I kiss goodbye your twisted shell

I kinda love Media Studies. ^__^

Sat, 07 Nov 2009 23:47:28 GMT

Genre: Horror
1) Analyze a code/convention used in your genre.
2) Analyze one development in the genre.

1)
A common convention in most horror movies is the use of violence. Contrary to the wording of the sentence, this is an ambiguous statement as it refers to the inclusion, as well as the exclusion of graphic violence. This convention is generally used more liberally in mixed genre horror movies like Action/Horror and Sci-FI/Horror. However, it is also found in varying amounts in regular horror movies.

The inclusion of violence usually occurs at certain key times through the movie. This is usually during the climax scene when the villain is defeated (or wins) or during scene where the villain claims his/her victims. There are some horror movies that use graphic violence all the way through- notably the Saw movies- but most movies stick to a fair balance of violent and non-violent scenes.

Violence is used for a lot of reasons. Depending on who is on the receiving end of the violence, it can make the audience feel sympathetic or angry/shocked. Brutally killing or wounding victims/heroes/heroines invokes feeling of anger and/or shock in the audience as most of the audience is likely to identify with the characters of the victims or potential victims. Watching the villain being brutally killed or hurt does not have the same effect; it is more likely to make the audience sympathetic to the relief and joy of the surviving characters, especially if it has taken a long time to kill the villain. Often, the audience will find the same amounts of violence sometimes crude and sometimes exhilarating depending on who is being attacked. A classic example of this can be found in Friday the 13th. The masked killer, Mrs. Voorhees, has spent a good part of a night excising revenge on hormonal camp counselors. Each death of an ‘innocent’ counselor builds up the fury and shock within the audience as they know that every counselor that died has never personally harmed Mrs. Voorhees or her son Jason. To the audience, the gruesome manner of their deaths (being stabbed through the chest or being pinned against trees, etc.) makes their deaths even more revolting. However, the killing of Mrs. Voorhees by a surviving counselor does not evoke the same anger or disgust. Indeed, the audience will watch wide-eyed as she is bloodily hacked up with an axe, even feel a sense of relief as the tension is released and sympathy towards the wounded and scarred young girl wielding the axe.

Interestingly enough, violence is also sometimes completely excluded from scenes to create a ‘bus’ effect. This technique was first seen in Cat People, where the audience has experienced a great build up of tension as they watch the ‘villain’ stalk the ‘heroine’, but the scene abruptly ends with the loud hissing of brakes on a bus, scaring the audience even though no actual violence has occurred. In recent years, this technique is still widely used. A classic example would be the cat Jones from the Alien movies, which is more likely than not to be the cause of bumps and hisses the doomed crew considers to be a Xenomorph.

Violence is also generally accepted and expected in horror movies as the audience is likely to be watching in order to experience and enjoy feelings that would usually be considered ‘taboo’. Most human beings have a primal drive that yearns for control and violence and watching movies with lots of blood, gore and violence is just a safe way to live vicariously through a fictional character and fulfill your drives without resorting to ‘evil’. To most people, these high levels of violence are perceived to be a bad influence on the audience. This is not true, as there is no reason to assume that just because violent acts are being committed that everyone will suddenly want to be violent (especially if the movie is a way for them to safely engage in indirect violence)- morals and values do still exist. However, one could rightly argue that horror movies don’t make killers; they just make killers more creative.

The convention of violence, or the use of it, is used more occasionally than not in recent horror movies. It is used in a variety of ways- inclusion, exclusion, implied- to help the audience feel the tension of a situation or to release the tension after a long build up. The effect it seems to have had on the genre is that the viewers are expecting more and more violence from each movie, and every film maker has to best the last by including more and more violence- sparking concerns that this may have ill effects on society.

2)

One of the most obvious developments in the horror genre has been an increase in the amount of violence used onscreen and a decrease in the amount of violence implied offscreen.

This first seemed to have started in the 1980s and 1990s with the release of films like Nightmare on Elm Street and Friday the 13th, but it was also seen more subtly in movies like Night of the Living Dead from 1968. More violent acts began to occur onscreen: the villain choosing to dismember his victims, or heads being blown off with high powered rifles. In Nightmare on Elm Street, the killer reached a whole new level of violence- a victim was pulled out of the audience’s view and revealed once more as a fountain of blood and guts that sprayed across a ceiling for a few seconds. Over the years, the amount of violence has increased drastically, especially in horror movies that have Science Fiction elements to them. Today, it is nigh impossible to watch a horror movie where blood doesn’t spatter all over someone’s clothes atleast once.

