Horror Hub: How Horror Has Shaped the Media Industry and Benefitted the Audience
Hey y'all let's see what's up today! In last week's Horror Hub post I talked a little about how horror has shaped my life and how I was introduced to the genre. For this week's post, I wanted to take a little dive into how horror has shaped the media industry by pulling from the current fears and anxieties of the populace. This post is probably going to be a long one, but I'm going to try to paraphrase as much as I can. This is actually a topic I'm actually kind of passionate about so I can't promise this isn't going to be a novel when I'm finished!
From the concept of the final girl, to the very villains that have slashed their way across thousands of screens and book pages through the decades, horror media of all sorts have captured the hearts of those looking for a thrill for over a century. Whether you're a horror junkie, a casual enjoyer, or you've just seen a few clips in passing, this genre is one that almost everyone is at least somewhat familiar with. Horror sets the stage for a variety of topics from political commentary to deep seated fears of the general public, but how has it actually shaped and benefited us?
Media Reflects Reality
Horror has, since it's creation, reflected the world around it. It was designed to blur the lines between fiction and reality. Horror movies set the stage for monsters that reflect the state of the world. In certain instances, you can even find patterns within what kind of horror movies are being released compared to what political events are happening in the world. For instance, Creature Feature films like the Universal Monsters and others in the genre tend to rise in popularity around recession and war times.
Horror has often been a statement for politics, with movies like the Stepford Wives and Society encouraging the audience to reject conformity and maintain their own sense of self. Even the concept of a Final Girl was meant to be a political statement around the time of the rise in slasher films of the 70s and 80s with their implied moral superiority reflecting the "good morals" of society in the era although they may stray from that path from time to time.
Some pieces of horror media, such as the novel Thirteen Storeys by Jonathan Sims and the movie The Conspiracy, even touch on more controversial topics like unethical business practices, conspiracy theories, and large government cover up plots. Whether you believe in it or not, they are designed to give a voice to those that do, as these plots are often proven true in their respective media.
Online horror communities that created the Creepypasta or Copypasta stories as they were formerly known, focused on issues that are commonly faced by far too many young folks today including but not limited to bullying, child abuse, and suicidal thoughts. These are not new topics to horror, as classic films and novels such as Stephen King's Carrie, IT, and Friday the 13th also touched on these topics or used them as a central plot focus. Films like these bring awareness to important issues that might face a large population of the audience, while also keeping the fantasy aspect that so many use to escape such issues.
Benefits of Watching Horror
It can be hard to imagine that such a heavy hitting genre like horror can have any benefit. However, studies have proven that horror has a number of benefits for the mental health of its viewers. Horror allows its viewers to face their fears and phobias in a controlled environment, meaning they can begin taking steps towards absolving those anxieties without any real harm or danger.
Horror has also proven to provide stress relief for a lot of viewers by releasing adrenaline and perhaps even some dopamine for the hardcore fans. This isn't just limited to horror media either, a source of mine that works at a local Haunt through the Halloween season states that playing her character is great stress relief for her.
Building Community
Beyond the mental benefits of watching horror, the physical benefits certainly aren't lacking. Horror has provided a vast community for fans, artists, and authors alike. It has provided a support system of like minded individuals to those that might need it, as well as a chance to escape the very real horror going on outside with a horror that we can control.
Instead of relying on generic Google responses to truly encapsulate the benefits of the horror fandom as a whole, I took to my own community of monsters. I asked them, fairly bluntly, how has horror benefited/changed your life? The responses I received where heartfelt and passionate responses from people who have been fans of this genre for years.
I was told of how horror allows one gentleman to live his dream as an author, while others sing praises of the connection to others that the genre has provided. A musician in the group shared how he uses the emotion that horror elicits for his music. A woman shared how horror novels inspired her to be a more voracious reader while another shared that she feels it makes her feel better about herself and helps her to better understand others.
The horror community is a place for everyone, no matter what kind of horror you might be into, and I speak from my own experience in saying that it has helped me as a creative and as someone who is very shy find a way to network with others that share an interest in the genre. The connection and comradery of horror fans is unmatched, especially in the little group of monsters I've found myself in.
An Impact on the Arts
From an artistic standpoint, writing or creating horror inspired pieces consistently provides a challenge of skill. How can you properly display certain emotions? What is the fine line between too much and not enough? How ridiculous can you get before it completely becomes unrealized? How can you set yourself apart from other creators?
Each of these challenges creates a certain appeal for a lot of artists myself included. It's what keeps us coming back to the genre time and time again to see how we can do things differently without overstepping too many boundaries.
Beyond its impact on small creators, horror is keeping practical effects alive. Before CGI animation, practical effects were the real magic behind the movies we've grown to love. While practical effects have almost disappeared in the modern age with the help of CGI, a lot of popular horror films like Terrifier are keeping the art of practical effects alive. Without horror films and smaller productions, this art would most likely have been lost to time and new technology.
Providing Voice to Important Issues
As I mentioned above, horror gives a voice to it's audience and may reflect what they're going through beyond the screen. Artists have a certain sense of responsibility to both give voice to important topics as well as protect their audience from them. Horror, I feel, is at the forefront of this statement. Horror relies on touching heavy, horrifying, and taboo topics. In doing so it also gives voice to people who may have had real life experiences that mirror or relate to the ones that they see on the screen. However, I feel like horror can provide a sense of empowerment to people. If these real life issues can be portrayed as monsters, can we not be our own version of a final girl?
Closing
That's all that I have for you guys tonight, I went out with some friends last night instead of working on content so that's why there was no Daily Little Things post and why this post was so late. Join me tomorrow for an Off the Record, and keep an eye out on today's Daily Little Things post. If you want to see more from me feel free to click the link below where you can find my other socials. Y'all take care, and thanks for stopping by!
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