Help with some sources for film studies essay
 

Hey guys nice site you have here just found it,

I need some help answering my own question which is;

To what extent has the horror genre evolved in terms of fetishising violence to reflect socio-cultural and political anxieties?

I just need a book and a magazine article that reflects the question I'm having difficulty finding resources.

Thank you so much if you can help me you could save me alot of time

I would help you if I could, but I'm afraid I can't.

And why must you film studies students always come here with your questions? I mean, at least this one isn't the typical "How are women portrayed in horror?" question, but what ever happened to doing your own work?

I'm not really sure it has. Its mostly done for exploitation reasons - HG Lewis pretty much kick started the 'gore movie' and did so for economic reasons (the nudie cuties just weren't making the cash).

Salo definally has a politcal agenda.

I suppose It could be argued that Hostel is comment on the decadence of the west and how anything can become a commodity.

You should watch the documentary American Nightmare it covers the socio-cultural anxieties post-Vietnam a little.

It's a really poorly worded question IMO because the fetishising of violence hasn't really been used in that way. I guess you could grasp at straws and prove it somehow. Plenty of examples of horror reflecting socities flaws/anxieties (Romero's work for example) but I doesn't have anything to do with fetishising violence.

Dawn of the Dead, American Psycho, Eden Lake are films I reckon you should be looking at for starters. As for literary sources, I havent really got too much of a clue Im afraid.

And many 50's Sci-Fi the social anxieties of living with a Nuclear armed world.

But again - as Elvis says nothing to do with the fetishising violence.

The Giallo genre definall has a fetishtic approach (very stylised with many conventions) but (though I'm no expert on the subgenre) I don't see much social commentry in them..

I guess by "fetishising" violence they are meaning the visceral thrills/impact of the violence in the films (perhaps?) and how it's stylised to have a disired effect to further illustrate the desired effect.

Hmmmm thanks for the input and help guys maybe you could help me re word the question. I'm finding it hard to write a question for myself concerning the horror genre or maybe could anyone help me out asking myself something else to write a essay on.

Still along your original lines - and what ppl here have already mentioned - something about how social/cultural/political issues have influenced the horrow genre.....

Sorry reading the political in this, I think of the (newer) Hills Have Eyes 2 which sucked but wasn't it about soldiers training for Iraq?

Amazon's top sellers in books about horror films:

1.
Projected Fears: Horror Films and American Culture by Kendall R. Phillips (Paperback - Sept. 29, 2008)

2.
The New Horror Handbook by A S Berman (Paperback - July 11, 2009)

3.
Horror Film Reader (Softcover) (Limelight) by Alain Silver (Paperback - Aug. 1, 2004)

4.
The Horror Film: An Introduction (New Approaches to Film Genre) by Rick Worland (Paperback - Nov. 6, 2006)

5.
Horror 101: The A-List of Horror Films and Monster Movies by Aaron Christensen, Brett Harrison, and Tom Savini (Paperback - Aug. 31, 2007)


6.
The Horror Film by Peter Hutchings (Paperback - July 1, 2004)