Say hello to our Collective Nightmares in horror films – CU Boulder Today

CU Boulder sociologists who teach courses on the sociology of horror talk about their podcast, why horror films are popular and their favorite scary movies

For many people, Halloween is a good time to get scared, and a great way to feel the fear is by watching horror films.

Laura Patterson

Marshall Smith and Laura Patterson, who are instructors of sociology at the University of Colorado Boulder and experts on the horror genre, teach courses on the sociology of horror. Since 2017, theyve also produced apodcast called Collective Nightmares.

The experts recently answered questions about the sociology of horror films,Squid Gameand their top-10 horror picks. The questions and answers follow:

Question: How do you apply the discipline of sociology to the study of horror movies?

Answer: Sociologically, we consider how societal norms, ideologies and power dynamics are reinforced or challenged by the stories told in horror films. We discuss who and what these films call good and bad. This includes how different groups of people are represented in horror films and how ideologies (e.g., heteropatriarchy, consumerism) pervade these types of media and the moral lessons they deliver, intentional or not.

Marshall Smith

Horror is a genre built on transgression, so these films are designed to violate norms, test boundaries, question values, and complicate established truths. We watch to see which of these are challenged, by whom, and if the normalcy established at the beginning of the film is restored or replaced by the end of the film.

Q: Are horror movies more popular or less popular in different cultures, and, if so, what factors could be driving this?

A: The popularity of horror films varies across cultures, but all cultures have some version of scary stories. Various cultures have different fears, anxieties and tensions. Scary stories, of which horror films are one popular modern version, help us as a culture process these feelings.

One of the foundational essays on horror films by the film scholar Robin Wood argues that horror films may be interpreted as the "collective nightmares" of a culture. The fears, anxieties and tensions present in different cultures will therefore impact the popularity of horror films generally and certain horror sub-genres specifically and will play out in the representation and narrative content of individual films.

In other words, horror films can be seen as mirrors, reflecting back to us the fears, anxieties and tensions prevalent in a given society at a given historical moment. We consider all of these factors in our podcast, particularly focusing on the waxing and waning of the popularity of different horror films and sub-genres in the U.S.

Q: In real life, people dont generally like being scared, so why do they flock to horror movies?

A: Audience studies aren't really our specialty, but there are some prominent ideas. Horror films are a relatively safe space to be scared. The horror is constrained to the film experience. These films serve as an escape and a reassurance from the open risks and uncertainly of just living life. This is especially true for horror films where the threat is avoided, the ghosts banished or the killer is locked up. For others, horror films may be cathartic, intellectually interesting, a testament to their endurance, or exciting for being taboo. Still others intensely dislike horror films and avoid them altogether.

Interestingly, much of the horror experience is tailored around quelling our fears, rather than accentuating them. When the killer is locked up, the threat is avoided, or the ghosts are banished, the audience is reassured that normalcy has triumphed over the transgressor. In other words, horror stories can be seen as an affirmation of societal norms, a type of love story for the culture of the films makers.

Ourpodcastdigs deeply into these norms, parsing out exactly what version of normalcy the films are promotingand particularly whether the films help or hurt the plight of social justice efforts. For more discussion on this, we suggest our episodes onNightmare on Elm Street 2: Freddys Revenge(Sholder 1978) orBlack Christmas(Takal 2019) as good starting points.

Interestingly, much of the horror experience is tailored around quelling our fears, rather than accentuating them. When the killer is locked up, the threat is avoided, or the ghosts are banished, the audience is reassured that normalcy has triumphed over the transgressor. In other words, horror stories can be seen as an affirmation of societal norms, a type of love story for the culture of the films makers."

Horror films that reinforce problematic social hierarchies (see, for example, our episode on Wans 2013The Conjuring, which details how the film serves to reinforce gender, racial, religious and socioeconomic inequality) can quell the fears of the privileged. By reinforcing current (and problematic) societal power dynamics, horror stories can teach the powerful that their power is deserved and justifiedessentially that they are one of the good ones. While these viewers may experience jump-scares in the theater, their deeper-seated fears of being undeserving of their privilege can sometimes, counterintuitively, be assuaged by the horror experience.

Weve also had discussion on our podcast of the privilege associated with seeking out fear in the form of horror films. See, for example, our upcoming episode onHis House(Weekes, 2020), a film about the horrorsreal life and otherwisefaced by South Sudanese immigrants in England. Is the desire to be scared a reflection of the relative ease privileged groups in America experience?

Q: Would you classifySquid Gameas horror? Regardless, what is your perspective on the series and the controversy about it?

We define horror broadly, andSquid Game(Dong-hyuk 2021) definitely has enough components of horror for us to count it! Were recording an episode covering season one next week, so be on the lookout for that episode for a deep dive into the questions youve just posed.

Its through our dialogue on the podcast that we learn not only what each others viewpoints are, but often what our own are, and frequently we both come out the other side feeling differently than we went into the conversation! So, for now, those answers remain to be determined. This will be our first ever episode covering a full TV series, and were really looking forward to recording it.

Q: What was the first horror movie you saw, and how did it affect you?

Marshall: Two early memories stand out. I remember my dad having rentedThe Terminatorfor himself and my older brother. I was deemed too young and so I snuck down to the TV room to watch it from behind the couch. I should not have done this. I was so scared I had to go tell my mom what I had done so she could help me get to sleep. Now it is one of my absolute favorite films.

Second, at a sleepover party we all watchThe Goonies(Donner 1985). Everyone else had a wonderful time. I was traumatized and had nightmares about that film for weeks.

Laura: Thats a hard question to answer because I have so many early memories of terror associated with films that only vaguely qualify as horrorfor example,Clue(Lynn 1985),Teen Wolf(Daniel 1985) and a particularly disturbing episode ofScooby Doo.

The first time I remember watching a real horror movie wasFriday the 13th(Miner 1980), alone, on cable TV in my parents bedroom, and I remember feeling so grown up. I think thats one of the draws of horror for me, feeling strong enough to handle the experience.

After an admittedly rocky start withScooby Doo, Ive spent much of my horror life searching for more, more, more in terms of fear and brutality. For a discussion of the ethics associated with this kind of horror viewing (I havent yet decided if Im ethical or not!), listeners may want to check out our series on all three of theHuman Centipedefilms (Six, 2009, 2011 and 2015) and our episode on the notoriousCannibal Holocaust(Deodato 1980). Whether you want to view the films themselves or just listen to our discussion thats up to you.

Q: What are your top 10 favorite horror movies?

Honorable mentions:

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Say hello to our Collective Nightmares in horror films - CU Boulder Today

Reviewed and Recommended by Erik Baquero