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Hello! My name is Amanda Derby and my blog is an inquiry blog in which I will be researching the benefits and disadvantages associated with horror movies. I would like to know whether or not these movies actually have an impact on society, whether the impact be positive or negative. I have read some sources that claim horror movies have real psychological effects on our brains. I find this idea to be very interesting and hope to find out what these effects are and how severely they impact us. There are clearly a lot of people who love these movies, but there are also those who despise them. I would like to know what elements make scary movies so appealing to some people, yet create such controversy for others. We live in a very politically correct world today, but often times horror movies seem to surpass the political correctness we live by. I feel that this is an issue for parents in particular, as they don’t want their children seeing such graphic content and their behavior changing as a consequence. I also believe that these films could be somewhat of a trigger for criminals with mental instabilities. I would like to investigate whether the movies contribute to criminality, specifically copycat criminality in which the viewers attempt to mimic the actions in the films or identify with the characters. Personally, I have grown up watching horror movies and now they are a big part of what I enjoy in my free time. I love the movies and find them very entertaining in many ways. I have seen countless scary movies, and it is extremely rare that I will be offended or grossed out by them. I thoroughly enjoy the excitement and anxiety that comes with viewing these films. However, I do see where some people have the opposite opinion and how the movies could influence negative actions or behaviors. We often perceive horror villains or heroes as super cool and awesome. But does this perception ever actually lead to clouded judgments and psychological behaviors or do we tend to blow actions up as a consequence of horror content viewing as a solution to a societal problem? Hopefully my blog will answer this question and give further insight into the science behind scary movies.