The aesthetics of horror films : a Santayanan perspective / Forrest Adam Sopuck.
Sopuck, Forrest Adam, author.
2021
PN1995.9.H6 S66 2021
Available Online

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Title The aesthetics of horror films : a Santayanan perspective / Forrest Adam Sopuck.
Author Sopuck, Forrest Adam, author.
ISBN 9783030843465 (electronic bk.)
3030843467 (electronic bk.)
9783030843458
3030843459
DOI https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-84346-5
Published Cham, Switzerland : Palgrave Macmillan, [2021]
Copyright ©2021
Language English
Description 1 online resource
Item Number 10.1007/978-3-030-84346-5 doi
Call Number PN1995.9.H6 S66 2021
Dewey Decimal Classification 791.43/6164
Summary "Sopucks book provides a much-needed expansion of our understanding of the artistic value and cultural role of horror films. Engaging with scholars in the fields of psychology, philosophy, and horror theory, he carefully extends the aesthetic views of George Santayana into a highly original framework that he dubs the 'sport model' of horror aesthetics. But more than this, he then uses this framework to further examine the potentially dangerous necropolitical implications of horror in the contemporary landscape. Eminently readable, with outstanding degrees of theoretical elaboration and numerous cinematic examples, the book deftly balances the worlds of scholarship and popular entertainment, providing a work that is not only thoroughly enjoyable and personally relatable, but is also sure to leave a lasting impact in the world of horror theory."--Vernon W. Cisney, Associate Professor, Interdisciplinary Studies, Gettysburg College This book analyzes the nature and functions of horror films from the vantage of a theoretical reconstruction of George Santayanas account of beauty. A new model of horrors aesthetic enjoyment is detailed through the examination of plot, cinematic, and visual devices distinctive of the popular genre. According to this model, the audience derives pleasure from the films through confronting the aversive scenarios they communicate and rationalizing a denial of their personal applicability. The films then come to embody these acts of self-assertion and become objects of pride. How horror films can acquire necropolitical functions is also clarified. These functions, which exploit the power of anti-tragedy, downward social comparison, or vicarious emotion, work to remediate aggressive, ascetic, or revolutionary impulses in ways that are not injurious to the status quo. This book champions horror as a source of self-empowerment and beauty, but also attests to the potential harms of the genre. Forrest Adam Sopuck was awarded his Ph. D. in philosophy at McMaster University in 2015. He is a specialist in early modern philosophy by formation. His current work explores how Santayana's philosophical views contribute to contemporary metaphysical debates surrounding non-mereological composition, fundamentality, and colour
Bibliography, etc. Note Includes bibliographical references and index.
Access Note Access limited to authorized users.
Source of Description Online resource; title from PDF title page (EBSCOhost platform, viewed April 15, 2022).
Series Palgrave pivot.
Available in Other Form Aesthetics of horror films.
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Chapter 1: Introduction
Chapter 2: Aesthetic Optimism
Chapter 3: Fear in the Cinema and the Definition of Horror
Chapter 4: Horror and its Dark Visions
Chapter 5: Horror and its Dark Witnesses.

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