What does Halloween horror say about us?

[dannyboy]

Guest op-ed piece in today's Enquirer. (http://news.enquirer.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20071031/EDIT02/710310402/1090)

BY RYAN SOUTHWORTH

Halloween is an enigma to me.

I can understand the excitement of dressing up and wandering the neighborhood in search of candy. And who doesn't enjoy seeing a five-year-old beaming in her princess costume or heroically twirling his superman cape. But the rest boggles my mind.

Aside from the fact that it is a holiday fundamentally (and often practically) celebrating evil, death, and terror, it seems to change our citizenry from ordinary to macabre. Our normal standards of behavior are suspended for a month of gratuitous violence and fear.

If a neighbor were to hang severed heads from his front oak tree in February or August we would be disturbed. Maybe even frightened. But not in October. In October it is perfectly "normal" to display rotting corpses from your porch awning or to parade through your yard the rising dead and those recently murdered by chainsaw and axe.

Rather than the typical revulsion we smile kindly at these "decorations" and wonder how they got the blood to look so real.

Does this strike anyone else as ... well, odd? Twisted? I know it's supposed to be "all in fun" (though I struggle to find the fun in gruesome death), but can we step back and think about this for a moment?

It has been said that you can know a lot about a person based on what they take pleasure in, and I wonder what insight the modern Halloween season gives into our culture. Combine the scenes of massacre in our neighborhood lawns with the recent rise in gory horror/torture films and what we as a people delight in more and more looks, well, frightening.

Perhaps the greatest fear Halloween should bring is a healthy look in the mirror.

Ryan Southworth is a teacher who lives in Pleasant Ridge.

[dannyboy]

This is something I have also thought about the past couple of years.

[akip]

i heard something on npr this a.m. ---something to the effect that halloween is a such cool holiday 'cause it's really the only one that doesn't raise the bar on our expectations, like xmas, so it can't backfire and make us depressed. instead, it's about going right into that darkside of ourselves, but defanging it, rendering it harmless.

[classicgrrl]

Ryan Southworth is a teacher who lives in Pleasant Ridge.


People "laugh" and "reveal" in gore and gruesome death because, as akip pointed out, it renders it powerless.

In other words, what we cannot laugh at will probably kill us. And anyway, Halloween has always been more about ghosts and the supernatural for me...not necessarily gore and such.

Interesting how he focuses on the gore aspect - which says that he needs to do some darkside work himself - his focus on gore is some pretty strong projecting.

And on that note, I just opened up my fortune cookie from lunch and this is what it reads:

"Everything that we see is a shadow cast by that which we do not see".

how's that for synchronicity? :D

[dannyboy]

I'm just waiting for the day when it will be as socially acceptable to display scenes of sex in our front lawns as it is gory death.

[Duemellon]

Historically & currently, there are plenty of celebrations & events throughout the world which seem very grim. It's odd but most of them are still happy celebrations but they're based on typically morbid subjects. I don't want to say it's in human nature. I'm more inclined to think it has to do with some shared historic society.

However, there's something meaningful about recognizing the macabre & sombre reality of death, pain, & cruelty. Now in respect to other aspects, it's not all about death, pain, sufferring, & violations of the sanctity of life. Apparently it's about being a skank dressed in a clown-whore suit or being the wittiest costume of the day. You don't have to celebrate death, fear, & sufferring to participate in Halloween, but you have to tolerate it.

Personally I don't think there's anything wrong with Halloween tapping into the nightmarish side of our society. It seems the author is blaming that root for how it's manifesting itself as of late. I do see the morbidity increasing as we're dealing with more grim realities. As the society become more fearful we get more excited about things like this. Kind of how there were so many paintings, etchings, songs, & even children's songs about death & romanticizing during the Black Plague & other lasting catastrophes.I'm just waiting for the day when it will be as socially acceptable to display scenes of sex in our front lawns as it is gory death.See the sexy chamber maid costumes some will be cavorting around in. As well as those guys dressed up like a penis or a condom. There you go.

[Hogarth]

Maybe its a sign of how far detatched from any actual suffering life is for most Americans.

[akip]

Maybe its a sign of how far detatched from any actual suffering life is for most Americans.

just 'cause we suffer in our minds rather than bodies doesn't mean we don't suffer. go read the "worry" thread. ;)

[Duemellon]

People "laugh" and "reveal" in gore and gruesome death because, as akip pointed out, it renders it powerless.

In other words, what we cannot laugh at will probably kill us.Then what about the "nigga/er" discussion? They are trying to render it powerless by celebrating it.

Now I don't think the day is about laughing or reveling in death, but it is about framing it. It's also about how disconnected (as Hogarth said) they are from it.It's not a reality for them. I seriously doubt that someone who was close to a brutal murder will go about recreating the situ to display to everyone else.

