JAN TERM 2020 HORROR AND THE HUMAN CONDITION

Horror often deals with inversion. King begins various sections of the novel with references to Biblical narratives such as Lazarus, which is a story of resurrection. How does Pet Semetary “invert” biblical narratives of resurrection, and to what end? What truths is King hoping the reader will discover through this inversion? When Louis explains death a second time to his daughter, after the death of Gage, he covers a number of religions’ different beliefs in the afterlife. Later, he mentions various funeral superstitions such as how the toes of the dead were tied together at Irish funerals to ensure that the deceased ghost’s would not walk. Why is it important in the narrative that so much ground is covered, in terms of different cultural beliefs about death? How might this story be different if only one perspective about death was presented as some kind of absolute truth? What is the significance of the references throughout to Oz the Great and Terrible from the W...

1) Why is horror a good genre to deal with capitalism and economic pressures and problems? What does this genre have to offer a discussion on these topics -- which can often be quite a dry subject to talk about -- that no other genre does? 2) Discuss the parallels between this film and OUT. 3) Discuss the differences and similarities between Bateman and Mr. Park (the rich father). 4) What does having a lot of money do to the rich family's emotions, and attitudes toward themselves and others? Come up with examples from the film to support your ideas. 5) What does poverty do do to the poor family's emotions, and attitudes toward themselves and others? 6) Discuss the two different homes in the film--that of the Kim family, and that of the Park family. How does the director Bong Joon-ho highlight the differences between the rich and the poor through architecture? 7) How does water and sewage function metaphorically in the film? 8) Why do you think the director include...

With your partner, come up with a brief urban legend. It's a story  you "heard from a friend, about a friend of a friend." What happens in the story? Consider some of the famous ones: Coke and pop rocks Blood Mary Slender man and the slender sickness The hitchhiker on the roof Your legend should be brief enough to be told in one to two paragraphs, and should take place at Whittier College. You're coming up with a legend that speaks to the fears and frustrations that Whittier students face on a daily basis. If you want, it can be based on an actual story you've heard from someone at Whittier, or it can be invented. You may want to consider what it is "cautioning" about or if there is a moralizing element to it. Mostly, though, you just want to come up with a creepy story. You can use the example legends as templates. Remember, all urban legends possess the following elements: they are believable, involve a person/people, and take place in a very ...

An urban legend , urban myth , urban tale , or contemporary legend is a genre of folklore comprising stories circulated as true, especially as having happened to a friend or family member, often with horrifying or humorous elements. These legends can be entertainment, but often concern mysterious peril or troubling events, such as disappearances and strange objects. They may also be moralistic confirmation of prejudices or ways to make sense of societal anxieties. [1]   Urban legends are most often circulated orally, but can be spread by any media, including newspapers, e-mail and social media . Some urban legends have passed through the years with only minor changes to suit regional variations. Recent legends tend to reflect modern circumstances: for instance, the common legend of a person being ambushed and anesthetized, only to wake up and realize that they are now missing a kidney that was supposedly surgically removed for transplantation . [2] Many urban l...

1) What might be significant about the cat being named after Winston Churchill? What about his nicknname, Church? 2) What is the family's relationship to religion in the novel? How might this contribute to or impact the horrors that follow? 3) Discuss with your partner whether you would be tempted to use the burial ground, if your loved one died and you had it at your disposal. 4) How do the different characters respond to Gage's death? What do their different responses tell us about how grief works? 5) Contrast Gage's death and Norma's death; look at the two different rituals (funerals, viewings) that each experience. How are these rituals designed to help people come to terms with death? In what ways do they fail to succeed in this? 6) Why does Timmy's dad (p 256, near end of chapter 38) think he has a right to bring him back? 7) Contrast Timmy with other zombies you might have seen in literature or film. How is his portrayal as a zombie differ...

