Charon`s rants

[Charon]

Ah yes, I have a few rants of my own.

The Meaning of Horror

Horror is a genre that appeals to many people over a wide demographic - however,what defines it always obscured me.

When one thinks of  werewolves, aliens (usually merged with SciFi), Frankenstein`s monster, and the undead (ignoring applicable Twilight references, because it`s pretty obvious that the author had no idea what she was doing), horror films with screaming and fear come to mind. However, such monsters are really only scary because we take away something that humans use to define themselves - conscious awareness.

If this is the case, then why the hell are characters like werewolves and aliens even considered "horror"?!

Examples of horror characters that I always sympathied with:

1. Werewolves
Werewolves are, in essence, a supernatural version of someone with a genetic disorder. Despite having one time when they lose control of their bodies, they are just like regular people. They learn of their curse that threatens their existence (from others trying to eradicate them). Truly all they have to do to avoid their moments in which they become monsters, they need to avoid exposure to the full moon. Yet even werewolves in their neutral state are monsters. Why?

2. Aliens
The idea that aliens are monsters is simply labeling the unknown as dangerous. Aliens, more likely than not, are nothing like humans and either a) not feel the very human urge to conquer and exploit everything or b) would not be nearly intelligent, well supplied and lucky enough to reach us in the first place. If both were to exist in an alien race (very unlikely), they would most likely have found the technology and resources to continue their lifestyle that would make it pretty pointless to enslave humans or destroy our planet for materials (considering they traveled so far to reach us). Only when the alien race`sonly purpose to destroy us when they become the stuff of horror.

3. The Undead
Undead characters can be further split into two groups: Those without a soul (like vampires and most versions of zombies) and those with them (like Frankenstein`s monster). The former are true horror characters - their entire existance is to be the character that the protagonist must either slay or overcome. The latter is a completely different matter.

Two books that come to mind are Frankenstein and The Crow(actually, a graphic novel, but whatever...).They both differ from most books in the horror genre for the same reason - the character that induces the horror... is actually the protagonist. The reason to why this trait is unusual became apparent when I read your comments over Blight- some of you thought I confused the terms of ~"protagonist" and "antagonist"!

This made me think about the two books mentioned earlier - why are the monster and Eric considered "horror"?

Both books were not written to simply terrify people - the former was written to reveal the drawbacks of human expierementation; the latter an artistic expression of the artist`s anger and shock after losing the person who meant the most to him. Yet we still catagorize both as horror. It is true that they both kill people, but the monster does it in response to fear (as a normal person would do if afraid enough) while Eric does it out of anger (again, something that may drive a sane person to kill). In addition, both character`s sadness are usually ignored (which for both IS THE MAIN POINT OF THE STORY).

I actually think it is both this lack of observation and character analysis that makes us classify them as horror, rather than their true purpose.

On a sidenote, I CAN`T BELIEVE I JUST TYPED ALL THIS ON MY DSi MY HAND HAS CRAMPS owowowow

[Ninja Steve]

I think I officially feel like a terrible person for having not read Frankenstein up to this point...

You typed all that on a DSi? Jeez...

[Zach]

I think I officially feel like a terrible person for having not read Frankenstein up to this point...

You typed all that on a DSi? Jeez...

Don't feel bad, I haven't read it either ^-^

[Charon]

Actually, I always use source material to give credit to the origins of the story - I haven`t read either but have seen movie adaptations that preserved the story. xD After reading summaries of both, I want to, though... (LIBRARY)

I also think it`s strange how when a soldier protagonist (who enlisted, who chose to be in a dangerous situation) kills someone in a movie, that it`s a good thing, while werewolves and Frankenstein`s monster (which had their current situations either preexisting or forced upon them) are seen as monsters when they kill someone, regardless of them being a protagonist or not.

[Rolina]

Actually, usually werewolves are victims of a virus, not a genetic disorder.  It's very rare to find something where werewolves must be born that way (thus, genetic approach).  But I agree with you there.  Werewolves, Aliens, and to an extent, the Undead.  Zombies? Kill em.  But not all Vampires should be bloodthirsty monsters - they are capable of rational thought, after all.  All they need is a good donor and an author who's not turning them into some chick-flick stud-like abomination and they turn out pretty good.  Out of curiosity, what you're opinion on Liches?

One of the things I like about Mahou Sensei Negima, by the way, is that Vamps and Werewolves aren't actually portrayed in a bad light.  Evangeline (the vamp) had a huge crush on Negi (the hero)'s dad, so it's more like she's taking out all her pent up sexual frustration on the poor ten year old.  She gets better, and becomes a huge help by becoming his magic mentor of sorts.  She claims she's evil, but it becomes quickly apparent that that's all talk.  Kotaro (the werewolf) starts off as an enemy, but quickly become 'the rival'.  He and Negi actually become best friends, and is one of the few people Negi can talk informally to.  Heck, not all Demons are that bad, either, they've just got a bad employer.

[Charon]

Oh? Now that I think about it, being a werewolf makes more sense as a virus - maybe a personification of disease, similar to vampires?

I usually refer to traditional texts, but considering that I referenced  modern works as well, you're right. Vampires aren't necessarily soulless, even though their traditional perception is so. Vampires are actually undead themselves so I classify them under the undead, but the modern day associations make them difficult to classify further unlike Frankenstein's monster. Liches... well, considering they're intelligent, they could go either way - for me though it makes more sense for Liches to be conscious and with emotions because they are not simply drones.

My point is though, is that the reason why people classify it as horror is because it's a quick jump of conclusions. Saying, "Hey! That guy's a werewolf! That makes this horror" is just stupid without actually paying attention to the material whatsoever. People generalize protagonists to be cute, cuddly, young, brave, smart, dashing; while the antagonists are dark, scary, deathly, associated with certain animals - why do we make these generalizations? What makes a black cat or a crow evil, but a dove automatically good? It's true there is some symbolism associated with such characters and animals but these associations are making it more difficult for people to actually understand what the story is about - labeling something like Frankenstein as horror completely misses the point of the actual story.

On a sidenote, I managed to get a copy of The Crow, and let me tell you - it is AMAZING. It's literally an emotional roller coaster that I've never experienced before with a graphic novel, and if this tells you anything, after I finished it, I cried. I cried out loud - if there is anything close to depicting true devotion for someone, it is within the pages of this book. Hell, the more I think about it, the more I cry - not because of the book itself, but because people are willing to tack more emotion onto the POINTLESS HIGH SCHOOL CRUSH of Bella and Edward than the emotional strife and eternal loneliness that Eric experiences.

If you can take the violent scenes (and they are hella load violent), buy it.