Humans possessed by demons. Brutal rape. Unbearable torture. Horrifying ways to die. These examples are few of the many elements incorporated into horror films today. Many are able to sit in a movie theatre for an hour and a half, view the film, and leave without ever thinking about it again. However, this is not always the case; have you ever wondered if these films do more than just entertain? Many have never thought about the after effects of horror film, the way it affects child behavior, and the initial and long-term effects it may leave. Horror films may be for fun but I believe they have a negative impact on peoplesâ psychological behavior. Some people wonder why they think they see a ghost after viewing a horror film. Some believe that they are being watched. Others complain of nightmares and other issues while sleeping. All of these are examples of horror film after effects. If one goes to a horror film, after viewing it they will probably be affected in one way or another, even if the fear is not apparent at first; subconsciously the film has indeed affected the viewer. A friend of mine recalls that after viewing âJeepers Creepersâ she was not initially frightened or shaken by it. However, minutes later the power in her house went out; her thoughts immediately went back to the film, even though the power outage had absolutely nothing to do with it. These films are intended to bring out fear in people, make them cringe, or to push the limits on what is morally right and wrong. Take âThe Last House on the Leftâ for example. This film was originally made in 1972 and banned in Britain for a number of years before resurfacing in the 2009 remake. Having one of the most brutal plots of a film, in my opinion, âThe Last House on the Leftâ leaves nothing to the imagination including an unbearably long and very graphic rape scene that clocks in at seven minutes. A review of the film posted on <a href="http://www.cinematical.com">www.cinematical.com</a> received many comments including this one:</p> âLast House on the Left would have been so much better if the rape scene had been left out.. If the movie needed a rape scene in it they definitely did not need to have it too detailed, they could have just left that to the viewersâ imagination. I think there is something wrong with movie writers if they are going to think up this type of thing.. I thought the rape scene was kind of degrading and is giving sick people ideas. This movie makes rape seem like something totally okay, and that it is accepted in todayâs society.. I literally could not watch the scene and it made me nauseous. I felt bad for all the people in there watching the movie. This rape scene was the worst one I have ever seen throughout my entire life. It was as if someone was forcing me to watch a poor girl get raped in real life.. It truly ruined the movie.â Although horror films are intended to entertain, young audiences may be more deeply affected. Most horror films are rated R, meaning no one under 17 years of age can be admitted to the film without a parent. I believe that the rating of a film does not stop anyone from sneaking into the presentation of a film. I have a fourteen-year-old brother. He sneaks into rated R films all the time, by purchasing a ticket for a PG or PG-13 movie and then walking into the rated R film. Yes, these may be viewed as harmless entertainment but they affect people, especially children. Albert Bandura did a classic study in 1961 on what he called âSocial Learning Theory,â meaning we learn to do what we see done, most often referred to by those in psychology as the âBobo Doll Study.â Bandura showed a group of children a video of an adult beating up a Bobo doll (a person-sized punching bag that looks like a clown) in a room with other toys in it. Another group of children did not view the video. The children were then allowed to go into the room individually. The children who had not viewed the adult beating up Bobo werenât particularly interested in him, but the children who had viewed Bobo get beaten up started beating him up in exactly the same way as the adult they had viewed in the video. (Bandura 1961) In other research, a survey of more than 2,000 third through eighth graders in Ohio public schools revealed that as the number of hours of television viewing per day increased, so did the prevalence of symptoms of psychological trauma, such as anxiety, depression, and posttraumatic stress. (Singer, Slovak, Frierson, & York 1998). Human beings characteristics are based on mental instances and emotion; therefore, whatever they may experience in life will affect them in some way; positively or negatively. I believe that horror films affect people in many ways. Children are used to imitating what they see adults doing, watching a horror film would be no exception. Not only does this blind them to what is right and wrong, it may also, in the long run, affect their personality. They may be frightened easily, their minds never really at peace again. They may also develop phobias for the rest of their life all because of a fictional film. Behaviorism states that a particular stimulus will always lead to a particular response; therefore, what we are today is the result of numerous responses to predictable stimuli. As with most situations in life, we are all affected differently. Some take situations to heart while others make light of them and move on. I feel it is the same when it comes to horror films. Yes, some people realize that it is âjust a movieâ and after the hour and a half it ensues, leave and never think about it again. However, some people are affected in a more negative way, unable to shake the after effects of a film. Joanne Cantor is a professor at the University of Wisconsin â Madison and an expert in child and mass media effects. She has researched horror films relevant to the college age population for more than twenty years. Cantor has said that fifty-two percent of horror movie-watchers report eating and sleeping disorders, while twenty-six percent had ongoing effects many years after their experience. In her speech, âFrom Psycho to Scream: Why Movie Horror Doesnât Die,â she explains why the intense memories from this genre may affect us. âThe audience can develop a fear of taking showers after watching âPsychoâ or swimming in the ocean after seeing âJaws,â she said. âThere have even been cases where people were sent to psychiatric wards because of damaging effects from the movies âThe Exorcist,â âInvasion of the Body Snatchers,â and âGhostwatch.