Category: Group A

In the section on irrationality, Isabel Pinedo mentions that many of postmodern horror’s heroes are women, and that the genre requires instrumental rationality and a reliance on intuition from the hero. This initially sounds like a positive thing, seemingly giving women more agency as lead characters and more of a presence. But then Pinedo explains that “according to the Cartesian construction of reason, rationality is masculine, associated with mastery, and requires the domestication of irrationality, which is feminine and associated with the bodily and disorder” (23). Horror Hollywood is telling us that women are allowed in the role of hero because women are irrational. This explanation reveals the sexism behind female heroes in horror movies and makes me wonder what postmodern horror female heroes Pinedo is referencing. Albeit I do not know much about recent horror films, horror has a history of sexism towards woman – victims of monsters are often female, sexually active women always die, or perhaps the film doesn’t pass The Bechdel Test. While horror has treated its female characters misogynistically, it is also the genre that’s given us “the final girl” trope (basically what Pinedo was referring to as female heroes; means the last female alive to confront the monster). Do you think postmodern horror is perpetuating misogynistic images of women in Hollywood or changing them?

Another little thought: Pinedo writes “Characters who insist upon rational explanations in the face of evidence that does not lend itself to rationality are destined to become victims of the monster” (22). She might as well have replaced the word characters with white men. But this made me think about African Americans in horror films, and while they are majorly underrepresented, there is also the stereotype that black characters are the first to die in horror movies. But when quickly looking up more information on this, I learned that while black characters almost certainly die in horror movies, they almost never die first (Fact Check). I’m interested in learning more about the role of women and people of color in horror films.

Caution: I am about to spoil the ending to You on Netflix. 

Why does the horror genre persist? In a sociopolitical climate where headlines are bleak, why bother seeking out fictionalized but similarly disturbing content?

As someone who is made anxious by CNN notifications daily but also spent much of the past weekend watching Netflix’s new seriesYou (a series of ten episodes following a man who uses information gleaned through stalking to make a woman fall in love with him) I am not qualified to answer. On January 10, thirteen year old Jayme Closs was discovered almost 90 days after disappearing following the murder of her parents. The man accused of the murder and kidnapping is suspected of specifically targeting Jayme. Eleven days later, another New York Times article attempted to parse out why You has become such a fast favorite for binge watchers.

Tasha Robinson’s Modern Horror Films Are Finding Their Scares in Dead Phone Batteries for The Verge calls out methods directors are shoehorned into using to isolate their protagonists from life-saving technology because seemingly any plot could be stopped with a call or text. Netflix’sYou acts in opposition to these assertions. For the object of the stalker’s desire, her cellphone provides her enemy with all the information he needs in order to manipulate her. It is all the more unsettling when what is believed could be the saving grace of horror movie victims is revealed to be in alliance with the villain.

In the end, Joe’s obsession with Beck leads him to kill her when she discovers the lengths at which he was willing to go for “love” and, unsurprisingly, is terrified instead of flattered. Joe cleans up his mess and moves on with his “normal” life with barely any trace of suspicion aimed toward him. The ending is dissatisfying to any viewer hoping to see him rot in a cell by the end of episode ten. According to Isabel Pinedo’s Recreational Terror: Postmodern Elements of the Contemporary Horror Film, postmodern reliance on deconstructing boundaries, institutions and “master narratives” like  cellphone saviors can explain why You is particularly upsetting.

Perhaps, though, being forced to acknowledge the illusions of fictionalized horror can still bring some satisfaction. Jayme Closs lived and we can watch her aggressor meet the fate wished upon Joe. Maybe it’s best that headlines and horror stories are consumed in tandem.

At the end of Tasha Robinson’s article, Modern Horror Films Are Finding Their Scares in Dead Phone Batteries, she raises an interesting point that what she has been describing may be eventually flipped on its head. As we become more uneasy with technology’s adverse side effects, she says that “maybe that unplugged phone or stolen battery will eventually be seen as an attempted helpful intervention for horror movie characters.”

This point made me realize how I’ve noticed a shift in society that almost romanticizes going without your phone. Leaving your phone at home when grabbing dinner with friends is seen as an act of loyalty. Resorts now advertise not having internet access for a rustic appeal. This desire to be less dependent on technology could play a role in horror movies. Soon, movies may soon be able to realistically rely on the setting of an isolated home that lacks technology. Viewers would understand why the characters would want to go there because they realize that it can be a relief to escape the technologically-saturated world.

Technology can also be disruptive and hard to ignore – things that could put horror movie characters at risk. When hiding in a closet from a murderer, the last thing that you want is for your cell phone to go off. A moment like this in a film could be terrifying, but also comedic in its plausible stupidity. Soon, a common trope may be for characters to put their phone on airplane mode to neutralize the threat it provides.

In the examples I’ve given, the developments that Robinson predicted do not seem as far-fetched. As society’s relationship with technology changes, horror films will have to adapt to stay relevant.

Horror films have been a unique part of the digital culture for as long as we can remember.  One of the tricks for producers is constantly tying in audiences of recent generations and making the content relatable within that date and time.  As discussed in Modern Horror Films are Finding Their Scares in Dead Phone Batteries, films are working to tie in the most captivating content with the 95% of people who own a cell phone of some sort.  Including this fear to not have the ability to contact or communicate with an outside individual for help stimulates challenges for the 21st century.  However, though this article may further discuss these points, I believe there’s a more philosophical reason behind the “horror” in cell phones dying. Generations today cannot physically live without their cell phones.

For teens and young adults, the thought of leaving a cell phone out of reach is a deadly thought.  What if someone calls me and I’m not there to answer? What if someone likes or comments on my post and I can’t see it right away? These questions spark a new area of discussion; will our generation and the generations below us be reliant, if not addicted, to their phones being constantly charged in the future? Thinking of this idea allows me to reflect on personal experiences, and sadly I would answer yes.  Seeing the horrendous images in horror films and losing/forgetting to charge my phone both allow me to exhibit the same amount of fear.  Horror film industries are on track to keeping younger generations hooked, and further allowing us to realize that having our phone dead really is terrifying.