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The Problem of Identity in Contemporary Japanese Horror Films
Discussing the question of horror attractiveness, described in Timothy Iles article The Problem of Identity in Contemporary Japanese Horror Films we may distinct a notable point, which makes authors opinion unique and differ Japanese horror films from Western horror movies especially in contrast with Noel Carrolls investigation.
Contemporary Japanese horror movies are highly differed from western films. The fact is conditioned on several reasons which mostly lay in the spheres of economic, cultural and historical development of the country. Nowadays urban culture influences minds and souls of Japanese citizens. All people have the fear of the unknown, alien factors. Though, for Japan as highly conservative country which passed through years of absolute isolation this fear is much stronger. Moreover, the feeling of identity loosing increased in the circumstances instability which threatened to change everything and became a kind of a norm. Everything changed: economic, culture, industry. It resulted into the loss of comfort feeling and place in life: This lost feeling of being at home is in fact a lost sense of self, a lost sense of identity operational within one particular generational group (Iles, 2005).
Timothy Iles determines main reason of watching horror movies for an average Japanese citizen as the escape from severe reality: horror& emerge in cinema as a reflection of this social condition (Iles, 2005). The author tells about significant questions of self-identification, which are somehow or other rose in Japanese horror genre while Noel Carroll in his work interprets Western horror movies as only films, which evoke curiosity and invite people to receive pleasure from shocking but still cognitive facts. Japanese horror films do not suppose any enjoyment; they offer a pessimistic vision of the problems they tell about: what presents itself through Japanese horror is the certainty of a dystopic vision, the confidence of a destruction of hope (Iles, 2005).
What is Horror Fiction?
Speaking about the nature of Horror as an Art genre we doubtlessly come to controversial definitions which do not represent the whole meaning of the notion. Noel Carroll investigates the nature of horror genre and describes it as the genre which awakes and nourishes our curiosity of unknown. The author supposes that phenomena which are disgusting and repelling in real life become attractive if they are represented in an aesthetic form. Interesting, unusual narration attracts public, teases its curiosity and provokes to watch and find out the history and nature of horror producing characters. The author describes movies which mostly depict monsters, ghosts, mad scientists, etc. as terrifying factors.
Though Stanley Wiater in his article devoted to the nature of horror as a genre offers another definition which describes horror as emotion, which evokes fear: What makes horror literature so pervasive is that its need to evoke the necessary atmosphere and sense of emotional dread is utterly dependent on who we are as readers (Stanley Wiater, 2009). We are afraid of various things in different ages, and in fact, even usual factors may provoke the horror feeling. It may be an incurable disease, or impossibility to control some things in our life. Elements of horror are seen in many pieces of élite literature, for example, Edgar Allan Pos short stories. The author tells that real horror writers disguise themselves as authors of others genres, such as fantasy, thriller, etc.
Comparing these two observations of horror nature, we see, that Carrolls work describes the products of mass culture while the What is Horror Fiction? depicts horror as a phenomenon, which is closely connected with psychic, mystic, fantasy, and other works of art, a part of culture, somehow or other connected with high Art.
Horror is not a genre, says the author. We may understand it as an element, some special spice, which adds a unique flavor to a piece of literary or cinema Art.
References
Iles, T. (2005). The Problem of Identity in Contemporary Japanese Horror Films. Electronic journal of contemporary Japanese studies.
Wiater, S. (2009). What is Horror Fiction? Web.
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