Another year in a few days it is again Halloween A celebration that is not typical of our country, but little by little it is gaining ground, perhaps because it is an appointed date for terror
Throughout this week, television channels will begin to broadcast horror movies and specials, and on the same night of the 31st we will be able to see people in costumes roaming the streets.
If one thing is clear, it is that a large sector of the population likes horror movies. But, Why do you come to like horror movies? The sensations associated with fear are not usually associated with pleasure, but rather the opposite: fear is produced by a physiological response that appears when the possibilities of seeing our life threatened by some danger are relatively high and, therefore, we learn to avoid it. However, in the cinema people invest money and time in being exposed to situations that produce terror. Why is this happening?
Many may come to think that it is due to a lack of empathy or sadism typical of the person who is. politically incorrect and that, once a year, it can come to light. However, there are theories that go beyond this vision.
Zillman’s theories about our preference for terrifying and sadistic films
To give some answers you can apply the Zillman theories (1991a; 1991b; 1996), who talk about Why are we attracted to dramatic characters? If you have ever thought about how a genre that is dedicated to exposing the suffering of others can come to be liked, the following explanation may satisfy your curiosity.
Dispositional Theory: the importance of “good” and “bad” characters
Every fictional narrative includes a plot and characters. The objective of the scriptwriters with these two elements is, on the one hand, to articulate the plot to induce aesthetic pleasure in the viewer, an “engaging plot.” For this, on the other hand, It is necessary to work on the characters, so that the viewer can put themselves in their place and live their adventures firsthand Therefore, unlike what you might think, it is a process of empathy.
However, in every story protagonists and antagonists emerge; and we do not empathize in the same way with each other. Furthermore, the same context of events that surrounds the protagonist is not very desirable for the viewer, that is, No one would really like to experience the same situations that happen in a horror movie
Empathy and compassion towards the characters with whom we identify
Dispositional theory explains that after the first scenes of seeing the characters on the screen, we make very quick moral evaluations of “who is the good one” and “Who’s the bad guy?”. Thus, we assign the roles to the plot and organize the expectations of what will happen We are clear that misfortunes will begin to happen to positively valued characters, thus generating compassion towards them and gaining empathy and identification. In this way, we act as “moral observers” throughout the film, assessing whether the “events are good or bad” and whether they happen to “good or bad people”; creating what is called affective dispositions.
We wish the best to the good characters… and vice versa
When you develop a positive emotional disposition toward a character, you want good things to happen to him or her and you fear the anticipation that bad things may happen to him or her. Now, it also has a counterpart, since sIf the emotional disposition generated is negative, it is expected that those negative acts carried out by the character will have their consequences That is to say, as long as we value positively, we expect that character to do well, while if it is negatively, we hope that he does poorly; a principle of justice.
In this sense, The attraction towards these films is given by their resolution Throughout the minutes, expectations are generated of “how each character’s story should end”, so that when it is resolved, it gives us pleasure. The ending of the movies manages to satisfy the anguish generated by expectations, fulfilling the ending we expected.
Some examples: scream, Carrie and The last house on the left
As examples, these two processes of affective and negative disposition are exploited in horror films. In “Scream” The same protagonist is maintained throughout the sequels, maintaining empathy and a positive emotional disposition towards her and the expectation that it will survive.
Another case is that of “Carrie”, in which we develop such compassion that we do not judge the final scene as unfair. And there are also cases of the opposite process, as in “The Last House on the Left”, where we produce a great negative disposition towards villains and wish their misfortunes ; a feeling of revenge that is indulged.
Activation transfer theory: explaining pleasure through fear
However, the disposition theoryIt does not explain why we like to feel discomfort while having expectations that are contrary to our assessment of the character If we want good things to happen to that good girl, why do we enjoy her when bad things happen to her? Many investigations reveal a principle of hedonic investment in the evaluation of dramatic characters: The more suffering is caused in the viewer, the better their evaluation of the film
The worse the protagonist has it, the more we enjoy
It It is due to a physiologically based process that is explained by the theory of activation transfer This theory states that as events occur that are contrary to our expectations, empathic discomfort is generated and, in turn, a consequent physiological reaction. This reaction increases as the problems for the protagonist accumulate, while at the same time the hope of our initial expectations continues to be maintained.
In this way, the difficulties that appear on the hero’s path increase the discomfort we feel, and the fear that it will not have a happy ending. However, our hope in this remains. In this way we react to the anguish of the contradiction of both paths: We want good things to happen while only bad things happen When the end is reached and expectations are met, even though it is a positive emotional experience, we still maintain the physiological activation produced by the misfortunes, since their elimination is not immediate. This is how these “residues of excitement” are maintained during the ending, increasing the pleasure of the ending.
Let’s say that little by little, although we hope that it ends well, we get used to misfortunes occurring, so that by having the happy ending, that expectation fulfilled, we enjoy it more, because we were more predisposed for the opposite. It’s a habituation process towards misfortunes that sensitizes us towards successes. The greater the intensity of residual excitement prior to the outcome, the greater the pleasure it causes us. That is to say, The more tension appears in the moments before the end, the more we enjoy it
What are horror movies like and why do they hook us?
In this sense, it explains how horror films are articulated. At the beginning there is an introduction of the characters, and the first victims do not interfere greatly with the course of events. There are a large number of films in which the protagonist discovers the corpses of his companions at the end, in the middle of the chase and achieving the climax of tension. Therefore, tension is managed progressively, gradually increasing before the end
Characteristics of horror films
However, the previous two theories are developed by Zillman to explain, especially, dramas, not horror films. However, both genres are close in their narrative, since both present characters who have misfortunes happen to them. Even so, There are features typical of horror films that increase the effects of the previous theories
summarizing
Therefore, Although it seems that it is due to a lack of empathy, the processes that lead to a passion for terror are quite the opposite
An attempt is made to facilitate the process of empathy, proposing a series of misfortunes and playing with the viewer’s expectations of the outcome. I am sorry to disappoint some readers, since you do not have a hidden sadist as you thought. Or, at least, not all. Happy Halloween for those who enjoy it.
