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It's interesting how people can be drawn to horror movies, which are both scary and interesting. According to Stephen King's insightful article "Why We Crave Horror Movies," this strange desire is because these movies help us get rid of our darker urges and remind us that we are normal. This essay will look at King's case along with psychological ideas to try to figure out why so many people are interested in horror movies. We will look at the lot of different reasons why we are drawn to the macabre and the scary, from the release of bottled-up feelings to the thrill of facing our fears in a safe space.
In his article "Why We Crave Horror Movies," Stephen King says that scary movies let out the darker parts of our minds. He says that these movies give people a socially accepted way to experience "controlled madness," which lets them get in touch with their worst urges and then push them away. King says that this controlled exposure to fear and horror helps keep society normal and stable because it makes people value the good things in their lives by comparing them to the worst things that happen in horror movies.
The psychological impulses that make us love horror movies can be seen through a number of different theoretical views. Carl Jung's idea of the Shadow may help explain why we like scary and unknown parts of horror movies: they make us face the darker parts of our own minds. According to Sigmund Freud's idea of catharsis, watching scary movies can help you let go of feelings that you have been holding in. People can feel scared in a safe, controlled setting by watching these movies, which can be both exciting and healing for the emotions.
Horror movies are also good for society and morality. King says that they give viewers a place to connect over shared human experiences and fears, giving them comfort in the knowledge that their own bad tendencies are small in comparison to the horrors shown on TV. This part of scary movies makes people feel like they're not the worst people in the world. Horror movies can help people learn more about human nature and the complicated nature of moral and ethical behavior by giving viewers a place to face and work through their darker thoughts and fears with other people.
Stephen King argues that horror movies play a crucial role in purging negative emotions. He believes that everyone harbors internal dark desires that are not socially acceptable to act upon. These negative emotions, according to King, cannot be permanently suppressed and require a safe outlet for expression. Horror movies provide this outlet, allowing viewers to release these pent-up emotions in a controlled environment, thus maintaining emotional stability. The experience of watching a horror film helps in acknowledging and safely releasing these repressed thoughts, which is vital for emotional health.
Along with his authority as a famous horror writer, King's way of engaging his audience is especially good because he uses positive words and compliments. Forgetting his readers by talking to them directly and in a casual way makes them feel like they are a part of the story. King's credibility in the horror genre supports his points because he has long been successful in the genre and knows how appealing horror movies are. In addition to being convincing, his style makes readers feel like their interest in horror is normal, even though some people might think of it negatively.
Studies of psychology can help us understand why people like scary movies. Martin looked at 96 studies and found that people who liked scary movies were less afraid and more empathetic. Sensation-seeking traits were also linked to liking scary movies, but not as strongly. There are differences based on gender and age. For example, men tend to like scary movies more than women, who are more empathetic and more likely to get anxious. Interesting enough, people of different ages have different kinds of fears, and people who are more manipulative tend to feel less sadness and disgust while watching horror movies. People who are mentally stable are less likely to get scared.
The fear that horror movies make people feel has a biological and evolutionary base. It works to make people scared to use techniques like loud noises after quiet, as seen in famous scenes like the murder in the shower from "Psycho." Horror movies often use things and settings that naturally make people scared, playing on our natural instincts. The amygdala, a structure in the brain that is below the cortex, is involved in this fear reaction first, before the cortex processes the information. This evolutionary feature, which helped our ancestors spot immediate threats like toxic animals or hungry animals, is now used in horror movies to make people feel very scared.
To sum up, our interest in scary movies comes from a mix of psychological, social, and genetic factors. Combining Stephen King's point of view with psychology theories shows that horror movies give us a safe way to let out our feelings and face our darker urges. They help us get rid of bad feelings and connect over shared fears, which makes us feel better about our humanity. In addition, the evolutionary root of fear is a big part of why horror movies work so well. By understanding these factors, we can better understand why horror movies continue to fascinate and scare people, playing a unique and important role in our emotional and mental lives.
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