(855) 4-ESSAYS

Type a new keyword(s) and press Enter to search

Frightening Stories As Entertainment


             Scientists have established several theories to explain why people choose to be frightened by the media they encounter. They range from, trying to purge our own scary and violent tendencies to the viewer receiving some type of perverse pleasure from the experience of frightening or disturbing behavior.
             The most commonly held theory used to explain why people like to be frightened by their media is an idea known as catharsis. Catharsis states that when people view frightening and violent media they are able to rid themselves of their own desires to be violent. It is also believed that through catharsis we are able to relieve other psychological problems such as fear and anxiety. .
             Other research explains the appeal of frightening media through identification. This idea of identification is used to explain the almost cathartic experience that can be reached when frightened, a type of perverse pleasure can be obtained when a viewer identifies with the monster. All of the activities that are prohibited by society and morals can be lived out vicariously through the evil things we read about and watch on the screen. Identification also occurs with to victim in frightening content. We identify with the pursued and in the process empathic reactions are released. .
             Finally, the appeal of frightening media can be explained in a very similar fashion as explaining why people enjoy roller coaster rides. When we go on a ride we are pushing our bodies to an extreme but the entire time we know we are safe. Frightening content allows us to do the same thing. We can test are limits and the whole time be safe in our seats.
             Fright Reactions in Children.
             Have you ever viewed a movie that provided disturbing or frightening images that gave you nightmares or withheld you from doing something, like sleep in the dark or swim by yourself? More than likely at one point or another your answer is yes. In the 1930's-1940's it was researched a featured film had scared 93% of children.


Essays Related to Frightening Stories As Entertainment

1. Grimm Brothers - Lessons Through Stories

The Brothers' tales serve as the foundation to many of the stories that are common in a variety of movies. ... Fairy tales were told to teach lessons and to pass on cultural values and wisdom to younger generations, not for entertainment. They were concerned about frightening their young ones so they wouldn't do something wrong. ... These "predators" are imaginary beings such as a wicked stepmother, a wolf, or a stranger who serve the purpose of frightening children away from dangerous situations. ... By reading these stories perhaps in the day instead of the night, explaining the le...

  • Word Count: 748
  • Approx Pages: 3
  • Grade Level: High School

2. Beowulf -- Plight Of The Hero

The evening's entertainment is a poet, and he tells the story of Beowulf. ... The evening's entertainment is a Batman movie. ... Transience is his reality and this gives his story an additional dimension."" ... Not only does one have to consider the events of the story itself, but Beowulf's death also has a large part to do with recognizing the story as a whole. ... This provides frightening ideas about what attributes a future hero will have to possess. ...

  • Word Count: 685
  • Approx Pages: 3
  • Grade Level: High School

3. Beowulf

The evening's entertainment is a poet, and he tells the story of Beowulf. ... The evening's entertainment is a Batman movie. ... Transience is his reality and this gives his story an additional dimension."" ... Not only does one have to consider the events of the story itself, but Beowulf's death also has a large part to do with recognizing the story as a whole. ... This provides frightening ideas about what attributes a future hero will have to possess. ...

  • Word Count: 690
  • Approx Pages: 3
  • Grade Level: High School

4. Blame TV? An analysis of Neil Postman's Amusing Ourselves to Death

Postman himself, in the early pages of his book, admits that his story is probably not anywhere near the whole truth. ... It could be said that print is not living up to its full potential if it's not being used for entertainment purposes. ... What could people have done for entertainment but read? ... After all, the bible - the best-selling book of 19th century America, according to Postman - is essentially a collection of simply told fantastic stories. ... Most important of all are the issues it raises regarding American society's lack of interest in serious issues, which is a frig...

  • Word Count: 1687
  • Approx Pages: 7
  • Grade Level: Undergraduate

5. Fahrenheit 451 - Looking to the Future

History has been rewritten to accommodate the frail minds of the passive masses, and other than advances in an entertainment industry, science has been deemed a mindless hobby. The entire plot frightens you, shocks you, even angers you. ... While our own world is not quite so vicious when it comes to naughty stories, we still have questionable laws, limits, and regulations on reading material. ... People lived and died in these stories, fiction or non-fiction. ... Intelligence is now an impediment to exacting what you want from life; more entertainment, more pills, and more lines in a show. ...

  • Word Count: 813
  • Approx Pages: 3
  • Has Bibliography
  • Grade Level: High School

6. Showing of and talking about

From local, entertainment, sports, medical, finance, to international news. ... When I first saw this picture on TV; I thought it was entertainment news, which was introducing a new showing movie, because it looked like the scene of the disaster or a war. ... Present said: "These acts of mass murder were intended to frighten our nation into chaos and retreat. ... One image can somehow define a story and crystallize the feelings some way or another, and can force people to decide on a point of view they might take. ...

  • Word Count: 900
  • Approx Pages: 4
  • Grade Level: High School

7. The Name of The Rose

William of Baskerville, a learned Franciscan who is sent to solve the mystery finds himself involved in the frightening events inside the abbey. This is the story of "The Name of the Rose" by Umberto Eco. It is the medieval ages when William of Baskerville and his young scribe (Adso of Melk, who narrates the story many years later) arrive at the monastery. ... One might read the story as a mystery novel, as a medieval history textbook, or as a book about philosophy. ... However, the persistent reader can learn a lot from this exciting and shocking story, which perfectly blends erudition wi...

  • Word Count: 753
  • Approx Pages: 3
  • Grade Level: Undergraduate

8. Labyrinth - Product of Jim Henson's Imagination

The story begins with the main character, Sarah, as she stands in a garden dressed in a long, white gown and flower tiara. ... The story is captivating, and successfully draws the viewer into the experience, providing entertainment as well as a great deal of life lessons. ... In this realm, the trees are twisted unnaturally, the residents of the kingdom are all in the form of inhuman, sometimes frightening creatures that speak only in riddles, and the rules are never set in stone. ... "The subtlety is necessary, however, in order to avoid frightening children or exposing them to ideas they ma...

  • Word Count: 2010
  • Approx Pages: 8
  • Has Bibliography
  • Grade Level: Undergraduate

9. Movie Violence and Society

The entertainment industry maintains a stance that there is no real link between movies and real-life violence. ... There are many audiences that consume this kind of entertainment. ... The real world is much more frightening that the fictional stories of movies. ... The difference is that the war story was true and most of what's in the theatres is fiction. ... Movies are meant for our entertainment and they are an art form. ...

  • Word Count: 1586
  • Approx Pages: 6
  • Has Bibliography
  • Grade Level: High School

Got a writing question? Ask our professional writer!
Submit My Question