This development is probably the cause of various reasons. One of them is that each movie has more violence than the last, implying the increase in violence is like a snowball effect- it increases with each consecutive movie. What started this effect, however?

The earlier horror movies such as Frankenstein (1938) or Cat People (1942) had an underlying supernatural theme. The villain was generally fictitious- Nosferatu, ghosts, curses, etc- as this was a time when most people were God-fearing and religious and science had not yet begun to radically alter people’s belief. Accordingly, the idea of violence was shocking and appalling, and even implied violence such as the scene where Frankenstein just lifts up the little girl in the cut version of the movie sparked intense controversy. However, over the years, killer grew psychological. Psycho’s Bateman is a classic example of the new Freudian theories that were defining the human brain- he was the Oedipus complex at work. Science finally began to explain the natural world and the supernatural no longer held as much terror or interest. Even then, violence was not as prominent. Its purpose was still to shock and appall as people saw murder as an act against nature.

This changed, however, when the idea of ‘evil’ was abolished. The rise of psychology came with the growing belief that people are not inherently evil, that their so-called ‘evilness’ is just the result of genes or upbringing- nature, not nurture. As this happened, the audiences became less likely to be horrified by personality disorders and implied violence. For example, the shower scene in Psycho, that was so chilling it dropped shower sales in the United States by around 30% after its release is considered boring and anti-climatic by present day audiences. They were becoming desensitized to the supernatural because of science and ‘evil’ because of psychology. The genre didn’t have many options left other than to eradicate plot and rely on lots of disturbing violence instead. We can see this in most horror movies today, like Doom (2005), in which hideous aliens are riddled with bullet holes, and zombie-fied humans feed on the dead, rotting flesh of their former companions often, and even in remakes of the older classics like Rob Zombie’s Halloween (2008) which was revamped to include a lot more blood than the original.

This increasing use of violence has had an effect on the reception and criticisms of the genre. Most critics whine about the level of violence and how it is making the audience more violent and destructive, along with a constant whining about a lack of plot. However, most horror movies receive good reviews on the basis of exactly that: not a very complicated plot and lots of good quality scares. The increasing violence has also resulted in a general rise in the age restrictions on horror movies. Compared to the M rating of Cat People of 1942, most horror movies are now sporting R16 (Mirrors: Reflections of Evil, 2008; Final Destination 4, 2009) and more often, the R18 ratings (Lake Dead, 2008; Saw VI, 2009). This has resulted in the audience being narrowed down and horror movies containing more adult specific aspects like nudity and unnecessarily explicit sex scenes to accompany the mindless violence.

In conclusion, the level of violence has been gradually increasing ever since horror movies were made. It has risen dramatically in the past decade more than ever due to the effects of the rise of science and psychology on the general mindset of the society. This has served to push ratings up, and start a snowball effect, where each movie is more violent than the last. This has not been limited only to Hollywood; European movies have suffered the same fate, among other industries. For example, the early German expressionist films like The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari stand in stark contrast to the gorier, bloodier horror (horror/comedy, in this case) flicks like Dead Snow.

Writer's Block: Seeing stars

Sat, 07 Nov 2009 00:23:57 GMT

Which character from any film, television show, or book would you most like to take on a date and why?

Submitted By blue_mariposa88

View 2238 Answers

Harry from Kiss Kiss Bang Bang, cause he knows how to treat a woman right. :)

(and is so adorable damn it)

Mon, 02 Nov 2009 05:25:26 GMT

I'm not quite sure what you're on about, but telling someone you'd like to sleep with them and then dating someone else is a bit like leading them on.

Tue, 27 Oct 2009 03:52:50 GMT

9Es, 6Ms, 1A ~~and a spectacular math fail presumably~~.

So, yes, awesome day. As I mentioned to someone this morning "my brains happen to be one of the only things I have left and I need to defend them constantly".

So let's not pretend that you're alone tonight.

