SCREAMERatorX
10-17-2003, 02:15 AM
what is Horror?
by definition (not mine),
"The word 'horror' itself, when used in a literary context, evokes varied responses. Often horror fiction is perceived as 'junk' fiction at best and, at worst, a danger to the hearts and minds of everyone concerned. Horror films are frequently -- and often irrationally -- banned or cut. In the UK, for example, the classic and influential The Exorcist is still prohibited! When it comes to books, official proscription is less common, though some parents and librarians have been assiduous in establishing their own forms of censorship -- the classification of horror novels as 'junk' is one of these. The often lurid and sensationalistic covers seem to confirm the disdain with which the genre is frequently greeted.
Horror stories might be said to deal with the evocation of a particular emotion -- horror. They set out to scare the reader, provoking anything from subtle disquiet to gut-wrenching shock.
however,
evoking that particular emotion should not be seen as the genre's sole rationale.
Like all literature, horror stories can and do achieve many things:
;they can show human beings living lives and facing fears and desires
;they can ask us to examine our social and individual assumptions
;they can create imaginative worlds in which, for a time, we escape from the problems and mundanities of our lives
; they can allow us to share the joys and sorrows of being human
; they can revel in the creative power of language; they can make us laugh at ourselves
; and,
most importantly,
they can entertain and be fun.
Horror stories can achieve all these literary ends. That they do them in a particular emotional context -- dealing with the primal emotion of fear -- and using a particular imagery, defines the genre but does not exhaust it.
horror.... terror.... whatever your prerogative...
2me: as a storytelling, artistic, genre of entertainmnet,
i always enjoy watching people in fearful situations, on film ONLY,, not in reality- (its sometimes amusing 2 see somebody get hurt (eg fall of a bike, or something of 'funniest home videos'))
why is that...??
-must be the addiction 2 the 'adreniline' rush that kicks in after watching a creative, well produced and thought out scene...
-wondering how it was done, without actually doing it!!.. as with most movies...
**why do you like horror??
--im dying 2 know!!!! (heheha... sorry 4 that..... i like horror with some sort of comedy element 2 it!!??) do u?
______________________________________________ _______________________________________________..
blue text r quotes taken from ::
A Playground For Fear: Horror Fiction For Children (http://www.roberthood.net/scribbls/children.htm)
by Robert Hood
(very interesting subject!! worth a read!)
_______________________________________________.. ______________________________________________
SEAgreen text r my words taken from ::
myMIND
me.....
by definition (not mine),
"The word 'horror' itself, when used in a literary context, evokes varied responses. Often horror fiction is perceived as 'junk' fiction at best and, at worst, a danger to the hearts and minds of everyone concerned. Horror films are frequently -- and often irrationally -- banned or cut. In the UK, for example, the classic and influential The Exorcist is still prohibited! When it comes to books, official proscription is less common, though some parents and librarians have been assiduous in establishing their own forms of censorship -- the classification of horror novels as 'junk' is one of these. The often lurid and sensationalistic covers seem to confirm the disdain with which the genre is frequently greeted.
Horror stories might be said to deal with the evocation of a particular emotion -- horror. They set out to scare the reader, provoking anything from subtle disquiet to gut-wrenching shock.
however,
evoking that particular emotion should not be seen as the genre's sole rationale.
Like all literature, horror stories can and do achieve many things:
;they can show human beings living lives and facing fears and desires
;they can ask us to examine our social and individual assumptions
;they can create imaginative worlds in which, for a time, we escape from the problems and mundanities of our lives
; they can allow us to share the joys and sorrows of being human
; they can revel in the creative power of language; they can make us laugh at ourselves
; and,
most importantly,
they can entertain and be fun.
Horror stories can achieve all these literary ends. That they do them in a particular emotional context -- dealing with the primal emotion of fear -- and using a particular imagery, defines the genre but does not exhaust it.
horror.... terror.... whatever your prerogative...
2me: as a storytelling, artistic, genre of entertainmnet,
i always enjoy watching people in fearful situations, on film ONLY,, not in reality- (its sometimes amusing 2 see somebody get hurt (eg fall of a bike, or something of 'funniest home videos'))
why is that...??
-must be the addiction 2 the 'adreniline' rush that kicks in after watching a creative, well produced and thought out scene...
-wondering how it was done, without actually doing it!!.. as with most movies...
**why do you like horror??
--im dying 2 know!!!! (heheha... sorry 4 that..... i like horror with some sort of comedy element 2 it!!??) do u?
______________________________________________ _______________________________________________..
blue text r quotes taken from ::
A Playground For Fear: Horror Fiction For Children (http://www.roberthood.net/scribbls/children.htm)
by Robert Hood
(very interesting subject!! worth a read!)
_______________________________________________.. ______________________________________________
SEAgreen text r my words taken from ::
myMIND
me.....