Horror Genre Study
1) What is the moral message delivered by this film?
In the film Scream 4 directed by Wes Craven the film depicts the character Jill Roberts as the main villain of the film. Jill is a person that is obsessed with fame and is willing to go to extreme lengths in order to gain her 'fifteen minutes'. Jill murders numerous friends including her own mother in order to mirror Sidney's own experience. The main purpose of this charade is not what the audience may think. It would appear that Jill wanted to gain revenge as Sidney's presence results in many deaths however, Jill actually wanted to become Sidney. "This has never been about killing you it's about becoming you. I mean for f*ck's sake, my own mother had to die, no great loss there, so I could stay true to the original." This quote shows how obsessed Jill is with becoming a public figure. The character of Jill displays how dangerous it is to obsess over someone else's life. With the growing popularity of the internet it is much easier to become overly interested and knowledgeable of other people's, famous people in particular, lives. This knowledge can easily turn into jealousy, of their wealth and fame in some instances, which can be very dangerous as the film shows. The desire for fame is shown to be dangerous and unhealthy as the desire or mere want of fame can quickly turn into an obsession and need. 2).What does the film suggest society was concerned about in the 2010's? The film shows that society was concerned with the growing popularity of the internet and its effects on teenagers. In the film Scream 4 many characters upload videos of themselves and their daily lives, namely Robbie Mercer co-leader of the Cinema Club. In the film this is shown to be normal as Robbie constantly wears his microphone and Camera at all times just in case something vlog-worthy is occurring. This obsession also results in Robbie's death as he is more focused on recording what other people are doing rather than his own personal well-being. The final scene of the film is likely the most disturbing in terms of its implications. The film ends with five reporters each reporting on the murders Jill had just committed. "We're live at Woodsboro Community Hospital awaiting for the public statement for Jill Roberts, survivor -- A survivor, of what is now being called the Woodsboro Massacre Reboot" -- Jill Roberts is her name. Who soon the whole world will know -- ...who single-handedly put a stop to those 21st century Woodsboro killing spree -- Jill Roberts of Woodsboro, a girl who's lifted all our spirits tonight. An American hero, right out of the movies". These reporters were all very quick to write their stories about the murders as they are all in direct competition for the highest ratings. This motivation is very similar to Robbie's livestream. This ending displays to the audience that all forms of media, especially news and entertainment sources, work in a similar fashion. It also shows that the media directly profits from the misfortune of people in real life as the view count of both Robbie's livestream and the actual news would have had a major spike. 3). How does the on screen gore/violence differ from Dracula/Psycho/Halloween/Scream? The on screen violence is very similar to what was included in the original Scream however everything is made slightly more intense for the new generation. The actual blood used is very realistic as it is not bright red but is a dull, blackish colour. The use of realistic blood adds to the overall increase in intensity as it is shocking for the viewer to see. The actual deaths are also much more intense when compared to the already violent Scream. The first death of a main character, Olivia, is extremely shocking. The suspense in the scene had been gradually building as we were being lead to believe that Kirby and Jill were in danger when really it was Olivia who was Ghostface's target. Ghostface jumps out of Olivia's closet and stabs her numerous times. Olivia's death is very drawn out as she is chased around her room. By the time Olivia is dead her whole room is covered in her own blood including the walls and ceilings. This is shocking for the viewer to see as the only other deaths before Oliva's in the film had been played up for comedy in the opening 'Stab' sequences. The majority of the other deaths are equally intense and become increasingly difficult for the viewer to watch. A police officer is stabbed directly in the forehead and walks away from Ghostface with her forehead bleeding profusely before collapsing on the ground. Another character, Trevor, is shot in his groin before being finished off with a shot to the head. However, the most difficult scene to watch would have to be the scene when Jill is self-harming in order to look like she had been attacked. In the original Scream it was already difficult to watch Billy and Stu repeatedly stab each other but Scream 4, of course, brings it to another level. Jill stabs herself in the shoulder, runs into a painting, falls back onto a glass table and uses Trevor's dead hand to rip chunks of her hair out. These scenes are violent in a way that it becomes decreasingly less enjoyable and more uncomfortable for the viewer to watch. 