I will say, however that "Halloween has always been more about ghosts and the supernatural for me...not necessarily gore and such." That fits me too. I suspect it'll fit more people as it gets thought about.Interesting how he focuses on the gore aspect - which says that he needs to do some darkside work himself - his focus on gore is some pretty strong projecting.Agreed.

[silentpaul]

Sometimes a severed head is just a severed head.

[dannyboy]

See the sexy chamber maid costumes some will be cavorting around in. As well as those guys dressed up like a penis or a condom. There you go.
But if Halloween is more or less about embracing our dark side, does this association (chamber maid costumes, etc.) say that sex is also a dark side? Being that a large traditional component of Easter is spring fertility, why is it not a cultural norm to dress up sexy and be sexually flirtatious to celebrate Easter? I know it's because of the tie-in to Christ, but I'm just sayin'. Other cultures do celebrate sex in such a positive light.

[rocketman70]

Well I happen to think Halloween is the best day of the year. My favorite holiday. Better than x-mas. Read into that what you will. :D

[dannyboy]

Better than x-mas.
I'll grant you that. I'm x-mased completely out! (and it's not even here yet)

[rocketman70]

I'll grant you that. I'm x-mased completely out! (and it's not even here yet)

It's not as expensive.

[drougan]

you could also parlay into an examination of Schadenfreude as explanation for the ascendence of the grotesque during the runup to Halloween.

Also, and sort of by extension, anything that 'glorifies' death, is really about glorifying and validating life, since one does not exist without the other.

Heres some fun with semantics/etymology for you. The word grotesque comes from grotto-esque, which is a reference to the decor applied to Baroque/Neoclassical grottoes in wealthy peoples villas. These, in turn were derived from the Roman villas of antiquity, which obviously were inspired heavily by Greek culture. The whole point of the grotto was to be a sublime, almost spiritual experience, heavily shaded, abundance of natural features (water, cave-like elements) and often included sculpture of a not-terribly appetizing variety (cavorting uglies and such). The general point being that you were supposed to enter the space and have a bit of emotional response evoked as a result, a general unease that was supposed to connect you a bit more spiritually to the earth by experiencing the darker side of things.

So to get back to the authors question, what does it say about us? It means that humanity needs to acknowledge and even embrace a little fear in order to feel alive. Why else would we skydive, ride rollercoasters, surf, or ski? Its a carefully balanced game of safety and survival of risk that results in a very real thrill.

[CEZ]

i heard something on npr this a.m. ---something to the effect that halloween is a such cool holiday 'cause it's really the only one that doesn't raise the bar on our expectations, like xmas, so it can't backfire and make us depressed. instead, it's about going right into that darkside of ourselves, but defanging it, rendering it harmless.

Also mentioned: There is not halloween music being pumped out of every speaker in the world to build up emotions throughout the month as there is during xmas.

[CarloMarx]

i think this guy's point could be used for any holiday though.

Sure itd be weird if someone hung heads in their tree in august, but doesnt everyone hate the asshole who doesnt take down christmas stuff until april? and what if I just decorated my house for christmas in June ?

[CEZ]

i think this guy's point could be used for any holiday though.

Sure itd be weird if someone hung heads in their tree in august, but doesnt everyone hate the asshole who doesnt take down christmas stuff until april? and what if I just decorated my house for christmas in June ?

Good point. It drives me nuts when people leave their damn xmas lights up all year long and then just turn them on in December. :rolleyes:

I have one thing to say to that....WT.

[Slar]

Boy I bet that guy is just a real hoot at parties.

[akip]

It's not as expensive.

ha! though it's adding up---costume for the kid and candy for the hoards is gonna rack me up for $50+ this year.

[Zane]

I have one thing to say to that....WT.

I'm too old for this crap...what's WT?

Sometimes, throughout the year, I like to wear my underwear on my head. Write about that, Ryan.

[skidminix]

I'm too old for this crap...what's WT?
I believe that'd be White Trash.

[akip]

yeah, since halloween goes back to pagan times, it seems more universal than peculiar to americans.

[miami2112]

I'm too old for this crap...what's WT?

Sometimes, throughout the year, I like to wear my underwear on my head. Write about that, Ryan.
another reason why we love zane. you're racking them up today!

[jcarwash31]

Sometimes a severed head is just a severed head.
Those severed heads might just be for scientific purposes.

[silentpaul]

Those severed heads might just be for scientific purposes.
Especially the one that belonged to Abby Someone.

[skidminix]

another reason why we love zane. you're racking them up today!
Heh heh. He said "your rack."

[Homsar]

Seems like death would be an issue. We're always so afraid of death, decay, ghosts, the unknown, and the like. They're not so scary when they're made all goofy, or when we come out of a haunted house unscathed.

