Stephen King Why We Crave Horror Movies Analysis

To begin with, Stephen King says that people watch horror movies “to re-establish our feelings of essential normality” when really if we

“One critic has suggested that if pro football has become the voyeur’s version of combat, then the horror film has become the modern version of public lynching.” (paragraph 6) This is a prime example of one of the many argumentative strategies in the essay. Not only does the said quote prove that King’s opinion is shared by others but also that it appeals to authority. By including an experts shared opinion on the matter, King’s argument becomes much more compelling. “To show that we can, to show that we are not afraid, that we can ride this roller coaster” (paragraph 3) is an extremely effective metaphor king uses to help better describe why we go to see movies in the first place. We’ve all been on a roller coaster before so we can easily relate to what the author is explaining to us. King also uses a personal anecdote as an example of feeding our dark side what it wants; “For myself, I

Identify the reasons King advances for our interest in and fascination with horror films. Which do you find the most unsettling? Which the most convincing? Why?

King’s first great reason why we love horror is to prove we are not scared. King explains this by comparing horror movies/stories to a roller coaster. At the beginning of his essay, he states that we watch horror “To show that we can, that we are not afraid, that we can ride the roller coaster”(King, “Why We Crave” 1). This a great comparison, because we can all relate to a situation like this. Horror might not be our favorite thing to read or watch, but we do it to show we are brave enough to take it on. Who would want to read about women being cut up and destroyed like in the short story “Strawberry Spring”. For example, near the beginning of the narrator’s encounter, “a junior named John Dancey” happened upon a “dead girl lying in a shadowy corner of the Animal Sciences parking lot” (King, “Strawberry Spring” 2). We try to avoid our worst fear of death, but when the time comes we will read about it, because we can not look like a coward. We are “Daring the nightmare” (King, “Why We Crave” 1) just to prove we have the guts.

King argues the genre has an important role because while watching a horror movie people show their true emotions. King uses the words “daring the nightmare” to explain the experiences people put themselves through when they pay to be frightened (King 1). The truth is most of them go to see the most brutal way’s producers can come up with to harm someone. As the king of horror himself puts it, “It urges us to put away our more civilized and adult penchant for analysis and to become children again… We are told we may allow our emotions a free rein… or no rein at all” (King 2). It’s fun to let loose and feel crazy sometimes, feel no one is watching. Still, people are watching, so what keeps them from putting everyone into an asylum?

“Why we crave horror movie” is a type of mini review written by Stephen King in playboy 1981 in which he had discussed, various features of the horror movies. Stephen King is an American writer well famous for writing the horror movies and is popular in the world of literature as Richard Bachman. In this mini-review King had used an ethical approach to delineate the differences between the some of the horror movies and to highlight certain psychological factors responsible for people’s craving for the horror movies. In this piece of writing, King had spotted certain emotions that become reason for this psychological drive. Moreover, he by using his straightforward approach

Further, King goes on to state that when we watch a horror movie, “we are daring the nightmare,” meaning we are almost begging to be scared. King also states there are multiple reasons for this, but one of the main points is “to show that we can, that we are not afraid.” He then appeals to the audience experiences by making his paper more relatable and comical when he compares horror movies to roller coasters. King states, they are both usually liked by the young, but once their age reaches to the forties or fifties, “one’s appetite for double twists or 360-degree loops may be considerably depleted.” Additionally, King uses his clever collage of comparisons to explain one of the horror genre’s many intentions are to show us right from wrong. Which might also provide some of us with “psychic relief,” throwing ourselves in a place where intensive questioning is unnecessary, giving people a small break from their complicated daily life.

In the essay, “Why We Crave Horror Movies” by Stephen King, the author talks about the benefits of the horror movies on human beings. He argues that we all behave like mad people by performing weird things like talking to ourselves, showing disgusting faces and having odd fears. Comparing the horror movies with roller coasters, he states that young people are more fascinated by these adventures to prove the point that they can do this and are not afraid of taking challenges. He argues that we get fun by watching people getting hurt and suffering from menacing pain in the movies. Despite having insane thoughts in their mind which they want to execute in reality people are expected to show emotions that are accepted by the society. Horror movies gives psychic relief to these insane

The media has a way of influencing people of all ages. Specifically, violence and horror in the media are the most debated. Why do people go to watch violent movies or horror movies? They go for entertainment without realizing the physical or mental effects. Kathy Benjamin’s “5 Scientific Ways Watching Movies Effects You” and Bernie DeGroat’s “Scary Movies Can Have Lasting Effects on Children and Teens” both mention the negative effects of movies, especially horror movies, with research or studies. However, only one of the essays, “5 Scientific Ways Watching Movies Effects You,” mentions some positive effects. Statistics have shown that watching these type movies can have short and long term repercussions.