4) How does the 'monster' differ from Dracula/Psycho/Halloween/Scream? The reveal of the identity of Ghostface in Scream 4 is quite shocking. Jill, who has up to this point been portrayed as a delicate high school girl that needed protection from her creepy ex-boyfriend, had been the one to kill almost all of her friends and mother. This revelation is shocking and incredibly unexpected for the audience as there had been almost zero clues that Jill was Ghostface. This reveal compared to the expected reveal in Scream of Billy and Stu is very interesting. the audience had been led to believe for the whole film that Billy was the killer before being told that our suspicions were correct. Jill however was not exactly the audience's first choice as like Sidney said herself "You remind me of me" The audience is led to see the physical and situational similarities between the two characters and subsequentcially root for Jill while growing suspicious of her clingy ex-boyfriend. 5) How does the representation of the victims (females) differ from Dracula/Psycho/Halloween/Scream? The representation of women in Scream 4 is quite different to that of previous films. Women are shown to be strong and able to fend for themselves when the situation arises. Characters are able to embody supposedly masculine qualities while still being able to express their femininity. This is mainly embodied by Deputy Judy Hicks. Judy is a police officer, a job that is mainly perceived as a man's job, but flirts with her boss and brings baked goods into work. This juxtaposition of different stereotypes melds nicely to create a balance in Judy of both her strong and soft sides. This is rare for films in general as female characters are either complete tomboys or 'girly-girls' while characters like Judy that are a combination of two are rarely seen.
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1) What is the moral message delivered by this film?
“Movies don't create psychos; movies make psychos more creative” The moral of the film is meant to serve as a reminder to society. The film is trying to remind us that art and film should not be censored as mass-media does not cause inbuilt psychopathic tendencies of mass murderers to be acted upon. Even if some terrible acts of violence against society can and have been linked to certain texts (eg: Columbine Massacre 1999, Dark Knight Rises cinema shooting 2012). 2).What does the film suggest society was concerned about in the 90's? The film suggests that society was concerned with the lengths that one could be affected by the Media. With the growing amount of graphic gore content in horror films many were concerned that youth would be desensitised to this content and may even try to imitate it. This is shown in the film as Scream itself has a large amount of gore and also through the characters Billy and Stuart, the killers. 3). How does the on screen gore/violence differ from Dracula/Psycho/Halloween? In Scream there had been a significant increase in graphic gore since Dracula, Psycho and Halloween. In Scream the most graphic murder occurs in the first scene of the film. Ghostface kills Casey and her boyfriend Steve at Casey's remote home. Before Casey is killed she is psychologically assaulted by cruel phone calls from the killer as he makes Casey take a quiz to save her boyfriend and herself from their inevitable deaths. The way they are both killed is also cruel as they are repeatedly stabbed with a knife. The full stabbing motion is shown and even the knife entering and leaving Casey's body is shown. We are also shown each wound as the blood seeps out through her sweater. Casey and Steve's body are also defiled after death as their guts and organs are cut out of their body and Casey is even hung on a tree with her entrails left to hang from her corpse. This first scene has more on-screen violence than Dracula, Psycho and Halloween had in their whole films. Dracula has no real, intense on-screen violence, Psycho has two scenes that display violence against characters but do not show any graphic gore while Halloween mainly shows characters being strangled with few gory scenes which results in a lack of graphic on-screen violence. The violence in Scream was quite cruel as characters deaths were fairly drawn out Tatum's death was most likely the most graphic and disturbing death in the film. Tatum is cornered in the garage by the killer and has her arm sliced by a knife. She tries to escape through the cat-flap but Ghostface turns on the garage door causing it raise with Tatum hanging from it. Tatums head and neck are crushed by the mechanism. The audience is even shown a quick shot of her 'head' being partially crushed by the door before cutting away. This would have been highly disturbing for audiences as the majority of deaths on screen were from stab wounds or gun-shots while Tatum's death was very original. Characters in Scream were also much dirtier after being chased by their killers. They were covered in dried blood with their clothes ripped and hair messy. This adds to the realism of the whole film and murder sequences as it leaves behind the idea that characters in films, even horror films, had to always look perfect. In Dracula, Psycho and Halloween all characters were constantly tidy with their hair perfectly curled with a complete lack of any realistic wear. While in Scream Sidney is almost covered in dried blood, not necessarily her own, by the end of the main murder spree this made the scenes seem even more realistic and terrifying. 4) How does the 'monster' differ from Dracula/Psycho/Halloween?