Fri, 23 Oct 2009 23:52:57 GMT

So, I loved Surrogates. It doesn't surprise me because
1) The movie was spectacularly awesome and
2) I was incredibly excited about it. If I'd been this excited about freakin' Twilight I'd have loved that (and that's saying something)

It was also an awesome way to end two weeks of exams! \o/
(and learn important lessons like the only way you get food is if you stand in line, unless you rob the place- tell everyone you know, three people are in on the secret already!)

Tue, 20 Oct 2009 09:24:26 GMT

Look, just because I'm 17 and technology-savvy doesn't mean I want to buy your 400$ e-book reader (that looks enough like the real thing!!!!1!! not). I don't know if you understand it, but there is an inherent joy to reading a book. The smell of new paper, the crisp new binding and the way the pages yellow and feel smooth in your hand after a couple hundred readings. I don't care what fancy gadget you're putting out that's going to 'revolutionize the way people read', you're not convincing me to buy it. As long as they print books, I'll be buying them, and once they stop- well, then I'm going to have to give in. But until then I'll pick the good old printed-on-paper and have a reassuring weight in my hands kind of book. So, no, thanks. Keep your awesome offer to yourself and close your mouth because your look of disbelief/amazement does nothing for your pretty features.

Dear Hollywood, FUCK YOU.

Sun, 11 Oct 2009 09:32:47 GMT

Okay, okay, wait. Let me get this straight.

There is going to be a Predator remake. It's called Predators ~~that rape classic movies in the ass~~. Okay. Whatever.
I get it. Hollywood is too lazy to come up with new ideas so it's just remaking old ones. I can live with that; it's not like I'm actually going to watch the damn thing.

However, not only is this already spectacular fail of a movie being made, it is also not starring Arnold Schwarzenegger.

This guy:

(who is the total ~~and only~~ badass that killed the Yautja without the aid of high-caliber guns)

INSTEAD, Hollywood, you are casting Adrien Brody to play the role. The guy who played the leading role in The Pianist.

This guy:

WHAT?
WOW.
How does that work?

Look at me, I'm just one big freakin' ray of sunshine.

Sat, 10 Oct 2009 09:50:20 GMT

Damn you, boy.

GODDAMN YOU.

YOU ARE CONFUSING ME AND IT IS GETTING ON MY NERVES NOW >:(

Lock, stock, the fuckin' lot.

Fri, 09 Oct 2009 01:28:42 GMT

I've been moaning about boys for the last two posts so something new:

Movies I watched these holidays: (ratings out of 5)
01) The Year One: 2.5/5
[been there, done that, NEXT]
02) Aliens in the Attic: 3/5
[I... just... IDK. The little girl in me was pleased]
03) South Park Imaginationland: 2/5
[seriously, I don't know why they're still making these; does anyone even watch them anymore?]
04) Austin Powers in the Spy Who Shagged Me: 2/5
[here's another series that should have just stopped with the first one. There's only so many 'YEAH BABY's I can take before I kill something]
05) Austin Powers in Goldmember: 3/5
[okay, I have to admit this one was kinda funny]
06) Meet the Feebles: 4/5
[holy crap on a cracker, Peter Jackson is made of win. Psychotic puppets with rampant sex lives for the win]
07) Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels: 4/5
[I'm kinda sad I've waited so long to see this movie T_T]
08) Smokin' Aces: 4/5
[JESUS I DID NOT REALISE THAT WAS CHRIS PINE OMG WTF HE IS GOOD]
09) Reservoir Dogs: 5/5
[okay whatever I've seen it a hundred times before but FUCK this movie is so awesome there are no words]
10) The Green Mile: 4/5
[Sam Rockwell is so good it's scary *shudder*]

Music I tried out these holidays: (number of tracks liked out of total)
01) Speak for Yourself- Imogen Heap: 2/12
02) Hot Mess- Cobra Starship: 8/11
03) The Brave Don't Run- Midnight Youth: 10/10
04) The Academy EP- The Academy Is...: 4/5
05) Departure: Recharged- Jesse McCartney: 13/16
06) Resistance- Muse: 11/11
07) Thanks for Faking it Sometimes- Jamie Strange: 7/10
08) Through the Looking Glass- False Start: 0/13

Subjects I've revised for:
01) Math
02) Chemistry
03) Biology

Books I've read:
01) TIM (Tyrannosaurus: Improved Model): Defender of the Earth- Sam Enthoven
02) Vampyrrhic- Simon Clark
03) Sword of the Lamb- M.K. Wren [which I totally couldn't finish aaaaaarrrgh]

(and I've bought Darkly Dreaming Dexter by Jeff Lindsay but I am waiting before I read it because goddamn I want to savour that shit)

Times I've actually left the house:
4 times in the last 14 days.