In the essay, "Why We Crave Horror Movies", Steven King explains that the modern day horror movie is our relief for violence it is what feeds the gator. He uses horror movies because of there violent nature. We all need to be able to step outside life's boundaries and certain

sample, but it also appeals to population and emotion. To further explain why we crave

It was a dark, cold, November night. The moon overlooked the lake as it mirrored its reflection. It was peaceful, too peaceful. I was on my way to my aunt’s, who lived a mile or so from my house. I didn’t want to go, but my mother made me. She was working a double shift at the hospital and she didn’t want me to be alone tonight. Tonight was the night my brother died two years ago. It’s a funny story how it happened, but that’s a story to tell another time. According to Stephen King’s essay “Why We Crave Horror Movies” he draws viewers into horror stories like the one above simply because we crave it. King claims in his essay we obsess over the wanting of horror as if we are daring the nightmare. The human condition is finally allows people

King is a credible author and has many written novels yet he also has fallacies. We might just be going to watch a horror movie for the thrill but King has his own opinion on horror movies. King mentions our desire for horror movies and how it affects us emotionally, and mentally. King says, “I think that we’re all mentally ill” (345). This assumption is made to the whole world which is clearly not true. His generalization of all of us being mentally ill is an example of hasty generalization. Although this novel does have some humor and some support to evidence it has little to no effect on his faults and weaknesses. King doesn’t think about everyone but his own opinion being made. The biggest flaw that King makes is that his audience is intended only for those who watch horror movies and has no means for those who don’t. King is a credible author who has written other novels that pertain the idea of violence or horror so he knows what he is doing. The only problem that he has in his critical essay is that he doesn’t involve or think about others. In a way, King also uses the logical fallacy ad populum because of the way he talks about people. Restating the quote, “I think we’re all mentally ill” is an example of ad populum as well. Most of Kings comments are towards the readers who have been to the theater or have watched a movie at home. King makes negative remarks to people who watch horror movies. I find this very curious of the author to speak to the public in that manner to avoid the

So say my personal tastes in movies make me a sick bastard just because of the subject matter portrayed in the narrative. Ok, well that isn’t exactly about what Stephen King was saying. King tells us that the horror movie does a dirty job of satiating our urges and letting our instincts run free, which in turn means that most people have something deep and dark inside them, merely a hairpin away from freaking out and murdering adorable puppies for no good reason (and there are plenty of good reasons, stop lying to yourself). I don’t know about you, but I don’t feel anything deep and evil inside of me that must be satiated so I don’t go on a weekly blood rampage so I feel like that isn’t the reason.

Do you enjoy watching murder, the paranormal, and any other morbid scene which makes the hair on the back of your neck stand up, your palms sweat, and your adrenaline surge? Why people enjoy watching murder, tragedy, and carnage in their spare time has been a mysterious phenomenon. If these gruesomely horrific scenes would not be enjoyable in real life, why is watching a recreation of it so riveting? Stephen King, a world-renowned horror novelist, wrote “Why We Crave Horror Movies” to give insight as to why horror movies, although gruesome and morbid, captivate audiences. King also aims to persuade readers to continue to watch horror movies, arguing that they are a crucial part of keeping sanity. King delves into this psychological aspect of humans and believes that the desire to watch horror films is a normal tendency of humankind. “Why We Crave Horror Movies” includes appeals to emotion, logic, and author credibility in order to convince readers of the positive, normal desire to watch horror films, why it is important to watch them, and why the reader should believe what the author is saying. King utilizes the rhetorical devices—pathos, logos, and ethos—in an effective way through the use of metaphor, logic, humor, and emotion to persuade readers that watching horror films is normal.