In the grand scheme of things...

[Dr. Briggs]

What do you think the significance of the fledgling genre "horror film" is in our society? Is it simply to entertain, as many critics would claim? Is it to give us some sense of adrenaline and the vital illusion of being active in our increasingly safe lives? Is it to give us a sense of caution about the world, so we know even as children to stay out of places where evil could inhabit? Is it perhaps to bring needed relief from the more tangible and often overwhelming horrors of the real world?

I personally think it's something along the lines of the third possibility; though I like to be scared as much as anyone, I believe that horror cinema can bring a positive social message. Horror can be combined with just about every other genre, to spur within the viewer a sense of shock; realization to ideally force us to empathize and thus understand what sort of behaviors we should run away from or even try to understand better.

I'll go as far back as The Old Dark House, which gives us a message about how the family unit can be twisted into something perverse if there is hatred within it. A sort of elaboration on "a house divided cannot stand".

Psycho similarly gives us a message about isolation, about how isolating yourself from those who are close to you (be it by taking their money and running or poisoning them to be free of their negative qualities), even if it seems advantageous, can lead to mental destruction and physical danger.

Candyman tells us not to treat separate cultures as something to be "studied," as they are people just as anyone else, and just as anyone else, their fears and traditions can be well-founded. And one day, you may be the one being "studied".

Hundreds of horror films have the loose moral of "terrible, near incomprehensible things can happen to anyone, so do not let circumstances get to you"

These are all, however, fairly intangible and perhaps fully unintentional analyses. The topic can be taken in every which way you can; I look forward to seeing what people have to say about our beloved genre.

Topic inspired by my themes in literature class, which asked what the cultural significance of music could be X)