Bibliography

Emmons, Mark. Bellmore, Audra. “LibGuides: World Filmmakers: A Critical List of Books (February 2013): Psychoanalytic Film Theory.” Libguides.com, 2013, ala-choice.libguides.com/c.php?g=457077&p=3123851.

Freud, Sigmund. (1923). The Ego and the Id. The Standard Edition of the Complete Psychological Works of Sigmund Freud, Volume XIX (1923-1925): The Ego and the Id and Other Works, 1-66

“Id, Ego and Superego.” Simplypsychology.org, 2020, www.simplypsychology.org/psyche.html#:~:text=According%20to%20Freud’s%20psychoanalytic%20theory,id%20and%20the%20super%2Dego.

Scholarly

“The Psychology of Fear | Concordia University, St. Paul Online.” CSP Online, 13 July 2020, online.csp.edu/resources/article/pyschology-of-fear/.

– Factors or reasons leading to the liking of Horror. This article explains What is the psychology of fear, and why are people drawn to thrill-seeking entertainment? Experts navigate through the biological occurrences that could explain the captivation of thrillers in the human brain and its activities.

Martin, G. Neil. “(Why) Do You like Scary Movies? A Review of the Empirical Research on Psychological Responses to Horror Films.” Frontiers in Psychology, vol. 10, Oct. 2019, https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2019.02298.

– Psychological thrillers explore their characters’ innermost thoughts and motivations, allowing us to examine how their decisions propel the plot forward into the extremes of human ethics and morality. It would be instructive to study whether those audiences are high and low in empathy or sensation seeking and whether individuals who like horror films and those who dislike horror films would generate different SRs. Suspense and resolution of suspense are two important components of horror and our response to horror films. A study was performed. (Tamborini and Stiff (1987)). The study composed of 155 people (78 men; average age 21 years) attending a horror film in a US Midwestern city to which the men and women attended for distinct reasons: men attended because they sought sensation and to experience the destructive nature of the horror while women attended because of they wanted to experience a just ending.

 

Burnett, Dean. “Thriller: Why Do Our Brains Allow Us to Enjoy Being Scared?” The Guardian, The Guardian, 28 Oct. 2016, www.theguardian.com/science/brain-flapping/2016/oct/28/thriller-why-do-our-brains-allow-us-to-enjoy-being-scared-halloween.

– There is the vital region of the brain that produces pleasure and good feelings whenever we do something that the brain fundamentally “approves” of. When you are experiencing prominent levels of fear, the more fundamental brain processes think you are in danger. And thus, people experience enjoyment and pleasure from being scared, and happily pay for the privilege by buying films or books that scare us or joining in when everyone runs around scaring everyone else. Humans are very quick to fear things, overall, we seem our brains do enjoy being scared.

“The Psychology behind Why We Love (or Hate) Horror.” Harvard Business Review, 26 Oct. 2021, hbr.org/2021/10/the-psychology-behind-why-we-love-or-hate-horror.

One reason we consume horror is to experience stimulation. Exposure to terrifying acts, or even the anticipation of those acts, can stimulate us — both mentally and physically — in opposing ways: negatively (in the form of fear or anxiety) or positively (in the form of excitement or joy).

 

Peer-Reviewed

Biesen, Sheri Chinen. “Psychology in American Film Noir and Hitchcock’s Gothic Thrillers.” Americana (Hollywood, Calif.), vol. 13, no. 1, 2014.

– European émigré directors such as Hitchcock, Wilder, and Preminger were influential in cultivating a distinctly dark psychological breed of American noir films during World War II. These films used psychology to evade screen censorship and enable endorsement from the American film industry Production Code censors. American noir crime films presented an indicator of American cultural views of psychology during the 1940s. Hitchcock’s Spellbound conveyed psychology, psychologists, mental illness, and an asylum in a dark shrouded style.

Demas, Alexis, and David Tillot. “Pathological Laughing and Psychotic Disorder: The Medical Evaluation of the Joker.” Acta Neurologica Belgica, vol. 120, no. 6, Mar. 2020, pp. 1379–82, https://doi.org/10.1007/s13760-020-01332-3.

– In the psychological thriller film Joker, released in 2019 and starring Joaquin Phoenix in the first role, another origin story for this iconic character is reported. It brings us medical elements for the understanding of the development of this complex character. We discover a lonely, timid, and uncharismatic man (Arthur Fleck). He is suffering from psychobehavioral disorders and seems depressed. He suffers from psychotic symptoms with visual delusions. The author wishes to explore the neuropsychiatric symptoms complicating TBI from which he seems to suffer, and which have been reported in the literature.

