A Response to Stephen King’s
“Why We Crave Horror Movies”
Feeling abnormal lately? Well, we have got just the cure for you. Here is a sure-fire method to re-establish your normality while having a fun and exciting time; all you really need to get back on track is a good dosage of a gory horror film!
According to Stephen King, America’s best-known writer of horror fiction, horror movies can serve a valuable purpose. In King’s Playboy-published essay, “Why We Crave Horror Movies,” he examines the popular trend of attending horror films, and he provides several explanations for this craving behavior. King claims that attending these gory films is not just a trend; he believes that it is a necessity. In the essay, King claims that we need/crave horror movies for two basic reasons. First, we need to view such films to fulfill our basic need for entertainment and excitement. Also, we need to view these horror films to fulfill a certain psychological need. King states that we need to subject ourselves to such irrationality periodically in order to exercise our dark side and release certain evil fantasies, so we do not act on them.
On the whole, my opinion of King’s article is that it is highly assuming and generalizing of society. The opening statement, alone, sets this tone. King begins the essay with the statement: “I think that we’re all mentally ill; those of us outside the asylums only hide it a little better” (69). This statement is only one man’s opinion of the state of our society, of course. Frankly, I must admit that I see absolutely no truth in this statement. I believe that it is merely a very broad generalization in which the author projects his own mental state onto the whole of society. Later in King’s essay, he even goes so far as to state that a potential lyncher exists in almost all of us (excluding saints, of course). Clearly we all have a flip-side to our normal good-nature, but to actually accuse the human race of being potential lynchers is outlandish. I believe that I speak for most when I state: never have I had fantasies of brutally slaughtering another human being. Obviously, Stephen King has had such gory fantasies, but is it credible that he projects his own dark fantasies and horror film cravings unto everyone? I think not.
Another allegation that I strongly disagree with is King’s claim that we need to view horror films for entertainment purposes and psychic relief. On the other hand, Stephen King views entertainment and excitement as seeing others brutally menaced. He calls such behaviors “a peculiar sort of fun” (70). Peculiar, I will agree with, but fun, I will not. I fail to see the entertainment value in horror films; I believe that they are purposeless and damaging to one’s psyche. This brings me to King’s next claim, that viewing horror films produces a sort of psychic relief for the potential lyncher. Horror films, on the contrary, bring out the viewers’ uncivilized emotions which inspire violent acts of aggression. Since one learns through observations, it is apparent that viewing horror films certainly supports the concept of violence promoting violence. Horror films have a tendency to produce a sense of gray. This, in turn, can blur one’s judgement and make it difficult to distinguish between reality and untruth.
Think of the average viewing audience of horror films. Most gory film-attendees are the young and impressionable. The act of repeatedly viewing acts of violence gradually produces a desensitized society; just watch the news. The media reports acts of violence and heinous crimes to their viewing audience everyday. After viewing such “stories” for awhile, one begins to think of one man’s tragedy as another man’s “story.” Are we becoming immune to violence? I believe that we are. For example, up until my college years, I was only permitted to watch films that were rated “G” or “PG.” Throughout high school, I pissed and moaned about this strict little household rule, and I always wanted to rebel. It was not until my freshman year in college that I ventured out to attend an “R” rated film, an experience which proved my parents’ point after so many years of fighting the issue. Sitting in that movie theater, watching the movie (about a father trying to retrieve his kidnapped son), I was mortified by all of the language and violent killings. As I sat there in my seat, my eyes filled with tears, others around me gawked in amazement at all of the gore. They felt nothing, for they had probably been gradually desensitized after years of viewing such films. I, on the other hand, felt mortified and ashamed for having subjected myself to such violence.
Stephen King claims that there is evil in all of us, but I disagree. Is not your psyche what you make of it? I believe that you are what you make yourself. The things that you subject yourself to affect the person that you have become. My father used to say one little phrase to me when we debated the “R” rated rule, and I believe that this is the bottom line. He said, “Jennifer, garbage in, garbage out.”
(6 paragraphs, 863 words, 2.5 pages, double-spaced, Times New Roman, 12-point font)