Why We Crave Horror Movies Analysis

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Horror Movies: What Causes Our Cravings? In “Why We Crave Horror Movies,” Stephen King deliberates on the motives behind people’s craving for horror movies. Some of the reasons he analyzes are simple and obvious, some have a deeper psychological meaning. King writes that we watch horror movies in order to experience the same level of fun as riding a roller coaster. He also suggests that we watch horror movies to experience the set of emotions to which we were conditioned to deem as wrong. King claims that by watching horror movie these wrong emotions are released without the negative reinforcements from our society. King concludes that it is important for us to experience these wrong emotions in order to stay sane. Although King explores a …show more content…
Horror movies provide an outlet for those of us who do not have the courage to venture in to dangerous or forbidden experiences. Unlike the experience of walking in to a poorly lit theater, wondering in a forest at night is a far more dangerous experience. Watching a movie character wonder in a hunted forest at night will most likely not cause us any physical harm. During this scene we may experience anxiety and discomfort, yet we would not be seeking to experience these emotions outside of the theater walls. All of the emotions that may be evoked during the horror movie watching experience could be grouped in to the feelings of disgust, anxiety, and the feeling that accompany the rush of adrenaline. Essentially, the most pleasant and sought of these are the feelings that come with the rush of adrenaline. Consequently, watching horror movies is the safest way to receive the rush of adrenaline and it makes us crave these experience again. I can personally relate to this reason. At one time Netflix, a popular movie streaming provider, made an unusually large number of horror movies available to be streamed online. Being a chicken, I rarely watched such movies or ventured in to risky experiences. Since horror movies were the only new releases made available, I decided to try one of the movies on the list. After watching the first movie I craved for more. The more I watched, the harder it was for me to stop. Considering that I am not the type of person to indulge in binge movie watching, I believe that my craving was due to an adrenaline rush caused by the horrors. Afterward I began to follow new releases of horror movies in theaters, craving for

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