Locate an article, news report, or social media post to respond to. You can also respond to any of the articles or topics discussed in the class.
First, summarize what the post is saying and what you understand them to be arguing.
Second, respond to the article with what we have been learning in class.
- Cause and Effect
- Causality
- Causes
- Monsters
- Ed Gein
- Horror Movies
- Charting causes and Effects
Professor Ramos' Blog 
Horror movies is a topic that I chose for this week’s journal response. My article has an interesting headline: “Despite the odds, there have been Oscars for horror films. Are more on the way?”. An effective headline that gets the main message across but it is the first paragraph which really captures the reader’s attention: filmmaker Guillermo del Toro once claimed that, during the release of his 2006 film Pan’s Labyrinth, fellow filmmaker Terry Gilliam told him that “You’ll never get close to awards with this type of movie” (Dawn). The type of movie that Randee Dawn (the writer of the article) classifies as horror. The story goes on to say that some people still cringe at the concept of the horror movie and that the directors of different films like The Lighthouse or Us don’t even classify their movies as part of the horror genre. The chief argument made for horror movies in the article is that they can contain relevant messages that are needed for society – their classification should really make no difference. Some are already aware of this claim while the article concludes that even if horror movies don’t get awards, their societal messages have helped them evolve in the world.
The horror genre has still proven to be relevant because, like monsters, they evolve to fit the anxieties and fears of the society in which they exist. Psycho, in 1960, told a fictional story inspired by the crimes of Ed Gein. While there are similar horror movies like this today, there are also movies horror movies like 2017’s Get Out which details the racial division that still exists between Americans. I chose this article because it reminded me of one of the things I have learned in this class: we, as a society, create monsters but it is how we react to these monsters that determines whether or not we will change, for better or worse
https://www.latimes.com/entertainment-arts/movies/story/2019-11-19/horror-oscars-us-midsommar-lighthouse-joker-it
LikeLike
The article I have read is called “How Have Horror Movies Changed through the Decades? Look inside the Evolution” by Sarah Guy discusses just like the title says how horror have changed and how audiences have flowed with the change of themes with horror films. Horror films have been a popular genre according to the author since the 1960’s ranging from high budget films to smaller indie films. Starting off with the 60’s small studio releases gained critical acclaim like Psycho (1960) and Rosemary’s Baby (1968); also stating that George A. Romero’s Night of the Living Dead (1968) earned over 250 times its budget. In the 70’s it was the era of the sequels like Amityville Horror (1979) and The Texas Chainsaw Massacre (1974) are some examples that received sequels throughout the years. Then in the 80’s it was the introduction to the slasher films and the movies became more widespread because of the creation of the VHS tapes; some examples of the slasher movies were Nightmare on Elm Street (1984) and Friday the 13th (1980).
The article then continues going through the rest of the decades and giving examples of the movies, they are arguing that as a society we love being scared and we are interested in the unknown and questioning things like made up monsters and serial killers. Even though a great majority of us would never do what serial killers have done throughout the life time, we as a society are scared of them because they aren’t made up monsters they are actual people made up of flesh and bone just like us but they have done horrendous things. The other thing about that is even though we find serial killers crazy we find them fascinating because we always want to know why and how and human being would do this to other human beings.
The Link: https://www.ibtimes.com/how-have-horror-movies-changed-through-decades-look-inside-evolution-2824092
LikeLike
The article I chose to respond to happens to be one that has and currently is a major problem to California residents; this happens to be the devastating effects of wildfires that this state is plagued by. Last week there was a wildfire in the mountains north of Santa Barbara. It goes into the numbers affected by the fire and what was done to avoid causalities. It also mentioned that the incoming storm provided a source of hope in helping contain the fire that devastated this area. Although the article states nothing new compared to other wildfire news, the only differences would be the severity of the fire, location of it, and how many people affected by it along with the manpower in trying to contain it. This article argues about how bad fires can get and mentions a few of the causes and effects that are associated with them.
There are numerous causes of wildfires and we will be mentioning a few. Dry environment as stated in the article because in California usually we get the rain in Winter and Spring. The problem is then that it has summer and fall for the brush to dry out and it is in a position that allows it to be set on fire easily. Another cause of wildfire is because of people; last year some of the more deadly fires were caused by down power-lines; we are people and do mistakes, and those mistakes in this case is that we are always creating a situation that causes sparks, the key to starting fires. One of most important causes of wildfires would be the changes of climate. This is most visible in the summertime when in the news we always hear that this ‘summer is shaping up to be the hottest summer yet’ or something along those times, every year we hear this so we can predict next year it will be the same, the problem is that with the increasing hotter summers, vegetation dry out faster sooner and also become even more prone to catching on fire.
The Link: https://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/wildfire-near-santa-barbara-threatens-thousands-homes-rages-out-control-n1091691
LikeLike
The Journal I am writing about is how Horror movies changed over time. George Mellies was the direct of the very first horror movie. George talks how his film about a supernatural character turned out to scare people. Some were frightened and thought he was a mad man. But most people enjoyed the thrill it actually gave them. The golden area for Horror movies was in the 1920s through the 1930s. Some major films happened in that time such as Frankenstein (1931), The Mummy (1932) and the first color adaptation of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde (1931). The Atomic Years where “Freaks” the movie was banned for over 30 years in Great Britain. If you think about it that is pretty wild to think they banned a movie because it was too scary for people to watch. Another hallmark of the 40s-50s era of horror came as a product of the times.
