Horror Genre: Impact on Life

I have answered the questions about my favourite genres by adding something with the word “horror”. If you have been reading my blog, you might already know that I was always attracted to the genre of horror. It is also the genre which had the most impact on my life. Here are the results of the horror influence on my life, and it is why I need to watch more and more horror movies to keep recharging the impact!

I was very much not immune to fear during my childhood and the early days of reading horror. But that was only for a very short time period, as things changed, and horror was not really about bringing fear anymore. It was not about being scared. The whole thing became the reflection of entertainment. It changed my love for fairy-tales into a world of dark fantasy, and my life became different; unlike being the same as that of other kids.

Horror helped me to understand another important thing in life, which can be considered as the biggest impact that it has made on me. It made me realize that horror is just part of life. This dark side which forms an inevitable factor in human society, has to be embraced to accept that horror is real, and after that horror movies have been the path to knowing more of the truth in my case. Ghosts are real in one form or the other, and so is horror – I realized that with my relationship with horror genre.

Another realization came with the horror impact in the form of the thoughts about the presence of evil. I came to the acceptance that evil is part of our lives, and only by an extra dose of goodness that this evil can be kept away from our lives. The inherent evil in humans will come out at one moment or the other, and it is by understanding the nature of horror which has been created by evil or occuring naturally, can we be equipped enough to fight the battles.

There are horror movies which have told us that quick death is only an escape from pain and misery, as the world has too much of horror for a common person. Pain and suffering are just parts of the horror which are unleashed on us. The basic nature of the world itself is horror, as we look at those wars, terrorism and natural calamities. Easy death is rather a lucky thing, and considering the nature of the world around, death or the closeness to it can come in the form of horror and suffering.

Horror’s impact has also made me believe that ghosts are rather better. Humans are worse, and if we are to be killed, it is is better to have it done by the hands of some ghosts which are just tormented souls looking for revenge most of the time. Ghosts are not known to attack others of their own kind too, but it is not the case of humans. They have more evil inside, which is boosted by the materialistic world, and this means more horror from humans than the ghosts.

I also provide you with some time to think about it. There are many genres from which you can choose your favourite. But is there a genre which is as close to life than horror? Can any other genre make that kind of an impact on life staying close to reality? I have found these genres like romance and science fiction as two big lies, both of these never really happening to the common man. But horror is everywhere – you will see something belonging to this genre everywhere, because it is that close to human nature; it is why you feel the impact better with horror.

***The images used in this blog post are from the Official Facebook Pages of the movies, The Cabin in the Woods and Your’e Next.

This blog post is inspired by the blogging marathon hosted on IndiBlogger for the launch of the #Fantastico Zica from Tata Motors. You can apply for a test drive of the hatchback Zica today.

TeNy

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Of Apes and Humans

Returning after watching Dawn of the Planet of the Apes and its messages for the present humanity – the species which is seeking violence and justifying the same with the distant past, and every group calling for blood just because the other religion or community not considered to be human, a post was a necessity. This is a shame that the modern world has brought upon itself makes them stoop to a level lower than animals. The movie gives the viewers certain lessons, and its relevance to the present world is higher than its contribution to the flick itself.

1. Violence is the dominant nature and need: It is seen that humans and apes do see each other as threats just because they are both different. It is the same problem that haunts humans who fight each other. Yes, people want everyone else to be like them, and there lies the problem. Even as war can’t be justified by any means, this hatred is boosted by people who fight each other in the social media and post fake images which completely nullifies their cause. The violence on the field is reflected even on the virtual world, and death of people from other groups is a necessity for some.

Teach something, but learn more from the apes (photo from movie’s official FB page)

2. Peace is just temporary relief: Humans are without the ability to forgive and forget and therefore there will be no eternal peace; Ceasar acknowledges this by the end of the movie. People always have many genocides to justify what they are doing now, and it is a shame that they have to bring things which happened in the medieval era to give the feeling of rightful revenge to their evil deeds. The world has changed and they need to get out of their distant past and learn to be good to others in the present. Only then there will be everlasting peace.

3. There is evil in every group: It is only with such sadness and disappointment that Caesar acknowledge that it is his own people who are responsible for this plight while it was humans whom he expected to start the war. The presence of good among evil gives hope, but this evil which spreads among the good people is rather terrible. There is the indoctrination that one group or the other is bad and deserves to be killed, and this spread like wildfire, faster than anything which is not so evil. The enemy might change, but there is a possibility that there is always one.