5) How does the representation of the victims (females) differ from Dracula/Psycho/Halloween? In Dracula and Psycho the women were portrayed as weak and generally less than their male counterparts in the film. The film Halloween develops much stronger female characters that are able to protect themselves and hold their own even when faced with a supposedly immortal force. In Scream, almost all female characters are presented well they are able to fight back and hold their own against the film's monsters. When tatum is attacked in the garage she is able to fight against Ghost afec and keep him at bay until she becomes stuck in the cat flap. Sidney and Gale Weathers are able to fight against and kill Billy and Stu when they are attacked and even save the moral virgin, Randy, before he is killed, successfully adhering to the rules of horror. 1) What is the moral message delivered by this film? The moral message is that if you do bad things you will have negative consequences that you will need to accept. In the film the characters that had sex and recreationally took drugs, (Laurie is excluded from this even though she did smoke a cigarette once in the film) were attacked and killed by The Shape. Laurie, the virginal and responsible teenager, was able to 'defeat' the killer. The fact that The Shape, (Michael Myers), is described as pure evil by Sam Loomis and is impervious to death symbolises that evil can never truly be destroyed or killed. Through these aspects the film is a tale of morality. 2).What does the film suggest society was concerned about in the 70's? Pre-marital sex and drug use were on the rise, particularly in youth. Society also grew more anxious as it had just been revealed that the CIA had been spying on the general population. Halloween tapped into this fear by having the killer stalk and secretly watch his victims before he would strike. 3) How does the on screen gore/violence differ from Dracula/Psycho? Halloween features more violence and a range of killing methods. In Dracula, Count Dracula is generally not shown killing his victims as the camera cuts away as they are being killed. The only blood is at the very beginning when Renfield cuts his finger. In Psycho there are two murders. In both of these murders the victims are stabbed to death by Norman Bates as 'Mother'. The shower scene includes some blood and no recognisable stabbing through some clever editing. In Halloween there is minimal gore as the only blood is seen at the beginning of the film when The Shape murders his sister and at the end when The Shape cuts Laurie's arm. The majority of deaths in the film are through choking. The choking scenes in Halloween are quite graphic and realistic. 4) How does the 'monster' differ from Dracula/Psycho?
5) How does the representation of the victims (females) differ from Dracula/Psycho?
