CHAPTER 2 Theories
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CHAPTER 2 Theories Following the research of Oglethorpe University’s Marisa Manuel and her paper “Horror- Comedy: The Chaotic Spectrum and Cinematic Synthesis (2013). The research will be supported by following the factors that the paper has speculated, that is required for the Horror- Comedy to function. The following statement from Marisa’s writing goes as follows: The extent to which each factor appears in a film determines whether that film may be generally deemed horrifying, humorous, or both. These four factors are: 1. The established threat or likelihood of harm. 2. The realism, and unknowable or inconceivable occurrences/characters. 3. The sympathy or empathy one feels towards the characters. 4. The chaotic setting and occurrences, or Chaotic Spectrum. The three former factors influence this spectrum, and the spectrum helps determine the reaction of both the individual to a horror-comedy and the general reaction of an audience. (Marisa Manuel, 2013) Chart 1.1 The Chaotic Spectrum Table from Marisa Manuel’s Horror-Comedy: The Chaotic Spectrum and Commented [Melody1]: Give the title of the chart & its source Cinematic Synthesis 2.1 Genre Theory Genres by definition, is a style of art, music and literature. They are terms that are defined by which the content determines the style in which to represent. I.E. Ghost movies fall under Horror, Explosion and showings of masculinity action, kisses and love stories under romance and so on and so forth. “Commercial feature films which through repetition and variation, tell familiar stories with familiar characters in familiar situations.” (Berry Keith Grant, 2007) It is a system that lacks a sense of formality as they are defined by what both the audience and the director choose from the lenses in the films are represented. Horror is rooted to the emotional response of fear; everyone is afraid of something in one fashion or another. Intimmidated, disgusted, reviled, are some of such response that are expected in horror. Lovecraft says it best where he states ‘there is no greater fear, than the fear of the unknown’; Being unable to see in the dark, trying to find the invisible enemy, imagining things that go bump in the night. It robes the individual the sense of safety and comfort, pressuring them for whatever inexplicable fate awaits them. Whereas comedy, is one of a positive emotion meant for joy, elation and levity. Nothing is harder for a comedian than finding the right moment for the punchline, as comedy is as much as a mind game as horror tries to comprehend the unknown. As comedy requires not just precision in its timing of the punchline, but also for the comedy to land, the mood and environment must be set appropriately so that people can relate and connect to said joke for them to understand the joke and be uplifted. Whereas horror is oppressive, comedy is a communication tool of sorts as their humor must be relatable to the viewing audience (Susan Hayard n.d). As horror begins and ends with comedy, when put into the movie it is labelled; it does not simply mean a movie that has horror and comedy, where the genre becomes interchangeable, but rather a horror movie with comedic elements. Where the movie is plentifully scary and frightening, but still contains the means to incorporate levity and humor to uplift the audience in the face of terror. This will be the primary core of the paper, as the research will eventually dive deeper and right into the roots of the matter. It bears repeating, that the research will be studied in the following; Horror, then Comedy, and eventually Horror-Comedy. Redundant this may be, this will be the segue into what can be categorized as sub-genre. There are two meanings that can be interpreted to sub-genre: One is that as a subordinate to the genre (i.e a horror movie with comedy elements) or a subdivision of the genre. While I will be discussing the former in reference for the following thesis, I will be focusing on the latter. Sub-genres in the roughest sense are style that have become a specific genre more so denoted by content, rather than style; these terms can be summed up in terms like ‘monster movies’, and ‘zombie movies’ to name the more broader terms of the B-movie fare. These all fall under the purview of their respective more broad and dominant genres, as mentioned previously. Lastly, we have hybrid genre, this one falls under a unique and somewhat slippery slope kind of class than anything. Following the route of the subdivision meaning of sub-genre, a hybrid genre pertains to a style of a movie or media that has three or more genres. At least that is the rough definition for this. Hybrid genre though is where the discussion will be lead for the topic of Horror Comedy. 