4. Apes are among humans: The indoctrinated humans form the new generation apes. They only support their own people and hope for the people of other religion or community to die. Those who are not violent enough to do it on the streets do it on the social networking sites becoming a spamming device themselves, aping others sharing the photos put by them without even knowing that it is a fake image or an something that works against themselves thus making the whole process invalid. Some others choose to abuse a person as a part of the aping, and attempts to do so because someone else did the same earlier.

5. The need for individuality: The apes resemble the humans who lack individual ideas and they think that it is always about them without even choosing to have an identity. They depend on some random person who share some ideas. People believe others to such an extent that they think that Steven Spielberg killed a dinosaur, and so how can they not believe anything else? If the same thing is given a racial, religious or caste colour, the whole thing will be easier to believe because some people only consider their group as human, and they think as our human leader says “they are just animals”.

Co-existence. Do the humans even know what it means? (photo from movie’s official FB page)

In the end, the only one who suffer will be the common man. Nobody really cares about the bloody politics which is bringing every act of war. There is only the need for co-existence, and for that, the change should be made at the root level, with the next generation being taught the values. But there is nothing to be done, as they have already left the children to find evil in their own way. The next generation is sure to bring a lot of hatred to this world, unless we guide the younger ones. Lets not be like the apes, and lets not be like the warmongers or the brainwashed supporters of violence.

TeNy.

This is Dogville

Dogville gives you an order, and that order is to talk about it which can’t be avoided. The effect of knowing about its mere existence is that you have to feel and talk about it. Dogville is that cute town in the middle of nowhere, where people are supposed to be simple and good. It is that place where civilization has less effect and therefore it should be beyond the evils of modernity. But William Golding’s Lord of the Flies has already taught us about the danger of the same, but this one has some distant contact with people and therefore that problem is not directly visible.

Dogville is a 2003 movie which has Nicole Kidman as the central character of Grace who runs away from gangsters and is provided asylum in Dogville. They do demand things in return, and even as it begins as some physical labour, things get worse and she is turned into a slave. It is not a bloody violent movie, but is still disturbing in many ways, and it strikes a poisonous arrow right at the heart of the innate goodness which is supposed to exist in all human beings. Once we are poisoned with that arrow, it will grow in us, not like an idea in the mind, but like a stake in the heart. I will share just four areas of that infestation.

Grace (Nicole Kidman) among the apples, a shot which stays in the minds of the viewers.

1. Inherent evil in man: The innate goodness in man is replaced by the inherent evil which goes back to centuries while leaving a mark on the way as time flies. This evil can spring out of anywhere, whenever the situation is appropriate. As the Overlord (game character) would say, “evil always finds a way”. This tendency to sin which stems from the idea of original sin is something from which humans can never really escape. It is easy for humans to fall into the abyss of temptation, and it has even happened to saints. The same can be said about the townfolks’ treatment of Grace.

2. Contempt for outsiders: Here, Grace was not one of them and therefore an outsider who was to be treated differently. They can’t show that directly, but there is always the fear of the unknown, and it develops into hatred up-to an extent. These people will never be accepted into the group, but are often considered as an appendage who can be thrown out or even abused. The beginning should be from denying some basic human rights. We can see that certain people in some religions and castes do talk in the same way and only caring for their own people. Such people are just another version of these inhabitants of the town.

3. Biblical connection: The name of our heroine Grace, which can be seen as “the grace of God” is rather the person sent to that world to help them as they give refuge to her, as she does prove herself more than just useful in their daily life. But she would be tortured and abused just because she was not one of them, and there were enough reasons created by random thoughts just to mistreat her. In the end, she will be called back, but she will be willing to offer them another chance, but not for long as another Sodom and Gomorrah awaited.

4. Democracy’s limits: The town depends on votes, and this might be the best form of government. But if their supposed leader could choose by himself, wouldn’t it have been better for Grace? Everyone is so much powered by their own selfishness, and instead of thinking for the common good or about the damsel in distress, they choose wrong. The evil people can always outnumber the good and devastate the purpose of democracy. The people who are lesser in number will never get their rights, even if their demands are justified.

The outsider in chains, as the society turns more and more against the other.

Dogville can be your religion, caste, creed or community. It can be your land, and when you mistreat someone in your world for being an outsider, you are only strengthening that presence of inherent evil. It is okay to fear and take precautions as we know the story of “the camel and the arab” and there will some people ready to do the same to us, but that won’t give the right to hate. There are two things I am sure about; I have never loved a performance from Nicole Kidman like this, and there is no movie that has kept me thinking like Dogville. But be warned that this is not a movie for entertainment.

TeNy.