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viewsWhat's Up With Scary Movies?
By kvargas, Saturday, March 13, 2010, 3 commentsIt was my husband's birthday wish today for me to sit down and watch a scary movie with him (something I almost NEVER do). I have just never understood why people would actually want to feel scared. Isn't the fear of dying in real life scary enough?
My husband has just left me home alone to go run an errand, and, I haven't felt this frightened since I was a little girl (when I got suckered into watching scary movies with my mother). Now, some scary movies I can handle...like, M. Night Shayamalan movies or Stephen King movies...those aren't so bad. But, the kind of movies where all you hear are people screaming so shrilly that it makes your blood curdle, or where most of the images in the movie are of spewing blood from heads being chopped off...uuugh!! I just can't take it.
I sometimes wonder if people enjoy watching horror movies to gain a sense of control over their fear of dying? Why else would someone get enjoyment from watching cruelty to vulnerable animals and vulnerable human beings? I imagine that watching enough of these types of movies might make one feel somewhat desensitized to actually being terrorized to death.
I can barely handle watching the kinds of scary movies where someone has to outwit death. But, the gory details of gut wrenching screams and people being tortured....I guess I'll never get it! I will never take pleasure from watching things like that, and as I write this very blog, I can feel my legs trembling (literally) every few minutes or so. I just want to understand why people actually would want to feel scared.
Anyway, the movie we watched was 30 Days of Night, in case you're wondering. And, truthfully, I haven't felt this scared since the last time I watched Halloween, which was also the last time I ever agreed to watch people being terrorized to death.
It's also the same thing with women getting raped in movies. I refuse to watch any movies with rape scenes because I always feel like some kind of helpless bystander, and I can't stand feeling powerless to stop such a gruesome scene. What really kills me is that movies don't come with disclaimers that tell you rape scenes are in them. I have actually walked out of movie theatres before because I didn't anticipate having to watch a scene like that, and those kinds of scenes haunt my mind at random times when I least expect it.
Maybe I'm just being naive? But, I think there are so many things in life that are gruesome enough, and (just speaking for myself, really) when I sit back to relax for movie entertainment the last thing I want is any kind of reminder of how cruel and inhuman our world can be. Call me hopeful, but, I prefer to go about my day, shutting out terrorizing images...because so far, I've been lucky enough that those things haven't happened to me. I think part of it is that I feel like if I don't think about horrible things, then maybe they'll never happen. Maybe that's a selfish thought? Maybe it's just wanting to hold on desperately to a slice of innocence that I still feel about the world, praying that I won't ever have to go through terrorizing situations that I know others must endure? At any rate, I think that will probably be the last horror film I watch with my husband, birthday request or not.
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3 Comments
Life is scary
There was a time when I felt as you do about scary movies. Then, life stepped in. I understand your revulsion at unexpected rape scenes, but until you actually live through that nightmare, you can't understand that, at times, those scenes actually serve a purpose. My daughter was kidnapped from her apartment, raped and beaten, by a maintenance man who worked in the complex. She should be dead, but, believe it or not, she credits part of her survival to the television series, Law and Order. So often did she hear that rape victims should remain calm, not antagonize their attacker, take in as many details as possible, that she was able to convince the perpetrator she was his friend and would not turn him in. If all movies portrayed women -- not as victims -- as survivors, a higher purpose would be served.
As for the other type of horror movies, I usually drape a blanket over my head during the goriest scenes.
Donna, I am so sorry to hear
Donna,
I am so sorry to hear about your daughter. I can't even begin to imagine the kind of pain and suffering your family went through. I'm glad to hear that the series Law and Order helped her. I actually enjoy watching Law and Order too:-)
I think there's a huge difference though between watching movies about rape scenes (where rape is the subject matter to be solved or worked through), and watching movies, like say for example The Accused, where there are what feels like a very long five or ten minutes or so, of a gruesome, graphic rape scene. I just can't stand actually having to sit by and watch a woman being terrorized, listening to her screaming for help! It provokes something awful in me.
But, in the Law and Order SVU series, it seems like most of it as about the aftermath of the crime, about picking up the pieces, and about healing (or at least, attempting to).
Yes, you are right that SVU
Yes, you are right that SVU comes in after the fact. I, too, bristle at movies that show the actual assault but for a different reason than you. I resent seeing women always depicted as victims. If we -- women -- studied those scenes with an objective eye, we could learn ways to protect ourselves should the worst happen. Until we make "victim" a word to be feared, we will never be safe. Our security is fragile. We must be ever vigilant in protecting ourselves.
If you would like to read the story of my daughter's attack, which I think might give you insight to why I feel as I do, you can access it at www.opensalon.com/blog/donna_carbone/2009/10/07/assault_on_an_angel.
Thank you for your words of compassion. You have no idea how much healing power they hold.
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