Re: Why do we like to be frightened?
Re: Why do we like to be frightened?
I went on the Ghost Train on Blackpool Pleasure Beach when I was around 13 .It was a youth club trip . We each had a lad to hold our hand . It was all laughing and sudden screaming iirc ,not really scary as such .Re: Why do we like to be frightened?
Re: Why do we like to be frightened?
Being scared activates the "fight or flight" mechanism in our bodies. This involves the sudden release of endorphins and adrenaline to give us a "turbo charge" to deal with threats. The fact that they are just movies doesn't make much difference. The whole reason why movies and acting works is because we suspend disbelief. IN other words, the interaction between the presentation and the viewer creates the false reality that we have to fall for to make the experience work. If the acting, the story and the production is good enough, we usually do. We all know that movies and enjoying them can be kind of addictive. So can going to the gym. That endorphin release is very powerful and can become addictive. As can obtaining that same release from watching scary movies. You either love them or you don't. There is also another element to it. THat is what the Germans call "Schadenfreude". This is the mirror image of empathy and/or sympathy; the edgy feeling you can get when you can sit back nice and safe and watch somebody else's misery or pain and feel kind of smug because it's not you. Hence how people used to flock to public executions or punishments or still do to traffic accidents etc. If we do or have done this it doesn't mean we are awful, cruel people. It means we are normal. It's part of all of us. Sorry to be so clinical. But you know what they say..You can take the boy out of the job but not the job out of the boy.Re: Why do we like to be frightened?
I don't watch many horror movies as there is no point as I don't see them anyway because either I close my eyes or I peep through my fingers. I have an over active imagination and it plays on my mind for days after
|