 

Journals

Hitchcock, Alfred. “Why Thrillers Thrive.” Picturegoer 18 January 1936: 15.

– Alfred Hitchcock says that the audience feels a sense of safety in our subconscious, so it’s fine to imagine ourselves in dangerous situations, and that we thrive on thrills, which thrillers provide. He says that by combining the more exciting thrillers, the more they will thrive. Alfred Hitchcock believed that we watch thrillers to escape from everyday life. That engagement comes from

 

Articles

Dr. Yoo Jung, Kim M.D. “Why Do We Love Psychological Thrillers?” Psychology Today, 2021

– Psychological thrillers explore their characters’ innermost thoughts and motivations, allowing us to examine how their decisions propel the plot forward into the extremes of human ethics and morality. Dr. Yoo Jung presents an answer for the Considering unsettling questions raised by psychological thrillers, why do readers find them so compelling? The Imagination of feeling, imagination of prediction, the depiction of something so close to reality that it almost feels unrealistic. The words of author and producer Jean Hanff Korelitz says, “As the writer, I have certain advantages here, given that I have complete access to my characters’ histories, experiences, and inner lives, including their psychological and emotional proclivities. As creatures I’ve created in circumstances I’ve also created, it isn’t difficult to imagine how they’ll behave.” And, of course, the most essential component of any psychological thriller is the climax and ensuing denouement.

Delgado, Jennifer. “What Horror Movies Do to Your Brain.” Psychology Spot, Jennifer Delgado Suárez, 27 Apr. 2016

– There are many things that happen to the body and brain when watching a horror film. You experience fear-induced trauma that becomes a fake sense of reality. The Arousal Transfer Theory indicates that we enjoy watching horror movies because they create negative feelings that intensify the positive feelings we experience at the end of the film. Horror or violent movies help us manage our own fear, or they are a morbid curiosity.

Vinita Dawra Nangia. “Why Are We Obsessed with Psychological Thrillers?” Times of India Blog, Times of India, 15 Sept. 2019, timesofindia.indiatimes.com/blogs/O-zone/why-are-we-obsessed-with-psychological-thrillers/.

– A compulsive need to examine broken behavior patterns and take an adrenaline ride through the twists and turns of crime fiction fascinates us all with the genre! Psychological thrillers and crime fiction have become the world’s leading choice in genre for books as well as movies. For some of us, nothing can beat the excitement of having a good psychological thriller to look forward to reading or watching.

Tartakovsky, Margarita. “Why Some People Love Horror Movies.” Psych Central, Psych Central, 9 May 2022, psychcentral.com/blog/why-some-people-love-horror-movies-while-others-hate-them#recap.

– Some people cannot get enough of scary movies, while others can barely sit through the scariest scenes of a Hallmark mystery. Experts share four explanations for why people like scary movies and plausible reasons why people hate scary movies.

 

Dr. Krakowski, Andrzej PhD. Observation for screenwriting course lecture. Target, MCA: Screenwriting Workshop 1, 32300. The City College of New York, NY: 160 Convent Ave, New York, NY 10031. 23, Nov. 2022.

• Field Observation
  MCA: Screenwriting Workshop 1, 32300; Synchronus
  This course examines the fundamental principles and forms of narrative storytelling and their expression through the screenplay format. Emphasis is placed on the elements that create drama and conflict, and particular attention will be given to visual storytelling. The course will also examine the similarities and differences between the short and long narrative forms and compare various storytelling models and strategies.
• On Wednesday, November 23rd located in The City College of New York’s North Academic Center in Harlem, NY @10:30 am. I will observe this course under the consultation of film producer Dr. Andrzej Krakowski Ph.D under the Film and Video Production and MFA Film Program. The goal here is to understand an in-depth look at story, structure, and more while also understanding how to use description, dialogue and setting to develop a story’s character or narrative. I will construct a visual representation of what I observe throughout this course while also answering any questions that I might have within an hour and thrity minutes of class time.

Woodley-Gift, Edwarne. Personal Interview. 8, Dec. 2022.

• Personal Interview
• I will sit down in an Interview with fellow classmate and horror film viewer, Edwarne Woodley- Gift on Thursday December 8th 2022 between 2:30 – 3:00 pm to further understand the concepts of behaviors and attitudes toward horror and thriller films.