Copyright © 2005 Will Cuprill
Machiavelli Hangman
http://www.hangmanmovie.com
The beauty of Steven Spielberg's horror class Jaws is not due to
all the special effects of makeup, but the overwhelming pressure
that the film puts on the audience's imagination.
Recent studies show that the five human senses relate to fear
differently. While many may think that sight is the first trigger
for fear might be surprised to find out that it is in fact touch.
Doctor French Capotelli of CAF offered an explanation.
FC: You might see a lion coming towards you. You might
hear it. You might smell it. But all those imply the fatalistic
last stage of death which only possible at touch," says
Will Curpill: So you may ask how it is possible that Jaws
became such a great horror sensation. Audiences didn't hear the
shark, the heard the music. They didn't even see it. Obviously
they didn't smell it or touch it either.
FC: The filmmakers were smart because they didn't go with
the one sense that most horror films capitalize one, which is
sight. They went straight for the source which is the brain and
the organ that processes the fear that comes from the five
instigators and creates fear. They used a process that is called
behavior association pushing which means that they send out
information to the brain that would be created if the five senses
are processing data that would turn into fear.
WC: Can you give us an example?
FC: Surely. If you can recall the music that Spielberg
used in Jaws, you will remember it was a very repetitious and
eerie sound. The brain associates that sound with a heart beat or
labored breathing or the throbbing of your head when you are
anxious. However, the brain and the heart are not in those states
of hyperactivity so to make sense of the data, the brain sends
out signals to trigger those organs. This is why when you watch a
horror film, your heart beat goes up and you get sweaty palms,
it's your body trying to make sense and keep you up to date with
the information you're receiving.
WC: And this made for the success of Jaws and perhaps the
Ring?
FC: Absolutely, the Ring is another prime example. There
are images and sounds that the filmmakers use and because the
viewer is not able to connect that date directly to the film, the
brain automatically prepares the viewer in case the source of
those sounds comes from behind or anywhere in the dark space of
the theatre.
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Will Cuprill is a movie reviewer. And,
he wants you to know about the upcoming
movie, "Machiavelli Hangman".
http://www.hangmanmovie.com