Are horror fans in denial about real life horror?

[Sam]

Yeah, that is real horror all right. Posting a link to something like that with a little warning would almost certainly be appreciated by some of us who read this forum over breakfast while at work, and/or have no desire to see mutilated bodies.

[gregjames]

My own take on this is not incredibly helpful as I don't think it's a question that can be resolved with ease. One person's definition of horror is as different from another's as your phobias might be from mine. I think the same can be said to extend to real life horrors as the definition would be affected by a person's social, spiritual and political attitudes.

Speaking personally, I don't think people are in denial when they indulge an interest. If people did not do so, I think the world would likely be in a much sorrier state. Everyone needs a breather and to let off steam now and then whether it be through horror, action movies or schmaltzy romance.

Also, I have been through phases in the past of facing real-life horrors such as when I read nothing but accounts of the holocaust. Such an exercise, I think, validated a quote that I believe came from T.S. Eliot. We can only handle so much of reality.

To sum up, I would say most people are not in denial. They are aware of what's going on in the world and how horrific much of it is but they also have their own insurmountable concerns and worries that limit what can be done by way of solution. I'm sure many would like to do more but are stymied by various factors. In such a context, I would say horror fiction is a healthy release for people rather than an active means of denial and avoidance.

[Aeron]

I tend to blur the line between real life horror and fantasy horror in my art, literally. If you look at some of the characters in my art in The Imaginary Museum, you'll see what I mean. Some of my greatest inspiration comes from pictures such as these.. Ventrilville

That said, I think it's important to not dwell on real life horror so much, all fiction should be illuminating, but always serve as escapism to some extent. We live and we will die, everyone we know and love will turn to dust, far sooner than we'd like to imagine. People die in horrifying, sad, cruel, torturous ways every single day. An old man was beaten to death and caught on fire a mere block away from where I'm typing, but to focus on these things serves no purpose but to drive you insane. Better to dream and take in the awe of the human imagination than to stew in the horrors of reality.

Quote Originally Posted by Sam

Yeah, that is real horror all right. Posting a link to something like that with a little warning would almost certainly be appreciated by some of us who read this forum over breakfast while at work, and/or have no desire to see mutilated bodies.

I'm not normally a prude, but I agree with you.

JK

[Joel]

Indeed. But sometimes when you post a link to a film clip here, the software decides to post a still instead. That's happened to me.

I would have thought the film clip was almost certainly a hoax – note the co-ordinated arm movements, the ability to grip, indicating an apparent lack of shock trauma or spinal damage. And the apparent full consciousness: possible for a few seconds maybe – but for five minutes? The severed legs and strangely bloodless entrails look prosthetic to me. But what do I know?

[Steve Dekorte]

Quote Originally Posted by Julian Karswell

Quote Originally Posted by Sam Yeah, that is real horror all right. Posting a link to something like that with a little warning would almost certainly be appreciated by some of us who read this forum over breakfast while at work, and/or have no desire to see mutilated bodies. I'm not normally a prude, but I agree with you. JK

I apologize for the content but the purpose was to get a response that provided a case in point to the answer of the original question. Simply that, generally, "horror" fans are not interested in real horror any more than those of us that play war games are interested in the horrors of real wars. Both are amusements. Of what being amused by such things says about us as human beings, I leave to your judgement.

[Jayaprakash]

I used to watch the odd gore flick, especially a few years back when ostensible 'classics' of the genre such as THE HILLS HAVE EYES and TEXAS CHAINSAW MASSACRE were being remade. I stopped after I was unable to sit through HOSTEL, but loved THE DEVIL'S REJECTS to the point where I watched it several times over.

I think the difference was that HOSTEL and its ilk are deadly serious about their gore-games, while THE DEVIL'S REJECTS, for all its brutality, defused itself with its infusion of unexpected humour and even pathos in the depiction of the psychopathic family whose antics it follows.

I wasn't comfortable with what that said about me - that I would enjoy a film about depraved killers, if they were funny enough. On the other hand, my revulsion for HOSTEL et. al. convinced me that there was in fact something repugnant about this kind of horror that I was unable to ignore in its more unadorned form. In fact, I had to ask myself whether I was in denial, not about real life horror, but about fictional horror and that serial-killer narratives were essentially playing to a very sick vicarious sadistic instinct in me instead of merely being 'a bit of fun' (a common justification for enjoying entertainment that we suspect is somehow unworthy). It was an unhealthy craving that I could indulge if my ego was given sops like the campy humour in the Rob Zombie film while my id sat back and enjoyed the gore on the most base level. Or if it was something with trappings of Lovecraftian or supernatural horror like the films of Lucio Fulci (I have to say I still think the ending of THE BEYOND is a very fine moment irrespective of the frequently incoherent schlock that precedes it).

I had to conclude that continuing to consume sadistic serial-killer horror would not be a healthy choice.

But this only answers a part of the original poster's question. What of my fascination with other kinds of horror? Very briefly I would have to say that it is because I would like to somehow feel at least temporarily that there is some kind of magic other than the secular magic celebrated by Dawkins in UNRAVELLING THE RAINBOW but my world-view is gloomy enough that I can only readily accept the bad numinous, rather than a tale of wonder. In other words, it is a purely aesthetic preference, and neither informs not impairs my ability to apprehend and abhor real life horror.

Still, while art is not documentary, it is a question worth asking.

[Ruina]

I think horror fiction makes real life horrors more palatable for us. Not exactly denial, but more like simulation to train acceptance of the real thing. "We may hide from horror only in the heart of horror" indeed.

[Michael]

Quote Originally Posted by Ruina

I think horror fiction makes real life horrors more palatable for us. Not exactly denial, but more like simulation to train acceptance of the real thing. "We may hide from horror only in the heart of horror" indeed.

For me there's a lot of truth to what you said. When I was a kid I had nightmares, bad nightmares, every single night. There were always monsters. I started reading horror fiction and watching horror movies because they were literally how-to manuals for me. Zombies, aim for the head. Werewolves, silver then take the head for good measure. I also learned what was, to me at least, a very important message; there's a big difference between monsters. In particular, there are monsters who aren't really monsters. They aren't the things you should be afraid of and they may have more in common with you than you think at first glance. But if you confuse those with the monsters that will kill you as easily as look at you, you're screwed.

[Mr. D.]

I think that the world has not changed, but that news coverage has changed. For example, the English have been persecuting my people (the Irish) for almost 850 years on and off and it never used to raise a ripple of concern anywhere. I'm talking about murder pillaging, rape, ethnic cleansing, religious and political persecution, forced removal from tribal lands and imprisonment. They did everything except waterboarding(a British invention), and that was only because they didn't get the chance. The Irish have been messed up emotionally for almost a hundred years because of their British overlords "Special Treatment." They are only now getting back to normal. I just cite the Irish because I am most familiar with them. There are countless examples.
Maybe the problem isn't that times are worse. Maybe the problem is that we have every killing, boat crash, plane crash, etc. thrust in our face instantly. Frankly, I find life to be pretty much the same as it has been for thousands of years. We've always killed each other. Maybe the pace is a little faster, but I doubt that it is that much faster than before. Human history has always been a tale of fools, knaves and murderers. Now it's in your lap every time you turn on your hand held device. I don't call that Progress.