By Karen Wu
As a person who never watches horror movies, I regard them as one of the weirdest things in the world. They are defined by Wikipedia as a movie genre that seeks to elicit a negative emotional reaction from viewers by playing on their most primal fears. Since fear is a distressing negative sensation, I can’t help wondering why people would want to watch horror films to torture themselves. After an online search and several personal interviews, I came up with the following interesting reasons. First, thrill seeking. Alfred Hitchcock, one of cinema’s most significant horror movie directors, once said that “drama is life with the dull bits left out.” In general, people like horror movies because they have dull lives. It can let them experience thrills and suspense that would not be possible in everyday life. They desire to experience the most frightening murders or be chased by terrifying monsters, but they also want the security of just turning the movie off and going back to real life. Second, a relief from violence. According to an abundance of research, violence exists in human nature, and history has had many wars as vivid proof of this fact. Therefore, we all need to find a way to release this violent tendency. Watching horror movies is a great way for people to exercise their violent emotions without hurting anyone. They can do anything illegal, enjoy breaking all the rules of life, and do not need to worry about the consequences. Third, receiving pleasure. On an unconscious level, people compare their own problems to the problems in horror movies and always feel much better when seeing the actors suffer much more than they do. Although most people never realize the connection between their preference for horror movies and the pleasure they get from watching them, psychological research has proven it many times. Horror movie-goers derive pleasure from violent and unpleasant scenes! Fourth, protecting and being protected (especially for couples). Some men might ask women out for a horror movie at the beginning of the dating stage so they can hold their partner when they are scared, and some people might regard this as a win-win situation for both sexes. Men can fulfill their protective instincts, while women can feel secure and protected. Although it is a stereotype, some men think it really works fantastically (at least according to one of my best male friends). After investigating these reasons, now I don’t think that horror-movie lovers are so freakish as I thought. However, I personally won’t dare to watch horror movies since I will certainly have nightmares. What’s your opinion? Why not post a comment on our website and share your experience with us: ntuforex.blogspot.com We look forward to hearing from you! a
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May 2024
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