Tananarive Due on How Horror Reflects Society and Collective Trauma

The Evolution of Horror

• 💡 Horror has transformed from simple escapism into a cultural reflection, tackling systemic oppression and collective trauma.
• ✍️ Writer and filmmaker Tananarive Due discusses how this evolution has occurred, noting that current times contribute to the success of her novel, 'The Reformatory,' which explores themes of historical injustice and fear.

Defining Horror and Its Impact

• 😨 Horror's primary function is to elicit dread, which can be achieved through supernatural elements or by confronting real-life horrors.
• 🎭 Metaphor is crucial in horror, allowing creators to explore difficult themes like racism through fantastical elements such as zombies or demons, rather than direct depictions of real-world atrocities.
• 🎬 Films like 'Sinners' and 'Get Out' are highlighted as examples of horror that successfully blend entertainment with deeper social commentary.

Personal Connections to Horror

• 👨‍👩‍👧‍👦 Tananarive Due's mother, a civil rights activist, introduced her to horror films, finding solace in them due to her own experiences with trauma.
• 👻 Early horror films like 'The Fly' and 'The Mole People' resonated with Due due to themes of helplessness, voicelessness, and the exploitation of perceived 'monsters.'
• 🧠 Horror can be a way to relate to the marginalized or those society frames as monsters, reflecting personal experiences of mistreatment.

Horror as a Mirror to Society

• 🌍 Genre films, including horror, reflect the moment they are made, incorporating modern sensibilities and messaging.
• 🏙️ Contemporary horror often speaks to current anxieties, such as the fear of home invasion or kidnapping, making these themes feel less far-fetched.
• 🎭 Films like 'Hereditary' and 'Get Out' are praised for their exploration of generational trauma and modern views on racism and microaggressions.

The Function of Horror

• 🎢 Horror provides a rollercoaster ride of emotions, offering entertainment on the surface while conveying deeper meanings underneath.
• 🧠 It serves as a tool for venting fears and processing anxieties, allowing audiences to confront difficult emotions through fantasy.
• 📖 Horror can act as a form of rehearsal for survival behaviors, teaching viewers to trust instincts, run, hide, or fight, as seen in the 'run, hide, fight' paradigm.
• 📚 The genre is also a space for exploring universal themes like grief, with films like 'The Babaduke' and 'Hereditary' using monsters to represent overwhelming emotional states.

Evolving Tropes and Representation

• 🧛‍♂️ Classic horror tropes, like vampires, are evolving, with films like 'Sinners' using them to explore themes of cultural vampirism and the exploitation of communities.
• ♀️ Horror has historically been a space for women's stories, with recent films exploring themes of female friendship, toxic girlhood, and the complexities of AI through female characters.
• 🌍 There's a growing appreciation for diversity in storytelling within horror, as novelty and fresh perspectives are key to scaring audiences.
• 🗣️ While some worry about a retreat from political messaging in mainstream horror, films like 'Get Out' demonstrate horror's power to spark cultural conversations and reach a broad audience.