1) What real life horrors inform the story? 2) How are these real life horrors turned metaphorical  and embodied? 3) What parallels do you note between this film and the others you've encountered this semester, specifically The Cabin in the Woods and Jennifer's Body? 4) Discuss the setting for the story -- how does it contribute to the horrors? 5) What is the time period of the story? How might its ambiguity contribute to the horrors? 6) The director, David Robert Mitchell, has said that he wanted this film to be inspired by nightmares--that feeling you get when having a bad dream and you cannot wake up from it. What is nightmare-like about the film? 7) What is the worst nightmare you've ever had? 8)  Discuss the role of water in the story. What might it represent? 9) Discuss the various forms "it" takes -- what is frightening about these forms? 10) What form might "it" take to scare you? 11) Analyze the title "It Follows" -...

1) Thus far, what cultural conditions lead to the horrors at the heart of the story, do you think? 2) Why does Jud take Louis to the Micmac burial ground? 3) In what way do the woods here play a role in producing the horror in the novel? Discuss why the woods are so often a setting for horror, and what cultural conditions or histories they might connect to in this novel in particular. 4) What other films or novels have we read where the woods play a role? What role is that? 5) As the novel continues to unfold, what dominant cultural attitudes about death are starting to emerge? Do these ring true with what you've seen and heard during your own life? How do people in the US talk about death (or do they)? 6) What truths about death is this novel examining? Why  might the horror genre be an ideal one to look at these truths?

1) Discuss how you answered the reading quiz. What do you think, thus far, is the horror behind the horror in the book? 2) How does the setting in the novel contribute to its horrors? What kind of attitude do "city-goers" have toward the woods? What might the woods represent, insofar as the horrors and mysteries of the novel are concerned? 3) How do the different characters deal with (or talk about) death in the novel? Discuss their differing views. How is death dealt with or talked about in various US cultures, and other cultures? How does your own family talk about death? Look at page 48 (mid chapter 10) for Judd's speech about death. 4) Ellie weeps when she finds out that her cat must die one day. Do you remember when you first heard about death, and what you felt? 5) Why do you think Stephen King included references to Disney World in the book? (p 19, end of Ch. 6). 6) Thus far, what is "fishy" about the Pet Semetary?

Discuss how the surveillance style (found footage) quality of the film contributes to its horrors. How does the camera interfere with the main character's relationship in the film? Analyze the relationship between the demon and the camera. Discuss the boyfriend in the movie. What role does he serve? Does he fit into any common "horror" tropes? What other common horror tropes did you notice? This could be actions the characters take, things they say, even things the demon does. In feminist theory, the male gaze is the act of depicting women and the world, in the visual arts and in literature, from a masculine, heterosexual perspective that presents and represents women as sexual objects for the pleasure of the male viewer. Discuss the relationship between the boyfriend and the camera. At what points in time do their (his and the cameras) roles or identities merge? What types of things does he choose and wish to film? What might all this say about ...

Original Katie returns to the bedroom and sits down against the bed with the knife in her hand, rocking back and forth, for almost two days straight. Her friend Amber calls and leaves a message, saying that she is concerned because she hasn't heard from Katie or Micah. Amber eventually comes looking for her, but when she enters the house, she is heard screaming after seeing Micah's body. The creature possessing Katie leaves her body, scaring Amber out of the house before returning to Katie, who resumes rocking back and forth. Police officers arrive at the house about a half hour later and discover Micah's body as well. They call to Katie, who wakes from her catatonic state and seems confused. Katie comes out of the bedroom with the knife still in her hand. The police ask her to drop the knife. Following a heated confrontation, a door behind one of the police officers slams shut, startling one of the officers, which causes him to shoot Katie, killing her. ...

1) What is this film attempting to say about the nature of the horror genre? 2) Who has agency (free will to make choices) in the film? How is that agency limited? Discuss both the puppeteers and the four main characters in the film. What might this be saying about agency within in the horror genre itself as well as in US society more broadly? 3) How does the film implicate the viewer in the horrors they are witnessing? (To implicate means to make them partially responsible for the horrors). 4) What role do screens play in the film? What does this reflect about our cultural condition? *Consider the scene when Marty finds the small camera in his bedroom. 5) How does the game-like nature of the film reflect our cultural condition? 6) What do the ancient gods represent? 7) What are the four  main characters horror film archetypes? What does the film seem to be suggesting as far as where these archetypes come from? 8) Do you see any tropes of other horror books...

