I irritated college friends because I tended to laugh at a lot of horror movies. it was enough that they started having separate horror movie nights.
Then once my PTSD and bipolar kicked in horror movies started to kind of work on me.
I remember that watching many horror movies I wanted to scream, “Don’t be so stupid!”
Yeah, I remember a few that fit that.
Something similar won the purple ribbon for crafts at the county fair one year. The artist actually knitted an over-large pot holder to serve as the “canvas”, actually knitting in the colors for the sky and hills, then crocheting the rest onto it.
That’s fair, I think a lot of us Westerners feel that way when they first engage with it. I like to joke that haiku is ‘real ale poetry’… in that, it’s an acquired taste.
But seriously, I think as a form it cuts against the grain of our immediate, fast-paced lifestyle. Haiku is very mindful, and given that it trades in the currency of poetic ambiguity, a poem doesn’t always give up its secrets on the first pas. Best to read a poem slowly a few times, aloud (if practical), and then let it stew a little while.
Even then, if you don’t get it, that’s fine too. However, haiku evangelist that I am, I’m always looking for new converts.
relative. 
A nice little poem that one.
For me, it speaks to life in “this valley of tears” as one catechism puts it. So sad; so beautiful.
Enjoy the illustrations. Sort of connecting it to film, the movie (did not read the book) Where the Crawdads Sing” had as its central character a natural illustrator. With a twist at the end. And in anatomy classes, Frank Netter’s anatomical illustrations have a real beauty though of rather macabre subjects.
It’s a great genre, but I’ve always found much of it too frightening. The old “Invaders from Mars” scared the spit out of me! I did like the reboot of the Twilight Zone. And I liked “Nope.”
I remember hearing that at a campfire one night at a Methodist church summer camp; I think I was thirteen. If my memory serves correctly, it was done from memory by a narrator while one of the counselors acted it out.
I think it was the next day at lunch that once we were all seated and the camp director led us in grace that the assistant director stood up and waved at the kitchen and called, “Bring forth! Bring forth!”
I really liked Nope too. Jordan Peele is doing such a wonderful job at making good horror stories that are character and plot driven. Though I do hope that eventually he will take a stab… at making some kind of practical effects driven gory horror.
I would love to see him remake a film like “ Carnival of Souls” that is a weird horror story. There is nothing particularly terrifying in the images seen. But the film is one of the best films at building up dread through sound. It’s from 1962. It’s one of the films that is far better watched with the sound up and in black and white. On first watching it, it’s confusing because at times, the film just shows her blank faced, still and not moving, while everyone is moving around her and talking. Someone will be talking to her and she’s just clearly not there. Then suddenly it all stops, it’s just her and a person talking to her. A close up of the same scene and it’s completely silent. Then this creepy church organ song that dominates the film cuts in. So you’ll almost think your sound is messed up. But D it goes on and on, you’ll suddenly find yourself almost in this hypnotic state of looking at this still frame, silent screen and about the time you realize it , it’s because the organ suddenly cuts in. You start to understand how she’s seeing and hearing everything. She also does a super good job at expressing her feelings with just facial features.
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I like the idea of this thread but it seems to have stalled.
Would a brief discussion of the Matrix help?
The idea that reality is only in the mind? That our perception could be fooled?
In theological terms God could be controlling the program and all our understandings are orchestrated, even dictated. Would we know? All our beliefs about God are based on human understandings. Our ideas about Justice are human. The Bible claims that His thoughts are not our thoughts, but we trundle along anyway.
Just a few random thoughts (better not go there)
Richard
YES! The Matrix is full of relavent concepts.
I never realized until in the last few years how seriously people labor over the idea of all the world being a simulation. Or free will. But my challenge in this discussion is that the discussion be:
Fruitful — not just the same old “Yes it is.” “no it isn’t.” and the same old dead ends. A far more fruitful question is, “Assuming it is/is not, how should we best go about living our lives?”
Includes Left Field — That is, the discussion should seek to think of other implications of the question that people never get to, because they get stuck in the same pointless rut of a “discussion.” What would the left-field questions and ideas be? Or is it ever a Cat in tic-tac-toe?
