Essay 1

Stephen King discusses the idea that we need to soothe the crazy inside our bodies, but for some people, horror movies do not help.  Horror movies cannot satisfy our crazy minds, because they do not depict our type of crazy.  Horror movies are fictional; they are not based on our lives.  Our lives are more like people who scream on the train, not like killing people, which we see in horror movies.  Horror movies cannot fill some of the emotional void which some people consider crazy.  For example, “crazy cat ladies,” who need to continuously collect cats.  Nothing depicted in the horror movies can help someone with such an every day condition to soothe their urges.  People like the cat ladies, dealing with personal tragedies or mental illnesses, will search for alternative outlets.  No scare, blood, gore, or guts can replace what some other needs to function.

According to Stephen King, we are all crazy, but horror movies have nothing to do with it.  Personal tragedies that take place in our lives, are what actually creates our crazy.  Events such as rape, lack of role models, and loss of people or things of importance in our lives are responsible for our crazy.  Rape victims are affected in many ways after the tragedy occurs.  Personal relationships between family members, loved ones, and others around them, become abnormal. The lack of role models easily affects your sanity.  Everyone needs someone to view as an example, and without that you live your life structure-less.  This may cause you to do crazy things—making you “crazy.”  As King stated, we are all crazy, but in an extent from our past histories.

Actual mental illnesses are not helped by horror movies.  Most scenes in these horror movies are violent and explicit, leaving those affected with actual mental illnesses with different moods and emotions.   Some of these are drug abusers, psychopaths, and bi-polar patients.  Drug abuse cannot be helped by horror movies because of its hold on the user.  Horror movies can make the addict crave because they are seeing it.  Psychopaths are not helped by horror movies, either.  Since the majority of these horror films are violent, psychopaths will be influenced to do what they see, and engage in crazy acts.  As for bi-polar patients, who normally have severe mood swings and episodes of depression, the screaming, running, crying, and seeing others killed is not good for them. Horror movies impact their minds negatively;  therefore, actual mental illness is not helped by horror movies.