Landon E. Cowan and Dr. Dennis Cutchins, English Department
My initial intent in researching horror films find out why horror films exist in American society, why they are enjoying a resurgence of popularity among contemporary audiences, and show possible detrimental affect on viewers, specifically children. For the purposes of my paper, I focused on the 2003 film The Ring.
My research included several faculty interviews with scholars of the Humanities as well as professors of human development. Through my work in the Humanities sector I discovered that many have written on the societal needs that horror films satisfy. Stephen King, in his theoretical book Danse Macabre, posited that horror films explore sociopolitical concerns. As an example, the 1951 film The Thing explored the collective fears of post WWII America, specifically nuclear war and communism. Horror also acts as a type of “border patrol.” Monsters roam liminal spaces of our culture’s value system and punish any kind of aberrant behavior. Any one who has seen a teen-slasher movie knows that the couple who makes out in the back seat of a Camaro always gets caught by the killer. In this case, monsters redefine cultural boundaries and expectations. Finally, horror movies and monsters help the audience deal with deconstruction and postmodernism. Contemporary literary theory and fiction have destroyed the us/them paradigm, and horror films seem to be the only genre that still separates the audience from the other. By watching a horror film, the viewer reaffirms his or her own normalcy by separating him/herself from the monster.
The Ring defied traditional categorization in the horror genre. It explores the sociopolitical implications of feminism, but its feelings towards the ideology are unclear at best. Samara’s (the antagonist of The Ring) killings could be construed as a border patrol action, but her actions don’t enforce any kind of a moral code. The film does little to separate the audience from the other. In fact, it blurs previously established boundaries and confuses protagonists and antagonists.
I arrived at the conclusion that The Ring is a swift answer to current breaks in the horror genre, specifically The Sixth Sense. In Sense, there really are no monsters, there are just ghosts of regular people who want a chance to tie up some loose ends before moving on to the spirit world. Instead of pushing monsters to the fringes of society, it invites them in with the rest of us. The Ring does the opposite. Samara is a monster, but she doesn’t want to be understood, she just wants to make people suffer. In doing that, she forces formerly good people to assume the work of the antagonist. The “normal” audience is forced to the fringes of society with the monsters. In my research I found that The Ring acts as a border patrol for the horror genre itself.
In my research concerning children and horror films, I found exactly what I expected. Violence in films affects children, but the results rarely take effect immediately. Children who watch violent programs are undoubtedly affected in many negative ways. However, one of the messages of The Ring is the negative repercussions of television and the media, so I decided to let the film speak for itself and I abandoned that aspect of my research.
My paper was accepted for presentation at the 2004 National Popular Culture/American Culture Conference, which was held in San Antonio Texas. The conference the best experience I’ve had as an undergraduate. Generally students who need new ideas for research and papers have to consult academic journals or quarterlies. The waiting list to be published in these journals is fairly long, and subsequently some of the papers lose their “edge” in the wait. All of the papers presented were current, fresh, and will have a definite impact in future Humanities research.
At the conference I was able to speak with other scholars working in my field, get feedback on my research, and receive new ideas for future research from credible academics. While my own personal research was extremely valuable, the feedback and knowledge I received at the conference is irreplaceable.
Furthermore, I think my participation at the conference was good for BYU. I could tell a few of my fellow panelists were a bit wary of presenting with a BYU undergraduate. However, after presenting my paper several panelists congratulated me and told me how surprised they were at the quality of my research. One even went so far as to say, “Your paper could change the way we teach horror.” While his statement was undoubtedly hyperbolic, I think my presence at a national conference was a good PR opportunity for BYU.
Working with my mentor, Dr. Dennis Cutchins, I will submit my research to academic journals in hope of publishing my work, specifically the Journal of American Culture or the Journal of Popular Culture.