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Halloween And Hollywood
No other reminder of Halloween is more visible than Hollywood movies themselves. In addition, we're not just talking about high-budget horror movies here. Even the budget movies (B-movies) or "splatter" films are firm reminders of the strangeness and utter mystery of human life itself.
After all, movies are simply mirrors of real life. While it's not reality itself, it's still a fun idea if Halloween was more than just the age-old tradition of giving kids and adults their yearly good scare.
Horror movies & Halloween
Cultural issues often complement each other. They develop beside each other, offering each other a sort of synergy that helps them survive. This is the main reason why the movie industry continues to slowly define (and redefine) what "horror" really is.
To find out what scares people, Hollywood goes deep into the imagination of the general public. They take note of the desires, fears, and motivations of groups and individuals. This is how they come up with truly scary movies -- those that remind people of what they truly fear, such as the absence of freedom.
How Things Started In The 70's
Horror movies started to take off in the 70's, and subsequently became associated with the season of Halloween. The usual images of scarecrows and Jack-o-Lanterns were given new meanings and symbolism.
These two images used to represent more mellow things, such as the harvest season. When Hollywood revamped the public notion of Halloween, the images suddenly gained an evil, demonic identity. Scarecrows suddenly carried scythes and moved with bloodlust.
In short, Halloween was the time of the year where even the cutest chipmunks can become rabid rodents out for blood. It was a way for people to scare themselves silly and come back out alive.
A Hodgepodge of Emotions
Yes, people don't like being frightened. However, what makes horror movies like Wait until Dark palatable to the public? It was the idea that something so scary could be packaged to become less frightening and controllable.
That's the difference between movies and real life -- when tragedies happen in real life, it's often out of the hands of people. This is why people would much rather not deal with real life tragedies -- they don't like the idea of not being in control.
But when the same terrible events become something you can pop into your DVD player and enjoy in the comforts of home, they become under your total control. They are suddenly less frightening, and even kids can appreciate the scare they bring.
For the kids
This is the reason why adults love celebrating Halloween -- it puts them in control of things. Without Halloween, grown-ups would be hard-pressed to find ways to explain fear, death, and horror movies to their kids.
Halloween makes death and other terrible things seem less scary. Parades, parties, masks, costumes, and candy give the whole issue an enjoyable feel, bringing the message across in a much more tolerable way.
The message is this: no matter how horrible real life may seem, there's always a chance that we will be able to control it. The way seems to be muddled at the moment, but let's enjoy ourselves while we seek it.
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