I can't be nobody else, but if I could, would you love me then?

Wed, 30 Sep 2009 01:52:09 GMT

Marg said today that I've been the best student she's ever had 'concerning boys'.
This basically translates to 'never had to sneak out or hide a relationship, because guess what, you don't have one'.

How flattering.

I think I'm drowning, asphyxiated.

Wed, 23 Sep 2009 06:23:30 GMT

I am not desperate. Not in the sense you think I am.

Do you know why I'm longing for a relationship? No? I'll tell you why. I'm longing for a relationship because half of my family has decided it is easier for them to pretend I don't exist, and the other half lives in England. I'm longing for a relationship because I haven't seen my mother 18 months. I am longing for a relationship because as much as I respect my homestay parent, she is not my mother. I am longing for a relationship because my best friend is a guy- and I can't talk to him about girl stuff. I am longing for a relationship because my other best friend, who happens to be a girl and I can therefore talk to about girl stuff, is in India. I am longing for a relationship because everyone thinks I am strong and infallible and therefore I do not think it fitting to look for comfort from them. I am longing for a relationship because I need the physical contact; the intimacy of it. I am longing for a relationship because I need someone to tell me I am good enough- I haven't felt that way since I came here. I am longing for a relationship because the one man a girl should always have a relationship with has decided to leave me waiting on the side of the road for eternity. I am longing for a relationship because I want someone to hug me and kiss me and tell me I"m pretty. I am longing for a relationship because the last 9 months of my life have been like a constant roller coaster ride and I need someone that can catch me because I am utterly disorientated.

That is why I want a relationship. Not because I'm desperate to get laid. Fuck you, Alex, you inconsiderate bastard.

Yay for new music~

Tue, 22 Sep 2009 07:36:56 GMT

Paranoia is in bloom,
The PR transmissions will resume,
They'll try to push drugs that keep us all dumbed down,
And hope that we will never see the truth around.
Another promise, another scene,
Another packaged lie to keep us trapped in greed,
And all the green belts wrapped around our minds,
And endless red tape to keep the truth confined

They will not force us,
They will stop degrading us,
They will not control us,
We will be victorious.

I freakin' love Muse.

oh, Alan Rickman, you sexy thang

Sat, 19 Sep 2009 10:23:28 GMT

Why have I never known of this till today is what I wonder now:

Writer's Block: Fantasy Sports

Sat, 19 Sep 2009 03:52:28 GMT

Imagine you manage a coven of baseball-playing vampires. The Cullen family is really strong this year and you want to bring in a ringer. Which currently active MLB baseball player do you sire?

Submitted By seannau

View 502 Answers

NO. FUCKING. WAY.

Well, I imagine if it were fear, my eyes would be wider.

Fri, 18 Sep 2009 10:54:50 GMT

I just found a piece of paper in my bag that I didn't know was there. It's disturbing the hell out of me. It's scary how I can hold intricate conversations with myself. I read over what I've written and it seems so real it's hard to believe that both sides of the argument were me. It's scary that there is no one I can talk about stuff like that except myself. Sad, even. It's scary that I managed to fill an entire page in the tiniest writing I've ever produced and it's scary that I can have two sides of myself that can be so harmonious in everyday life but when I'm arguing with myself, they seem so different it's like I have two different people in my head fighting with each other.
I am scared.
I am shit scared and I still don't know what to do about it.

so how am I supposed to feel, cause I can't seem to figure it out

Wed, 16 Sep 2009 06:27:27 GMT

You really confuse me sometimes.