1) As Masako and Yoshie descend into a life of crime, they discuss how similar their job at the bento factory is to their job of dismembering bodies. What specific aspects of their factory job prepared them for this horrible job? 2) Discuss Satake--what leads him to kill? What beliefs and values in the culture has he internalized that (arguably) lead him, in part, to committing his crimes? 3) One of the things Kirino does really well is create sympathy for characters who are often demonized, including killers and stalkers. She also does an excellent job of showing how socio-political conditions are directly tied to criminal activity. In what ways does she create sympathy for Kazuo and Satake? Do you find this problematic in any way? 4) What is your ultimate interpretation of the title of the novel? What does it symbolize? (There are multiple ways of looking at it; please consider at least two). 5) How do you feel about the women's crimes? Discuss Yayoi's m...

1) How would you describe Patrick Bateman's character? He is hyperbolic, which means he is an exaggeration of aspects of real people that already exist. What qualities of toxic masculinity does he exacerbate? 2) How is this film a critique of Wall Street culture in the 1980s? Consider, for instance, that Bateman says he works in "murders and executions," but the woman speaking to him hears "mergers and acquisitions." In the early 1980s, Wall Street was in a high spot, where greed was seen as good and opulence ruled the day. 3) Analyze the title. What does it represent? What is an American Psycho? 4) While the novel that the film was based on was written and set in the 80's, many aspects of it can be linked to current problems in our world. What are those problems? 5) Discuss the scene in the film when Bateman and his colleagues are sitting around discussing women's personalities. When Bateman begins discussing Ed Gein, the serial kil...

Please answer the following questions for your peer, about your peer's work,  in complete sentences, providing plenty of examples from their work in your response. You will give this to them so they can use it to make revisions ; they will then hand it in to me for credit on the final day of class. I do not want to see yes or no answers, unless the question specifies it. Yes or no answers-unless specified-will receive no credit. 1) In your own words, and without asking the creator to help you, write three sentences summarizing the horror at the heart of their story. What is it? Then do your best to get to the fear behind the fear. (Example: fear of the witch, which is really fear of women's power or fear of family members being left alone in old folk's homes which is really fear of dying alone). 2) In the same manner, write what cultural conditions or problems (horrors) created the horror that the story deals with. Do not ask the creator what these are, but...

1) Natsuo Kirino has said that she see this novel as being about the "proletariat." The proletariat is a term Karl Marx coined to describe the working class wage-earners in a society, those whose only significant possession is their ability to work.  Discuss the economic and working conditions in the novel (remember, this takes place in Tokyo suburbs in the late 80s/ early 1990s). How do these issues  specifically contribute to the horrors in the novel?   2) Discuss the ways ageism and sexism intersect in the novel, and what horrors these systemic problems create for these women. (Later on, we will also discuss how the characters use these injustices to their "advantage," as their cultural invisibility allows them to get away with their crimes). 3) How does the author make her characters more than simply horror  cliches ? Do you relate to them? Why or why not? 4) What does this novel teach you about Japanese society during this time pe...

1) What thematic parallels do you see between The Woman in Black and The Orphanage? What do both of these stories have to teach us about motherhood and grief? 2) How do children's objects function similarly in both narratives? 3) In what ways does Eel Marsh house continue to function like an animate body, as the novel reaches it end? And what about the landscape surrounding it (including the quicksand)? In what ways are these spaces mediums of communication for the Woman in Black and the message she wants to convey? In what ways are they a metaphor for ghosts? 4) We do not encounter the Woman in Black very often in the novel. Instead, she mostly is an atmosphere, a bad feeling, a glimpse of a specter in the window, a palpable absence. What might her palpable silence convey that her words could not? 5) What parallels do you see between Jennet's, Jennifer's and Rosemary's situations? What can these stories teach us about the relationship between wome...

