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HORROR!
Horror films are a huge part of entertainment and have been for a long time. However, over the years, the content in these films started to raise concerns for many people. Many believe that the graphic content expressed in many horror films can be detrimental to society. Parents are concerned for their children in regards to viewing the content, psychologists and scientists are interested in looking into whether or not the films cause behavioral or personality issues, and horror fans are interested in the ideas behind why they love the movies so much. I personally love horror films and always have, so I don't think that the films have any serious effects on society, but they certainly effect certain individuals such as young children or those with a predisposition to violent behavior. I believe that young children's horror content viewing should be more strictly regulated, we should further current knowledge on genetic predisposition to violent behavior, and that those who dislike horror films should understand why others enjoy them so much.
regulation for children
#ProbablyScarredForLife
One of the biggest problems, I believe, that people have with horror content is the concern that the content will affect children negatively. The content can certainly affect children in negative ways, such as causing fears, sleep deprivation, and anxiety, but this can only happen if parents allow their young children to have access to graphic horror content. If you are aware of how society has changed in the past 10 years or so, it's pretty easy to see that many kids have changed in behaviors and mannerisms. I am not assuming that all parents are bad parents, but there are certainly parents today who let their kids simply do almost whatever they want. Then parents will complain about their kids acting a certain way or being afraid or acting violent. Violent horror films will likely have an effect on a kid who is allowed to watch the content whenever he or she pleases, especially if they are very young. Young children can't distinctly distinguish between reality and fantasy when watching films, let alone horror films. A solution to the problem for parents is to place more restrictions on kids and what they watch. They should be exposed to some horror content and violent content because they are parts of life. However, the exposure should be minimal, not extremely intense, and be given a moral context for the child. A 6 year old could probably watch Goosebumps and be perfectly fine despite normal childhood fear, which the show engages. But a 6 year old certainly shouldn't be watching Friday the 13th with explicit killing and sex. It is a totally different level of horror for the age group and their developing minds. an article from popsugar.com describes the differing views of moms regarding children watching horror movies. Some moms are okay with it and some are not. Most believe that it depends on the child. i agree that it depends on the child, but it's better to be safe than sorry when it comes to young children. Kids horror viewing needs to be regulated and watched because if they develop bad behaviors from the films at a young age, they are much more likely to carry those behaviors into adulthood.
Although regulation of horror viewing would help decrease childhood issues, there still remains the issue of genetic predisposition to violent behavior. In an article from Dailymail.com, genes and brain scans that relate to predisposition to violence are discussed. I talked more about these genes and brain scans in my blog if you would like to understand them more. These are extremely interesting findings and should be studied more to uncover more information about these genes and brains scans. If we could somehow find a way to genetically mutate or modify these genes in such a way that would lessen the predisposed tendency to behave violently, that would be significant. Violence would decrease around the world and crime rates would likely drop dramatically. This idea doesn't apply simply to horror films either. It applies to society in general because not all violence is caused by horror films, in fact it is a relatively small portion that is. There are violent people everywhere and if we could somehow decrease the violence in society, a major change could occur. For these reasons, I believe we should continue to study genetic predisposition to violence and raise awareness of this information, as many people would be very interested in the issue and even willing to further the studies in research. I am very interested to see where we will go with this information and hopefully in the future, a change can be made to better society!
Criminality due to horror films is also a concern for many people. There have been several instances of copycat crimes as a result of horror viewing. I believe that this relates to the genetic predisposition to violence because most people who watch horror films or violent films can recognize that the actions portrayed are not to be mimicked. If one has a predisposition to violent behavior, this ability to distinguish between right and wrong lessens. Is this reason enough to get criminals with predisposition out of prison or death row? That is a question that's still in the works of being answered. My personal opinion is that those predisposed to violence can still control their actions; it's just a lot harder. The criminal justice system shouldn't just let murderers and criminals free because of a behavioral issue. They should receive the same treatment as anyone else. My stance on those with mental illness is just the same, although the legal system has exceptions already in place for the situation. Many people have an opinion that contrasts mine, and I can understand why; humanitarianism is questioned when we treat people with disabilities just as we would those without. The issue remains one in question, but as far as horror movies go, not a crazy amount of people are copying the content. Although it isn't an entirely prevailing issue, the science behind the predisposition should be studied further in order to come up with some sort of solution, as I explained earlier.
This video discusses copycat crimes, predisposition to violent behavior, children, and judicial issues all in relation to horror films.
Psychoticism At Its Finest
Finest having two meanings...right ladies ;)
studying genes for predisposition
criminality: finding a solution
Another issue surrounding horror movies is the concern that they may cause us to be desensitized to violence. This may be the issue for some, such as those with predispositions to violent behavior or mental illnesses. However, this is not the case for the average horror fan. We aren't desensitized to violence in reality, just when we watch the films. The films are fake and we are aware of this fact so we become desensitized to the movie. When it comes to real life violence, we are aware of its danger and implications. Many believe that horror films are cathartic, meaning they are soothing psychologically because they release certain emotions. Stephen King, in his essay Why We Crave Horror Movies, explains the rationalization of catharsis: "It may be that horror movies provide psychic relief on this level because this invitation to ;apse into simplicity, irrationality, and even outright madness is extended so rarely...If we share a brotherhood of man, then we also share an insanity of man. None of which is intended as a defense of either the sick joke or insanity but merely as an explanation of why the best horror films, like the best fairy tales, manage to be reactionary, anarchistic, and revolutionary all at the same time." king makes the point that we enjoy these movies because they express things that we could never really experience, just like fairy tales, and this brings out cathartic feelings. Similarly, in an article from npr.org, discussed in my blog, mikita brottman, a horror scholar educated at Oxford, claims that "humanity's dark side is a fascinating place to explore." I agree with this statement, and when you think about it, it seems most people do. We always see negatives everywhere we look. We always focus on the dark side of things rather than looking at the positives as a society. Dark content infatuation may also be cathartic; we like the dark side of things because they are so different from our daily experiences. Thus, catharsis may be one validation for horror content, and desensitization to violence is rather rare.
validity of catharsis:
desensitization fallacy
Well Said Billy the Psycho!
To sum it all up, horror content should be regulated for young children, genetic predisposition to violent behavior should be studied further, criminals shouldn't be let go regardless of mentla conditions, and the idea of catharsis for horror lovers should be understood by horror haters. As with any issue, both sides need to be seen before coming to any solutions. Hopefully sometime in the future, violence will decline and violent content won't be an issue. However, until that happens, we need to investigate several aspects of the issue and try to better society. Horror content can't be solely blamed for certain behaviors. As a horror lover, I have read a lot about why those who dislike horror do so, and many of the opinions are valid. However, I personally don't see horror content being an extremely pressing issue today. If we do the things presented in this essay then potentially violence could decrease and society could benefit greatly!