I just watched The Blade Runner last night for the second time. I saw it for the first time in the end of its first run at the show, when I was 15. 41 years later it obviously means something quite different, and I understand some of the philosophical questions that are being asked. (At 15 I couldn’t have been aware of them.)
For the Matrix it would be along the lines of futility. As the series progresses you see that history has been repeating itself and the outcome has not been as it would at first appear.
Can we possibly oppose God? Or even affect His ultimate purposes?
Richard
Also partly my fault for starting the topic and then heading off on holiday. Whilst a long-running conversation is good, this thread can also be a space for shorter conversations as and when, or even a reflection on something cool you’ve found. A bit like the pithy-quote thread.
Ages ago I saw the first movie in the Matrix series and really liked it.
Oh, those are interesting questions, particularly in light of the movie.
I wonder how the questions are similar or different, depending on if we are talking about the Matrix, or Existence as We Know It.
For example in the Matrix (at least the first movie), there is existence outside of the simulation which people experience. So, all of existence is not only a dream-like simulation. Once “unplugged” from the simulation, the characters continue to exist and actually exist more than they had before, because they are controlling their bodies, making decisions that affect their ability to continue living, etc.
In the movie, would the AI running things be analogous to God/a god? If so, is that god/God anything like God, and how? What about the relationship between the characters in the movie and the AI contrasted with humans and God?
And completely out of left field, thinking about trying to affect God’s purposes…Another poem from James Weldon Johnson’s marvelous collection, God’s Trombones, “The Prodigal Son:”
Young man—
Young man—
Your arm’s too short to box with God.But Jesus spake in a parable, and he said:
A certain man had two sons.
Jesus didn’t give this man a name,
But his name is God Almighty.
And Jesus didn’t call these sons by name,
But ev’ry young man,
Ev’rywhere,
Is one of these two sons.And the younger son said to his father,
He said: Father, divide up the property,
And give me my portion now.And the father with tears in his eyes said: Son,
Don’t leave your father’s house.
But the boy was stubborn in his head,
And haughty in his heart,
And he took his share of his father’s goods,
And went into a far-off country.There comes a time,
There comes a time
When ev’ry young man looks out from his father’s house,
Longing for that far-off country.And the young man journeyed on his way,
And he said to himself as he travelled along:
This sure is an easy road,
Nothing like the rough furrows behind my father’s plow.Young man—
Young man—
Smooth and easy is the road
That leads to hell and destruction.
Down grade all the way,
The further you travel, the faster you go.
No need to trudge and sweat and toil,
Just slip and slide and slip and slide
Till you bang up against hell’s iron gate.And the younger son kept travelling along,
Till at night-time he came to a city.
And the city was bright in the night-time like day,
The streets all crowded with people,
Brass bands and string bands a-playing,
And ev’rywhere the young man turned
There was singing and laughing and dancing.
And he stopped a passer-by and he said:
Tell me what city is this?
And the passer-by laughed and said: Don’t you know?
This is Babylon, Babylon,
That great city of Babylon.
Come on, my friend, and go along with me.
And the young man joined the crowd.Young man—
Young man—
You’re never lonesome in Babylon.
You can always join a crowd in Babylon.
Young man—
Young man—
You can never be alone in Babylon,
Alone with your Jesus in Babylon.
You can never find a place, a lonesome place,
A lonesome place to go down on your knees,
And talk with your God, in Babylon.
You’re always in a crowd in Babylon.
And the young man went with his new-found friend,
And bought himself some brand new clothes,
And he spent his days in the drinking dens,
Swallowing the fires of hell.
And he spent his nights in the gambling dens,
Throwing dice with the devil for his soul.
And he met up with the women of Babylon.
Oh, the women of Babylon!
Dressed in yellow and purple and scarlet,
Loaded with rings and earrings and bracelets,
Their lips like a honeycomb dripping with honey,
Perfumed and sweet-smelling like a jasmine flower;
And the jasmine smell of the Babylon women
Got in his nostrils and went to his head,
And he wasted his substance in riotous living,
In the evening, in the black and dark of night,
With the sweet-sinning women of Babylon.