â (Bryant & Zillmann 287-288). There in an increasing body of evidence, in fact, that contends fear induced by mass media exposure is often long lasting, with sometimes intense and debilitating effects (Cantor 1998). In a study designed to assess the severity of enduring fright reactions to mass media, Johnson (1980) asked a random sample of adults whether they had ever seen a motion picture that disturbed them âa great deal.â Forty percent replied affirmative, and the median length of the reported disturbance was three days. Respondents also reported on the type, intensity, and duration of symptoms such as nervousness, depression, fear of specific things, and recurring thoughts and images. Based on these reports, Johnson judged that forty-eight percent of these respondents (nineteen percent of the total sample) had experienced, for at least two days, a âsignificant stress reactionâ as the result of watching a film (Bryant & Zillmann 288-289). Recent retrospective studies of adultsâ detailed memories of having been frightened by a television program or film provide more evidence of the severity and duration of media-induced fear (Harrison & Cantor 1999; Hoekstra, Harris & Helmick 1999). In these studies, involving samples of undergraduates from three universities, the presence of vivid memories of enduring media-induced fear was nearly universal. All of the participants in one study (Hoekstra et al., 1999) reported such an incident. In the other study (Harrison & Cantor 1999) ninety percent of the participants reported an intense fear reaction to something in the media, in spite of the fact that the respondents could receive full extra credit for participating in the study if they simply said âNoâ (meaning âI never had an experienceâ), and thereby avoid writing a paper and filling out a three-page questionnaire (Bryant & Zillmann 289-290).</p> Both studies revealed a variety of intense reactions, including generalized anxieties, specific fears, unwanted recurring thoughts, and disturbances in eating and sleeping. Moreover, Harrison and Cantor (1999) reported these fears to be long lasting: One-third of those who reported having been frightened said that the fear effects had lasted more than a year. Indeed, more than one-fourth of the respondents said that the emotional impact of the program or film (viewed an average of six years earlier) was still with them at the time of reporting (Bryant &; Zillmann 290). The most extreme reactions reported in the literature come from psychiatric case studies in which acute and disabling anxiety states enduring several days to several weeks or more (some necessitating hospitalization) are said to have been precipitated by the viewing of horror films such as âThe Exorcistâ, âInvasion of the Body Snatchersâ, and âGhostwatchâ. (Buzzuto 1975; Mathai 1983; Simons & Silveria 1994). Most of the patients in the cases reported they had not had previously diagnosed psychiatric problems, but the viewing of the film was seen as occurring in conjunction with other stressors in the patientsâ lives (Bryant & Zillmann 290).</p> Although I feel horror films affect people negatively psychologically, it does not mean that I am against them. As with any genre of film, horror can also be thrilling and entertaining. However, I believe that some horror films âcross the line.â I feel that people who write these films get away with too much with too little restriction on what they can and cannot do. Yes, I do understand that some elements are crucial for the plot of a film but it does not necessarily mean that we the audience need to see them. For example, say a rape took place. I think we are all well aware of what a rape means and what it is. No need for us to watch it happen like some had to during those seven minutes in âThe Last House on the Left.â Perhaps the situation could be incorporated into the dialogue; a brief mention of it. Another factor I feel horror films should not do is in any way disrespect or try to change oneâs view on religion. Take âThe Exorcistâ for example; yes, it had to do with the devil possessing a young girl and I understand that. However, I feel it was terribly unnecessary for the film to depict the girl shoving a bloodied crucifix up her vagina and making obscene comments about it. However, I feel the film got the bad reputation it deserved when the Pope addressed it personally. âEvil is not merely a lack of something but an effective agent, a living, spiritual being, perverted and perverting. A terrible reality.â (Jones 92). Although many of todayâs horror films are based more on how little the producer can spend and how much gore can come out of it, I happen to know that there are horror films out there that are very well crafted works of art. I believe a film takes character, plot, and above all a story that the audience has a hard time forgetting, in a good way. Audiences should leave a movie talking positively about it, not shaking, screaming or frightened. If a horror film is going to make a lasting impression, it should be about art, not its lasting negative effect. By: Whitney Wardell
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