BIRTHDAY BIRTHDAY

Sun, 13 Sep 2009 08:54:24 GMT

I have had quite a haul this year.
01) Three packets of Maltesers - Katherine and Nicole
02) Bottles of coloured glitter (inside joke) - Katherine
03) A little green T. rex toy - Katherine
04) Quite a bit larger Triceratops soft toy - Emily
05) A dinosaur excavation kit: Triceratops edition - Spencer
06) Jamie Strange: Thanks for Faking it Sometimes - Spencer
07) Two buttons: 'Get a perm! (NZ ad)' & 'nosy little shit, aren't you?' - Nicole
08) A basket of assorted (freshly baked!) muffins - Alex
09) A 25 dollar Hoyts voucher \o/ \o/ - Marg
10) A bouquet of pretty yellow flowers and greenery from my parents
11) Two white daisies from Alex

... and I'm still waiting on a couple more presents ^_____^

Wed, 09 Sep 2009 10:12:52 GMT

I don't know what this feeling is, but I'm pretty sure it's like nothing I've ever felt before. I want to explore it, but I'm scared it's not going to be as good as I think it is. The last thing I want right now is another disappointment- even if only from myself.
Sometimes I wish I wasn't so afraid to express the positive feelings I have for people, it'll be better than coming off as a cold bitch, at least. But oh help, I actually can't. Well, I can, but it's hard, and how am I supposed to know it'll be worth it? What if there is no reciprocation? What then?

What, indeed.

Sat, 05 Sep 2009 13:10:34 GMT

Because it is 1 in the morning and I am easily amused.

Also:
What did the dinosaur say when he saw a volcano erupt?
What a lava-ly day!

What's louder than a dinosaur?
Two dinosaurs!

What has a spiked tail, plates on its back and sixteen wheels?
A Stegosaurus on roller skates.

What do you get when dinosaurs crash cars?
Tyrannosaurus wrecks.

What did the dinosaur say when he crashed his car?
I'msosaurus.

and ofcourse:
What do you call a blind dinosaur?
Doyouthinkhesaurus.

What do you call a blind dinosaur's dog?
Doyouthinkhesaurus rex.

You have not renewed my faith in humanity.

Sat, 29 Aug 2009 05:00:29 GMT

Just because I am a misanthrope doesn't mean that I can't have a normal relationship or be intimate with anyone, thank you very much. You, dear ~~acquaintance~~ demotion! human, don't seem to understand the meaning of misanthropy. Let me make it clear to you. Misanthropy is a hatred, dislike or distrust for the human species. Humanity as a whole. I don't automatically hate people. There's some people that I really really like, some people that I highly respect, ~~some people I madly fangirl about~~, and even some people that I love. Yeah, I know what that sounds like to you. My cold, hating heart doesn't seem to you like it could love. Well, suck it. It can. I know you ask me why I hate humans and I tell you it's because they're stupid; but it doesn't automatically mean that I will be unable to ever be truly friends with someone because my brain is hung up over the fact that they're a giant idiot. Infact, and it's a shocker, humanity=/=individual people. Individual people can be geniuses, but they are shunned and overshadowed by the dolts walking around in positions of power. So, there you have it. Don't try and give me 'advice', because, honestly, when you tell me the reason I can't seem to have a relationship with someone I really like is because I automatically hate him, it just makes me lump you right back into the 'humans are stupid' category- especially after I've just spent the last 15 minutes explaining to you that misanthropy does not work that way.

Thu, 20 Aug 2009 09:28:35 GMT

I am so over being single.

Wed, 19 Aug 2009 05:36:50 GMT

Angry!Cal is sexy.

That is all.

Meh.

Wed, 12 Aug 2009 09:10:18 GMT

Trying to limit yourself to one cup of coffee a day is harder than you would think.

:D

Tue, 11 Aug 2009 08:19:24 GMT

DEAD SNOW!~

It's coming up.

Sun, 09 Aug 2009 02:13:57 GMT

I've been trying to figure out my compulsive habits ever since yesteday and so far I have come up with:
01) Always cutting solid food into smaller than normal pieces when I eat, especially when I'm alone, to make sure I don't choke on it.
02) My shoe laces always have to be tied with the right end of the lace going under the other on my right foot and the left end of the lace going under the right on my left.
03) Spelling letters/words in the air with my feet while I'm sitting around; nothing specific, usually just a word I've seen on the TV or something.
04) I always pass knives- even butter knives- with the functional end pointing toward me so the receiver doesn't have to grab it by the point. People also need to do the same for me, cause it freaks me the fuck out, yo.
05) I always stir clockwise. Counter-clockwise feels weird.
06) I always arrange my books/magazines/DVDS/CDS in alphabetical order; always left to right.

That's all I've been able to come up with so far.