Well’s Research and Cohen’s Moral

Panic

Paul Well’s Research in to Horror Audiences

•Well’s conducted a small focus group study in 2000 involving 12 members of each of the following age groups: 16-25, 26-40, 41-55, 56-80• He asked them what horror film they had first seen and what

the most recent one was too see how different age groups reacted to the different types of horror as well as what interested them about it because the genre has changed over time

His ResultsAge Group Earliest Film Latest Film Conclusions

56-80 years(1920-1944)

Nosferatu Dead of Night They had an interest in horror when they were younger. Most were scared of the dark but no supernatural elements as they experienced the real horror of WW2 and therefore dislike imaginary horror.

41-55 years(1945-1959)

House of Wax Halloween Most disliked horror as a whole. They found more modern films, such as The Excorist, too violent and frightening.

26-40 years(1960-1974)

Night of the Living Dead Silence of the Lambs Disengagement with the whole genre. They disliked the predictability of the films and often preferred US horror to British horror. Noticed that women had more important, less passive, roles.

16-25 years(1975-1984)

The Exorcist Jurassic Park They enjoyed the spectacle created – bloodletting and gore. Understood that the film was artifice and engaged with the production of the film.

Overall• The results of the experiment show that as time passes, people’s fears change and

adapt to the horrors of the real world at that time as well as general situations taking place• In the earliest days of horror people were terrified of blood and gore but once films,

such as Texas Chainsaw Massacre, came about people became more desensitised to these effects and therefore this became less scary, allowing other aspects to scare instead, such as Religion• The youngest group appeared hardest to scare or shock as they’ve seen it all and old

scares, such as gore, became more commonplace in general on-screen narratives and are now fairly normal to see• This small sample of people can show the general outline of how people are reacting

to horror but it may not be completely accurate due to the lack of people involved

Stanley Cohen’s ‘Moral Panic’

• Stanley Cohen’s theory of moral panic occurs when a condition, episode, person or group of people emerges to become defined as a threat to societal values and interests• The media plays a massive role in enforcing moral panic by its

constant broadcasting. The media’s response and representation of the certain situation helps to define it, communicate it and influences those who view media on any platform to observe and adopt the ‘panic’

Applying to a Horror Film• ‘The Purge’ (2013) is a good example of moral panics being used as

the fear in a horror film as it portrays a corrupt Government in the US• The moral panic here is crime, especially the lack of gun control and

with the third instalment of the film series, The Purge: Election Year, having been released this year, it shows the fear America is in regarding the presidential election• Other examples of moral panics being used in more modern horror is

films such as ‘Unfriended’ where the horror is all online, this can evoke fear because people are living a lot more digitally in the present day and everyone relies on technology now