Carrol breaks the paradox of horror into universal and general divisions. Universally, viewers of horror enjoy such a genre due to the fascination of monsters, in a cognitive sense. In general, viewers enjoy the narrative, a drama of proof, and the disgust induced by the monster is the price one has to pay for such enjoyment.
So this begs the question: If a narrative is the essential piece that audiences enjoy, can a work of horror without the written/verbal story be considered as such?
I think yes. The human mind is an extraordinary piece of machinery, always ptting things together unconsciously. Have you ever people-watched? The best part of doing such is creating the narrative of the story of another person's life and how they got to X place with Y person. All horror aside, when I hear a phrase of a conversation, see a pleasant panting, or another glimpse of life, my imaginaiton is already at work as to what the story is behind it. That glimpse is all you need.
Certainly some people lack in creativity compared to others, but this does not mean that their minds to not do a similar thing. I believe that it is difficult to look at something and draw no meaning whatsoever. Even if it is a modern piece of art which simply looks like the person spilled some paint on a canvas, there could still be a story for that.
So what is so different about this (seeming) truth for the possibilty of narrative in all works of horror. Sometimes it can be direct, such as in a movie, play, or literature; other times it is inferred or has to be imagined, such as in painting and photography. This does not lessen the horror though. A painting of a man eating a child is still horrific, even if one does not know it is Saturn devoring his children.
The inverse narative is both possible and very lively within the horror genre. It still draws an appeal due to the nature of itself. We shall not write off such forms because the narrative is not direct and forthcoming. Maybe this makes them scarier.
1 comment:
I completely agree! I feel that often the most powerful works of horror are those that allow the human mind to make its own assumptions and connections about the monster/event with or without the complement of a narrative. As you said, we unconsciously create stories based on brief social encounters and observations throughout the day. A majority of the time what we interpret from these brief moments is totally inaccurate; however, it speaks to the creative capabilities of the human mind. Without doubt, I believe that many of the most frightening monsters and the most eerie occurrences are the results of inference.
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