Females are seen as promiscuous, weak and vulnerable. Since the 3 main girls attend high school, they are given the stereotype of trying to be popular/fit in, doing drugs, hanging out & having sex with their boyfriends, not prioritising actual schoolwork. The second stereotype of the nerdy girl who carries her books around, isn't used to drugs but does it anyway to try to keep up with trends/cool friends. She is the odd one out of the group as she does not do drugs or have a boyfriend and, because of this, is the only one out of her friends to survive. In Dracula women are portrayed as innocent, weak and require a man to save them. In Psycho women are again portrayed as weak as Marion is killed as she was alone and Lila would have been killed if Sam Loomis had not saved her. However, women are also shown to be quite promiscuous as marion is shown at the beginning of the film Sam, her boyfriend, alone in a hotel room, it is inferred that they had been having se before the film began. In Halloween women are portrayed to be stronger that they had been previously as Laurie is able to hold her own against The Shape before Sam Loomis comes to try and save her. Women are also shown to actively work to try and have sex with their boyfriends, going so far as shirking their responsibilities or having sex in a random house. In all three films every almost every women is shown to be young, slim and beautiful according to their time's standards of beauty. Things I found interesting about the production and promotion of Psycho:
Questions I have about the film:
Edward Theodore "Ed" Gein was an American murderer and body snatcher. He also served as a model for many famous fictional killers like Norman Bates from "Psycho", Leatherface from the "Texas Chainsaw Massacre" franchise and Buffalo Bill from "Silence of the Lambs". Early Life: Ed Gein was born in La Crosse County, Wisconsin on August 27, 1906. He was the son of George Philip, an alcoholic, and Augusta Wilhelmine Gein. Gein also had one sibling, Henry. Augusta despised her husband and considered him a failure because of his alcoholism. The family lived in a farmstead isolated from the other people as Augusta did not want outsiders influencing her sons. Augusta, a fervent Lutheran, preached to her boys about the innate immorality of the world, the evil of drinking, and the belief that all women were naturally prostitutes and instruments of the devil. Deaths in Immediate Family: George Philip Gein died of heart failure caused by his alcoholism on April 1, 1940, aged 66. On May 16, 1944, Henry died during a bushfire. Shortly after Henry's death, Augusta suffered a paralyzing stroke and Gein devoted himself to taking care of her. She died on December 29, 1945, at the age of 67. Ed was devastated by her death; in the words of author Harold Schechter, he had "lost his only friend and one true love. And he was absolutely alone in the world." Gein held onto the farm and earned money from odd jobs. He boarded up rooms used by his mother, including the upstairs, downstairs parlor and living room, leaving them untouched; while the rest of the house became increasingly decrepit, these rooms remained pristine. Gein lived in a small room next to the kitchen. It was around this time that he became interested in reading death-cult magazines and adventure stories, particularly those involving cannibals or Nazi atrocities. Crimes: After the death of Augusta, Gein began taking care of himself and started to become a social recluse. He then began robbing graves and would keep parts of the dead bodies as trophies. However, soon he desired to have fresher trophies as on November 16, 1957 Plainfield hardware store owner Bernice Worden disappeared. The police had reason to suspect Gein as he had been in the store before the disappearance saying he would return the next morning for a gallon of anti-freeze. Upon searching Gein's property, investigators discovered Worden's decapitated body in a shed, hung upside down by ropes at her wrists, with a crossbar at her ankles. The torso was "dressed out like a deer". She had been shot with a .22-caliber rifle, and the mutilations were made after her death. Searching the house, authorities found:
When questioned, Gein told investigators that between 1947 and 1952, he made as many as 40 nocturnal visits to three local graveyards to exhume recently buried bodies while he was in a "daze-like" state. Soon after his mother's death, Gein began to create a "woman suit" so that "...he could become his mother—to literally crawl into her skin". Death: On November 21, 1957, Gein was arraigned on one count of first degree murder where he was found mentally incompetent and thus unfit for trial, Gein was sent to the Central State Hospital for the Criminally Insane. He was then tried again on November 14, 1968 after the doctors determined he was sane enough to stand trial where he found found guilty for only one murder - that of Mrs. Worden and he spent his life in a mental hospital. On July 26, 1984, Gein died of respiratory failure due to lung cancer in Stovall Hall at the Mendota Mental Health Institute aged 77. Pop Culture: Gein achieved pop immortality, thanks to horror writer Robert Bloch, who had the inspired idea of creating a fictional character based on Gein-a deranged mama's boy named Norman Bates. In 1960, Alfred Hitchcock transformed Bloch's pulp chiller, "Psycho", into a cinematic masterpiece. There are some obvious similarities between Hitchcock's reclusive Norman Bates and the apparently inoffensive but secretly deranged, mother-fixated Gein. These include:
"Psycho" and the character Norman Bates initiated the craze for "slasher" movies, Gein is revered by horror buffs as the the prototype of every knife-, axe-, and cleaver-wielding maniac who has stalked America's movie screens for the past thirty years. |
Taylor O'MalleyYear 12 Media Studies Archives
May 2015
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