[drougan]

Year by Year with Friday the 13th (http://www.avclub.com/content/feature/year_by_year_with_friday_the)

Whole books have been written about the conservative-leaning "sex = death" politics of early-'80s slasher films and the Friday The 13th series in particular. But since, the Friday The 13th saga stretches from 1980 to 2003 (so far), has it had anything else to say about the world in which we've lived? Has it changed along with that world? Can you flip past Friday The 13th Part VIII: Jason Takes Manhattan and instantly recognize that it came out in 1989?

Short answer: Yes.


Good article. Nice at work time waster. ;)

[Buzzstein]

We are fascinated by what scares us.

And many of us like the thrill of feeling scared as long as we know we are actually safe. That's why some people watch and enjoy horror movies or sky dive.

That's a big part of the Halloween phenomenon. It's a celebration of what scares us.

It's only natural.

[AvatarOfVishnu]

you have all made good points...but what i think the author was getting at is: it seems that in the past few years, there seems to be a drastic increase in the intensity of gore/horror/terror etc in our culture...whether it be in movies, video games, halloween decor, etc

now i dont believe that this is the problem, but rather it's symtomatic of an underlying problem in our society...not exactly sure i fully understand what that root problem is but i would hypothesize that it has something to do with how we are finding ourselves more isolated & less communal due to the individualization of our culture

[DaHood]

Guest op-ed piece in today's Enquirer. (http://news.enquirer.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20071031/EDIT02/710310402/1090)

BY RYAN SOUTHWORTH

BLAH BLAH BLAH BLAH BLAH BLAH BLAH BLAH BLAH BLAH BLAH...

Have fun tonight, people. :cool:

[jneale]

the enquire will print anything christian & from the right

It doesn't say anything about us other than we all like a good scare.

[Dirk]

I actually think the opposite of halloween. I miss the days when halloween was about frightening things instead of being kid friendly. I remember when I was a kid, if houses put out halloween decorations, they were macabre and scary. Now, halloween has been sanitized and made kid-friendly. Frankenstein is a big, scary monster, not a friendly looking tall green guy.

Halloween used to be all about facing fears and your own mortality. Now it is another thing that has to be appropriate so it won't have any chance of scaring even the wimpiest 5 year old.

[Mr. Mystery]

Day of the Dead or Dia le los Muertos is exactly what many people here are describing--a celebration of skeletons that takes the scariness out of death so that we can appreciate life.
http://www.destination360.com/north-america/mexico/images/s/mexico-day-of-the-dead.jpg

[Duemellon]

It has been my belief that Halloween is not about staring death in the face or trying to come to terms with mortality. If it did I'm sure it would manifest itself it more like the Day of the Dead in Latin American societies. They have "happy" skeletons who live life & do things. It's not some gruesome bone-chilling harbringer of death, but something much different than our society tells us.

Last Updated: Thursday, 1 November 2007, 00:30 GMT
Dealing with death the Mexican way (http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/americas/7067487.stm)

As Mexico holds its annual Day of the Dead celebrations, the BBC's Duncan Kennedy reports from a museum dedicated to the subject of death, believed to be the first of its kind.

Death - it's enough to scare the life out of you. Or at least that's what many Western civilisations would have you believe.

But in Latin America and especially in Mexico, they see things differently. Dying, while not to be recommended, is certainly not to be feared.

Rather it is to be celebrated as a chance to pass into an afterlife, a parallel existence that offers its own opportunities and challenges.

[akip]

Death - it's enough to scare the life out of you. Or at least that's what many Western civilisations would have you believe.

But in Latin America and especially in Mexico, they see things differently. Dying, while not to be recommended, is certainly not to be feared.

Rather it is to be celebrated as a chance to pass into an afterlife, a parallel existence that offers its own opportunities and challenges.

this is an essential point. americans may look like they've got it made on the surface, but not only are they terrified of death---they're even terrified of getting older. and they have reason to be 'cause our culture is so youth-centric, families tend to be fractured, and communities---where they exist---are easily unraveled by rapid change. getting older for many americans means increased isolation and vulnerability.

[frizgolf]

this is an essential point. americans may look like they've got it made on the surface, but not only are they terrified of death---they're even terrified of getting older. and they have reason to be 'cause our culture is so youth-centric, families tend to be fractured, and communities---where they exist---are easily unraveled by rapid change. getting older for many americans means increased isolation and vulnerability.
I agree wholeheartedly.

[dry-gulcher]

Today, here (Mitchell County) is black kitty day.
That is Nov.2 is the first day one can go get a black cat at the animal shelter, starting on first of Oct. they will not let anyone "adapt" one until today.
For good reason evil scum use them as props and worse stupid rituals.

My nearby ex. "Holly"- her two children found and brought to me a black kitty of 9months in age that escaped such, but with many injuries after 3months and 475 $ in vet bills, the little fellow died. :(

All I can say is that to you halloween revelers: I wish you all enjoy the 26,000$ in dental work, the amoxocillin, and the Hydrocodone as much as I did!