Do you think horror movies are bad for society?

[swkstudent]

I've been a fan of psychological horror movies/thrillers for a long time, however now that I'm older I'm seeing that each generation is getting more and more desensitized to violence/evil. I don't get why the movies "Saw" and "Hostile" movies have a fan base. Maybe I'm just not a fan of torture movies. Do you think these types of horror movies like "The Purge", Saw movies and others are influencing people and contributing to the crime? Or am I being paranoid?

[Falconer02]

Violence in entertainment is really nothing new in a historical sense. One could even argue that it can get the juices flowing for people in the entertainment industry. Movies and games have gotten a lot gorier in the past decades. I'm more concerned about certain younger age groups seeing these films rather than adults though. All you need to worry about is IRL psychopaths who will somewhat be influenced by these films.

[sarabtrayior]

I don't even watch horror movie commercials because they are BAD FOR ME... I'm a scardy cat too...

[msmoneybags48]

When it comes to horror movies, I like them as well as the next person.  I don't believe they contribute to the violence or evil that happens in this world.  However, if you are influenced to go out and commit violence or evil to people, I don't see how a movie contributed to it unless you are looking at it as a viable way to do so.  There are people who plan, execute and commit those kind of crimes; they are premeditated murderers.  Look at John Wayne Gacy; he chose to kill 33 young men and boys; he planned them, so that was premeditated.  Today, even if you want to kill your spouse, you eventually get caught.

[joker365247]

i don't think so, given that we as a society are far less violent  now than at any time in our history. i don't know where this idea that we are becoming desensitized comes from, given the history of humans, we are little more than a 100 years removed from a time when murder, theft, rape where an everyday fact of life in america. we seem to kid ourselves into the belief that the past was some happy morally rightous time, but it was not. as bad as you might think it is, never before have the people in the civilized parts of the world been more caring and compassionate toward one another.

[hawkeye3210]

Yes, I believe they contribute to the violence. Now, I believe it is only a small percentage of the population that can be influenced, but there are some out there who are influenced by it.

[queenofnines]

No, I don't think they contribute at all. There are much more powerful influences at play; namely, how a person was raised, whether their home environment was happy, whether they have a genetic predisposition for mental illness, etc.

[swkstudent]

i don't think so, given that we as a society are far less violent  now than at any time in our history. i don't know where this idea that we are becoming desensitized comes from, given the history of humans, we are little more than a 100 years removed from a time when murder, theft, rape where an everyday fact of life in america. we seem to kid ourselves into the belief that the past was some happy morally rightous time, but it was not. as bad as you might think it is, never before have the people in the civilized parts of the world been more caring and compassionate toward one another.

That's a good point.

[JediJohnnie]

I think to an extent they can be.The so called "torture " films that have been popular in recent years could lead to the general desensitization of violence.Our society gets more permissive of the perverse every day.

[hkckk5]

 

Do you think horror movies are bad for society?

« on: June 02, 2013, 02:52:19 pm » Message ID: 746107

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I've been a fan of psychological horror movies/thrillers for a long time, however now that I'm older I'm seeing that each generation is getting more and more desensitized to violence/evil. I don't get why the movies "Saw" and "Hostile" movies have a fan base. Maybe I'm just not a fan of torture movies. Do you think these types of horror movies like "The Purge", Saw movies and others are influencing people and contributing to the crime? Or am I being paranoid?

Yes, I do believe these type of movies are bad for society. I don't think there is anything positive in any of those movies you have listed. If they never make another horror movie I would be so happy. I think these are bad for this generation of kids these days. The old horror movies were not as bad as they are now.
 

 
 
 

[lvstephanie]

Actually many of the horror movies (as well as books, games, and other forms of entertainment in that genre) are morality plays. For example the '80s "slasher flicks" such as in Friday the 13th, the victims tended to be teens that were promiscuous or engaged in drinking / drugs. '90s horror like Resident Evil (as well as other modern zombie stories) are about corporate greed as well as unmitigated genetic research (with the intent of "playing God" in trying to create a superhuman race). Even some of the modern movies use that morality-play device in their plot structure... Saw (esp. the first few in the series) was about a terminally ill cancer patient that terrorized those that abused their lives and took their life for granted. In each case, the horrors shown are meant to be as ways to depict the "pains of hell" within a more realistic, non-religious framework.

[batmobile]

only the disgusting ones like hostel or see no evil... it wasnt even scary just gross!

[ilovepatrick]

yes but not as bad as the games where you interact with the violence it is true that man has been violent since his creation but war, abuse, and horror movies add to the hardening of ones heart

[Screwedupclick4life337]

Not really its all entertainment

[svetick]

It depends on a person, but for the society I would say its a bad influence