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#3751
05-20-2008, 08:12 AM
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I don't think Zero is gonna get by on his looks in this challenge....
__________________
Lee Widener, Author Website  Cartoon Artwork, Underground Art, Other Weird Stuff 
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#3753
05-20-2008, 08:16 AM
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33 minutes have passed...
...27 remain.
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"If you gaze for long into an abyss, the abyss gazes also into you." - Friedrich Nietzsche |
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#3755
05-20-2008, 08:18 AM
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Quote:
__________________
Lee Widener, Author Website Cartoon Artwork, Underground Art, Other Weird Stuff
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#3757
05-20-2008, 08:24 AM
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Come on, Zero!
You can do this, matey!
__________________
"I be a bad zombie." |
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#3758
05-20-2008, 08:24 AM
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Quote:
Well, I’m tempted to say that ‘horror films don’t create psychos, but they make psychos more creative’ – but ultimately I do think that horror films serve some useful social functions and do, indeed, make people better. I would divide the ‘people’ into two categories. The first are those people who, like us, are devoted to the genre. The people who scour the aisles of video stores and trawl through various websites seeking anything new – whether major studio or direct to video indie. For fans of the genre, horror serves at least three functions. First, as should be obvious to all of us who have survived many years here at HDC, horror has created a vibrant subculture – a group of fans who use their love of the genre as a reason, perhaps an excuse, to hang out and create meaningful relationships. In a world where meaningful relationships are often few and far between – trust me on this one – the horror subculture has provided a great haven for many of us who feel, perhaps somewhere deep down inside, that we don’t quite fit into the world – at least not like everyone else does. Like Frankenstein in James Whale’s classic, we are stumbling in a world that doesn’t quite make sense and that doesn’t embrace us – but among fellow horror fans we fit in! Second, I think horror provides its devotees with an escape. Now there are many types of escapist fantasies, but I think horror provides more of an adrenaline pumped escape than most others. I mean, Bruce Willis may run from bad guys with machine guns, but he’d run a hell of a lot faster if those bad guys were flesh eaters carrying chainsaws! Third, for fans of horror these films provide a critical outlet that is sorely lacking in today’s world. Horror is difficult viewing – not in terms of gore and guts, but in terms of puzzles and mysteries. Horror films, especially good one’s, put us on our toes – make us anticipate the next move and often punish us severely when we are wrong (LOOK BEHIND YOU!!!). I don’t think most popular entertainment provides such a mental/emotional (and sometimes physical workout – well maybe porn). So, what about the rest of the world – those many folks who don’t necessarily say they love horror but who, from time to time, will flock to see a Psycho or an Exorcist. Here I think the question is more interesting. What does horror do for the average person who doesn’t embrace the genre as a whole? Well, I think one of the biggest things that horror does for the culture in general is provide a safe place for us to consider our collective fears and anxieties. I mean – even a cursory glance at the history of horror suggests that the biggest and most popular films arise during times of trouble – Dracula and Frankenstein in 1931 – the darkest year of the Great Depression – Night of the Living Dead in 1968 – the year the ‘age of aquarius’ turned dark and violent - etc. Even more recent films like Hostel and Saw have played out some of America’s deepest post-9/11 anxieties. I mean, c’mon, isn’t our main question in America after 9/11 ‘how far will we go [torture/killing of innocents/wiretapping] to survive?’ – which was the tag line for Saw!! So, while many people scoff at horror as being the ‘lowest’ form of film, I contend that horror serves a vital reflective function for culture. Perhaps the best way to put it is like this: We make monsters out of the things we fear and then we create stories about monsters so we can look at those monsters in a safe way. If this holds true, then the monsters we create and the stories we tell about them also reveals a great deal about ourselves and what we fear.
__________________
Winner HDC Battle Royale I & HDC Battle Royale IV 
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#3759
05-20-2008, 08:28 AM
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Nice answer.
Sorry, Zero...but you are NOT ALLOWED to edit THAT answer until Judge Doc Faustus sees it, and sends his verdict on PM to me. Excellent effort.
__________________
"If you gaze for long into an abyss, the abyss gazes also into you." - Friedrich Nietzsche |
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