2.2 Understanding the Genre of Horror-Comedy Marisa Manuel’s ‘Horror-Comedy: The Chaotic Spectrum and Cinematic Synthesis’ takes the usual and varied variables that can be argued and used within the context of existing in both the genres of the horror and the comedic, and mapped out a comprehensive graft that can be roughly measured the difference between horror-comedy and comedy-horror. Film is an audio-visual experience where the goal is that the viewer becomes invested into the movie that the audience is presented with. As mentioned secondhand within the paper by a previous writer “A film succeeds if it can provoke emotion: the more meaningful the emotion, the better” (Dennis L. White 2). As previously stated for the basic requirement for horror ‘Horror genre is defined by the emotion it provokes; apprehension, fear, and terror’(Rick Worland n.d). Apprehension being in a state of anxiety, fear the emotional trigger that leads into instinctual need of survival, and finally terror, the explosive emotion turmoil where the worst has or might happen to the wellbeing of self and those around the character. The role of the protagonist in a horror genre movie is a bigendered role (mostly female due to sexual disparity of the 80’s); where the leading character is an innocent wide-eyed individual where his/her naivete towards evil will, in the end affect the main character the most by the movie’s end. Thus changed; innocence is lost, their spirit and vigor violated by the experience, no longer ever viewing the world in the same light and while they survived they have ultimately lost so much in the aftermath. An experience that are farfetched to others, unable to share what the owner of this role will ever know or experience. (Susan Hayard, 1996) Genre is a matter of convention and familiarity, so while the individual genres themselves can be argued as primarily a horror movie, with comedy acting as the sub-genre, it acts as a whole its own animal entirely by being a horror movie, yet simultaneously a comedy as well. Hybrid genres are labelled not just out of conventions, but movies that have been repeated to an extent that it has created another branch of genre of its own; these include just to name a few, rom-coms, superhero movie, sports, biopics, and other similar titles. “Genres are not inert categories shared by all” – (Jamie Saxton, Hawkins’ Cutting Edge, 2000) The case study of Evil Dead II falls under the category of the ‘Supernatural’, where horror, sci- fi, comedy, and fantasy can encompass. After all the supernatural deals in subjects that can exist out of the norm, and with it comes in a variety of ways the supernatural can exist. The research can attest such a case to films like The Exorcist (1973), a film that deals with possession as part of the dangers in Evil Dead 2 in antagonizing the leading male while also. In a similar vein, Kakek Cangkul deals with a spirit trapped in a mortal plane hostile to its victims lest their demands are met Figure 2.5 ‘Possession’ Screenshot from The Figure 2.6 ‘Ed Deadite’ Screenshot from Evil Dead 2 Commented [Melody2]: Give the title of the figure & its Exorcist source John Carpenter’s the Thing (1982) also a form of possession, but basing on physical terror and Commented [Melody3]: Give the title of the figure & its source the alien understanding of said creature, and the body-horror that follows. Alien (1979) shares a common part in the supernatural by being the titular ‘alien’ in and of itself, a being outside of the understanding of the laws of known nature or science. Moving to comedy, by its own definition is simply to bring humor, it is a genre open to interpretation to how it conveys its levity. Evil Dead 2 takes the direction of its horror in another direction, by using the comedy as part of its actions behind the implemented horror. For the comedy to work within the movie and coincide that fine line between absurd and underwhelming, and so that the viewer will not be pulled out from the experience; the movie firmly holds itself of the principle of comedy where for the joke/punchline to impact the audience, someone must be in some degree of misery for the audience to target at. The protagonist Ash is that someone, the one that the audience subconsciously wants to be or be a part of. Emulating as the vessel of the familiar action movie protagonist to the antagonist, the viewer follows his experience and his journey as the ghosts taunt and ridicule him, and he does the same in return with everything that he received in interest right back at his tormentors.