbound? This is the paradox that Carroll wants to address.
Carroll asks how is it that a rational audience can be caught up with a fiction of horror when they know beforehand that what they see and/or read is not real. His three propositions are intuitive in that he admits that somehow we as human beings are moved by fiction, that what we view or read is not an actual event but something made up from the imagination of the writer, and it seems as well that since we are caught up emotionally there is that sense that we come believe in spite of its impossibility. How and why do we respond, or become significantly afraid emotionally to that which we believe does not exist?
In the films that I watched this week, I must admit, that I have not been moved emotionally in the same way the Carroll believes an "art-horror" creation should move the viewers in the audience. However, I have been able to see elements within the film that could point to the political and social environs of the times. As discussed in class the movie "The Cat People" could be construed as an attempt to portray the political climate and relational distrust between Europe and the United States at the beginning of World War II. The good being stalked by the evil prevalent in a time of uncertainty; or the naive and undiscerning acceptance of the unknown hoping for the best in a bad situation thinking that if one thinks good things good things will certainly prevail. Perhaps there is an emotionally state that is created for some not enticed by horror watching but by which still elects an emotionally response on a deeper level; the level of a cognisant awareness of human interaction of a socio-political nature.
It is true, Carroll suggests, that the "auteur" does create his own particular art in creating film. Film and literature do not stand alone simply to tell a story of no consequence, but should tell the story of the human experience and convey a message about the way in which we live and interact with others. I guess we could call that creating something with "purpose" and it is with this purpose in mind which perhaps makes us human.
In philosophy, I believe with the ancient philosophers that our lives should have meaning and purpose. In a communitarian society we do not live within a vacuum but socially and adapt our way of live for the common good. I am hoping that as this course develops, with the help of Dr. Langgruth, that I will come to understand the "art-horror" genre as something beneficial in development my philosophical understanding of human nature and the helps that it may provide in applying that understanding to becoming a better human being and promote the common good.
No comments:
Post a Comment