Elizabeth Cohen, a professor in the WVU Eberly College of Arts and Sciences Department of Communication Studies, examines the psychology behind our fascination with fear in media and pop culture, and why some audiences willingly seek out their worst nightmares on screen.
(WVU Photo/Jalyn Lamp)
From blood and
gore to psychological distress and AI taking over the world, a West
Virginia University
expert delves into the darker side of human curiosity and what makes fear so
fascinating on television and film.
Elizabeth Cohen, a professor in theWVU
Eberly College of Arts and SciencesDepartment
of Communication Studies,
examines the psychology behind our fascination with fear in media and pop
culture, and why some audiences willingly seek out their worst nightmares on
screen.
“Horror has always been a vehicle for exploring
different issues that society is wrestling with. Precisely because these things
in science fiction, fantasy, and horror are inherently unreal, or supernatural,
they provide a nice platform for us to imaginatively play around with issues we
are dealing with in real life. I think we are and will continue to see similar
themes and cautionary tales about artificial intelligence.
“Some people are high sensation seekers. Some people
have nervous systems that just require a little more stimulation in their
environment to feel good. They seek out risky situations or thrills. These
people are also more likely to enjoy horror films, which they have learned can
provide a rush of arousing emotions like surprise, or shock and terror.
“Horror appeals to people because it taps into our
morbid curiosity. We are all born with an innate sense of disgust that is our
body’s way of keeping us away from things that could hurt us — including death.
But to learn the lessons that our disgust is trying to teach us, we need to pay
attention to those things that gross us out. It’s that feeling of being so
repulsed by something and yet not being able to turn away. It’s normal and it
keeps us interested in things that are gory and profane.
“Excitation transfer theory posits that when we are
watching something suspenseful and worrying about the characters’ safety, those
feelings of dread build up, and they keep building as the action progresses. But
then, all that excitation that we have built up while we are feeling fearful
jumps over to our feelings of relief and happiness when there is a positive
conclusion. So, it’s kind of like we get a boost for our positive emotions
because of all the negative energy we built up watching. Of course, this
explanation doesn’t really work for explaining why people would watch horror
films when they aren’t sure that they will have a happy ending.
“Both identification and parasocial relationships can
occur while you are watching a film. These experiences can increase suspense
when you’re watching horror. If you don’t care about the characters, then you
won’t care what happens to them. There will be relatively little suspense. So,
any good horror film should work to make the audience invested in the
characters.
“Some films in this genre feature a killer that stalks
a group of victims with the intent to murder them — usually to settle a
score or in response to some trauma. I think one of the reasons this genre
resonates with its fans is because they enjoy that the antagonists have clear
identities and histories, which makes their bloodlust more frightening, dare I
say, more human. But these films also all have a lot of the same tropes, like a
lot of jump scares, so they are somewhat formulaic. And even though they are
scary with twists and turns during the film, there’s some comfort in their
overall predictability.”—Elizabeth Cohen, professor, communication studies, WVU Eberly College of Arts and Sciences.
Video and audio
are available to media members
West
Virginia University experts can provide commentary, insights and opinions on
various news topics. Search for an expert by name, title, area of expertise, or
college/school/department in theExperts DatabaseatWVUToday.
MEDIA
CONTACT: Rachel Brosky
Media Manager
WVU Strategic Communications and Marketing
304-293-3990, RaBrosky@mail.wvu.edu
Call 1-855-WVU-NEWS
for the latest West Virginia University news and information from WVUToday.
Expert PitchesEberly College of Arts and Sciences