What do we know thus far about the Woman in Black?  What don’t we know yet that we want to know? Hauntings are linked not only to people, but to places (usually, places where some sort of trauma occurred). Some theorists have posited that architecture can be seen as an extension of the body, that our homes are a part of us just as much as our limbs and heart are.  How is Eel Marsh house “animate” (like a living body)? Hauntings usually present themselves indirectly, obliquely, at the edge of consciousness and reason (much as trauma does). We're talking whispers, thumps in the night, flashes at the edge of vision. In what ways does the haunting communicate itself to Arthur Kipps? What is the attitude of the townspeople toward the haunting? How might their attitude contribute to its ongoing nature?

Come up with a concept for a horror narrative that fits in the body horror or supernatural horror sub-genre. Some aspects to consider: Setting: pick a time and place and be specific! Real life horrors: pick real life horrors or conditions that you can connect to the imagined ones in your story Body horror: if it's a body horror you're conceptualizing, what real life body issues do you want to demonstrate in your horror story? Illness? Death? Something else? Be specific. Supernatural horror: If it's a supernatural horror story, what is the supernatural element you want to include, and how does it relate to real life horrors or conditions? Character: who are your main characters, and how will things turn out for them? How will they handle the horror in the story? Write a brief synopsis of your story. Remember, this is an experiment, so you can have fun with it.

What aesthetic choices does the director use to evoke horror in the audience? (Consider sounds, visuals such as the de-saturated quality of the film, etc). Houses can be haunted, people can be haunted, and so, too, can objects be haunted.What does the "haunting" of objects teach us about our relationship to them?  How do the ghosts communicate with the people in the film (ex. turning doorknobs, moving objects, etc)? Consider specific instances, and how these communications might work as a metaphor for something ghosts represent such as memory, trauma, grief, etc. What is the true horror in the film? The horror behind the obvious horror? What cultural conditions lead to the horror in the heart of the film? Do you believe the child ghosts are responsible for the death of Simon? If they are not responsible, then what might this film be saying about grief? And why include those child ghosts at all? What is the relationship between ghosts and technology in ...

1) How do you interpret the final scene of the novel? What is most horrifying about it? 2) What might this novel ultimately be saying about religion? Why is religion so closely linked to horror? 3) Satanism is a group of ideological and philosophical beliefs. Contemporary religious practice of Satanism began with the founding of the Church of Satan in 1966, although a few historical precedents exist. Prior to the public practice, Satanism existed primarily as an accusation by various Christian groups toward perceived ideological opponents (similarly to calling someone a "witch"), rather than a self-identity. Satanism, and the concept of Satan , has also been used by artists and entertainers for symbolic expression. Satanism relies on Christianity, as the figure of Satan is a part of Christian mythology. Therefore, Satanism is seen as an inversion: someone who violates social codes and norms and intends to do harm for selfish gain. Why do you think the autho...

1) What parallels do you see between the horrors in Jennifer's Body and those in Rosemary's Baby? Use specific examples from both narratives in your response. 2) What is horrifying about Jennifer's Body? Why do you think the director chose that as the title of the film? 3) What cultural conditions or real life horrors lead to the imagined horrors in Jennifer's Body?              Consider: (location + time period 2009 4) The devil or the demonic is often used in horror narratives as a point of inversion. What normal aspects of the laws of nature, gender norms or other norms does Jennifer as a succubus demon invert, and to what ends? 5) Apply the same logic to Rosemary's Baby--how does the devil or the idea of a demon seed invert norms of motherhood, or other cultural norms in the story? 5) In almost all critical writings on the horror film, woman is conceptualised only as victim. In The Monstrous-Feminine Barbara Creed challenges this patri...

What are the cultural conditions that cultivate the horror in Rosemary's Baby?  These can be political, economic, social, religious, environmental, etc. What aspects of Rosemary's life make her vulnerable to exploitation? Is Rosemary a person who trust her own instincts? What makes you think so? What kind of a relationship does she have with Guy? Any significance to his name? Do the people in Rosemary’s life respect her? Why or why not?   Does Rosemary’s environment restrict her in any way?  *For next class, briefly research the status of women in the US in the 1960s looking particularly at reproductive rights.