Analysis IV:  Formulas

Popular culture formula is the tendencies of different stories or situation to turn out a certain way based on what it is about.  An example would be love stories, although the story may be different, the couple lives happily ever after.  (Browne, P. & Browne, R.B. 2005).    According to Browne, P. & Browne, R.B. 2005, “In effect, the romance, crime novel, adventure novel, and all others are like western; only the names, characters and atmosphere are different.” 

Popular culture formula can be applied to horror movies because the audience watches the films for excitement, entertainment and for the thrill of the intense situations or scenes.  Horror films can be predictable as well.  According to Case Study 3 n.d., “Horror is the stuff of legend and the basis for all our nightmares. The well-worn cliché of a group of people sitting around a campfire and telling ghost stories is possibly rooted in ancient practices. Perhaps this is why the opening scene from many a film or television series begins with someone starting to tell a story, often at night, whilstsitting around the ubiquitous campfire. An audience will recognize this as one of the first signals that we are about to be told something frightening.”  Horror films have constantly been reinvented and the following elements can all be found in horror films:  the monster, the gothic, the devil incarnate, aliens, the horror character, and the horror comedy.  (Case Study 3, n.d.).  It is generalized, that horror films are all going to end on a bad note, that someone is going to die, get hurt or be lost, and that the “monster” will never really be dead.  There is always a scene where the walking bad guy is chasing the running good guy, the good guy falls down and the bad guy is able to catch him.

The insights gained from applying formula to horror films is that even though the story is different, all horror films are the same.  Only names, characters and sceneries change.

References

Browne, P. & Browne, R.B. (2005). Profiles of popular culture. Madison, WI.

Case study 3:  the horror genre. (n.d.). Retrieved April 28, 2013 from http://cw.routledge.com/textbooks/9780415448239/downloads/horror.pdf.