Movies including The Incredible Shrinking Man, Godzilla, as did the fear of invasion with The War of the Worlds and When Worlds Collide, both big hits in 1953. In the 70s and 80s, everything started to really sky rocket. People started to really enjoy scary movies. Especially the one that were supposedly based on a “True Story”. The Exorcist (1973) and The Omen (1976) were the two movies that break the flood gates open for money.
I really enjoyed this article because I do like horror films and now I am curious to watch some of these old films. I movies now compared to then are way scarier and more creative. Some of the movies now are wicked scary. For instance The Strangers too me absolutely freaked me out but my dad said the shinning was scary for him. I think it is crazy how fast they have changed and to think how good they will be in the next 20 years
https://www.nyfa.edu/student-resources/how-horror-movies-have-changed-since-their-beginning/
LikeLike
Andres Tinajero
The article I have chosen to write about is on Ed Gein from the Time Magazine. Gein’s home was reportedly filled with his grisly handiwork. Upon his arrest cops searching his house found noses, human bones, bowls made from human skulls, human skin used as chair seats, human heads in paper bags and burlaps sacks, a lampshade fashioned from the skin of a human face and countless other horrors.
Gein was convicted of killing just one person, a judge named Robert H. Gollmar, but also confessed to killing two women — a bar owner named Mary Hogan and a hardware store owner in his hometown of Plainfield, Bernice Worden. He spent the last years of his life in mental institutions in Wisconsin, rather than in prison, having been found legally insane. He died in 1984 at the age of 77 in Madison. Ed Gein is what people would call a monster. He wasn’t just a regular person. We can never be 100% sure what caused him to do what he did, just like we aren’t 100% sure about why other monsters do what they do. We can however dig deep and try to figure out what was going on in their heads and come up with scholarly conclusions.
LikeLike
Why do we watch horror films and why do we like them? This review provides some understanding of the psychology behind the question by using research psychology, psychotherapy, communication studies, development studies, clinical psychology, and media studies. These results revealed interesting results. One such study suggests low empathy and fearfulness are associated with more enjoyment and desire to watch such films. Although not consistent there is a positive relationship between sensation seeking and horror enjoyment preference. Men and boys prefer to watch and seek out horror when compared to woman and girls. Older and younger children differ in their fears of stimuli, the older kids fear the realistic and the younger kids tend to be more afraid of symbolic stimuli. Physical coping strategies, in terms of coping with horror, are more successful in younger children.
Despite respect among other genres of film, horror thrives today. In 2017, Stephen King’s IT generated more than 700 million in ticket sales, this made it the most financially successful horror film of all time. Two movies in 1989 had grossed over 38 million, “The Fly” and “The Abyss”. Today that amount gives the two films 15th place in box office revenue. “IT” takes 13th place, “The Mummy” 23rd, “Resident Evil: Final Chapter” 30th, “Annabelle: Creation” 32nd, and “Get Out” 37th. Nine horror films earned over one hundred million dollars in 2017 reestablishing the publics obvious fascination and consumer demand for such genre.
Horror has been defined as a “Spontaneous response to shocking visual stimulus”. Verbal dialogued also plays a role in the fright experience. Some authors have even argued “Horror is primarily a sound based medium” (Kawin 2012): The creaking door, the scream, the shriek of an owl, the hiss of a cat, the ringing of a phone, and of course one the most successful, the use of a loud sound after a prolonged period of silence, the so-called “jump scare”.
The research is rather interesting and telling. At times we are an interesting people.
https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fpsyg.2019.02298/full
LikeLike
In the article Ed Gein: Portrait of America’s Original ‘Psycho Killer’, written by Ben Cosgrove on the Time, he summarizes the impact Ed Gein had on America and how it changed society forever. Ed was the inspiration for two of the most popular hour movies, Texas Chainsaw Massacre and Psycho. Some people also believe he was the inspiration for Silence of the Lambs. Cosgrove also mentioned how Gein was very messy and gruesome. In class, Professor Ramos mentioned how the innocence of the American society was killed because people no longer trusted anyone. People would just leave their doors unlocked at night and let anyone take care of their kids but when they heard about the horrible things Ed Gein did, things were never the same. In this case, it’s not about the number of people he killed or was suspected of killing but how he killed them. When police officials went to Gein’s shed, they found Bernice Worden dead and naked and also hanging upside down by her heels. When they went inside his house, that was a whole other story because they found things made out of human flesh and bones. For example they found a bowl made out of a human skull and furniture as well. Professor Ramos also mentioned how messy of a house it was. The most suspected leading cause for Ed Gein’s gruesome actions was because he was lonely. Ramos said his mother had died and that she made a large impact on Gein’s life. In our childhood we were told about monsters but as we grow up we come to realize that monsters are real and secretly within our society.
https://time.com/3879490/ed-gein-portrait-of-americas-original-psycho-killer/
LikeLike