And they stripped him of his money,
And they stripped him of his clothes,
And they left him broke and ragged
In the streets of Babylon.Then the young man joined another crowd—
The beggars and lepers of Babylon.
And he went to feeding swine,
And he was hungrier than the hogs;
He got down on his belly in the mire and mud
And ate the husks with the hogs.
And not a hog was too low to turn up his nose
At the man in the mire of Babylon.Then the young man came to himself—
He came to himself and said:
In my father’s house are many mansions,
Ev’ry servant in his house has bread to eat,
Ev’ry servant in his house has a place to sleep;
I will arise and go to my father.
And his father saw him afar off,
And he ran up the road to meet him.
He put clean clothes upon his back,
And a golden chain around his neck,
He made a feast and killed the fatted calf,
And invited the neighbors in.Oh-o-oh, sinner,
When you’re mingling with the crowd in Babylon—
Drinking the wine of Babylon—
Running with the women of Babylon—
You forget about God, and you laugh at Death.
Today you’ve got the strength of a bull in your neck
And the strength of a bear in your arms,
But some o’ these days, some o’ these days,
You’ll have a hand-to-hand struggle with bony Death,
And Death is bound to win.Young man, come away from Babylon,
That hell-border city of Babylon.
Leave the dancing and gambling of Babylon,
The wine and whiskey of Babylon,
The hot-mouthed women of Babylon;
Fall down on your knees,
And say in your heart:
I will arise and go to my Father.
@SkovandOfMitaze , I found this Christianity Today article on horror interesting. I still have trouble with anything stronger than “Anne of Green Gables,” let alone “The Village,” but am glad others can see joy in them.
How Horror Uncovers Our ‘Holy’ Hypocrisy | Christianity Today
Ooops–I just realized there is a pay wall. I am sorry!
I can send you a PM with some of the info, if you like.
Thanks for the thoughtful posts.
I was able to read it.
Really like article. I like how they are open to the realization that horror can be used to showcase evil gs good.
I thought it was funny they considered Burton’s films as dark horror and gargoyles as gory lol.
On Netflix, at least in USA, there is a trending show called “ the chosen one “ which is a Spanish reimagining of “American Jesus” and it’s good. The story parallels that of Jesus in many ways. It’s not horror, but there are elements that border it. It’s ultimately a story about good vs evil.
Totally off topic…
Do you know of anyplace to get a copy of the original theater version of Blade Runner? I really can’t stand the Director’s Cut but that’s all I can find.
That’s what I have. After 41 one years and only one viewing, I can hardly compare.
Sorry.
Searching around a bit, I see that @jay313, @mitchellmckain and @klax have all discussed the film. Maybe others, too. They might be able to help.
For me the appeal of horror is only that it frequently touches on so many other things: science fiction, fantasy, and even spiritual topics. But horror for the sake of horror alone doesn’t appeal to me very much. When the monsters of the film are too real (too human), I am not interested.
For example… “The Shining” is one of the most popular of Stephen King’s horror flicks. But I can’t stand it at all. I have no interest in watching a man loosing his mind and attacking his own family. I guess my favorite of Stephen King is honestly “It” (old one, haven’t even seen the new one) – after all, the film actually inspired me to read the book, which doesn’t happen with me often.
As for “Blade Runner,” my copy is also the director’s cut. I will not say I cannot stand it, but I did like the narration Harrison Ford did in the theater version so didn’t like its removal.
I am kind of the same way. I prefer my fiction to be fairly removed from reality. Though Slashers are often similar to reality. I feel that the Shinning gets further removed from reality when understood in light of Dr. Sleep.
Outside of horror, kind of anyways, I’ve also have always found it interesting that fairy tales were not always just viewed as children’s story but were a way to develop the moral compass of a nation. Some things even Suggest Brothers Grimm were collecting Germanic folklore in order to understand the legal system. It seems that at one time these stories were told just as much as biblical ones were told.
“Let your conversation be always full of grace, seasoned with salt, so that you may know how to answer everyone.” -Colossians 4:6
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