Horror Europa with Mark Gatiss

(Broadcast Tuesday 30th October 2012 on BBC Four)

Still taken from BBC iPlayer

I've never really been a fan of horror, I'm a bit too jumpy and very easily scared by it, but I thought this documentary following the story of European horror films was really interesting. I especially found it interesting to note how the "baton" was passed from country to country. This reminded me of how different countries have had thee art of the time throughout history (Italy and the Renaissance, Germany and Expressionism) I was especially interested to find out that horror films reflect ad demonstrate fears within the society they are met. For example, early German horror films reflected the atrocities and fears of the war. The settings of destructed buildings as well as the creepy lighting and sentiments all mirror societies anxieties. It was also interesting to note the crossover between art and cinema of the time. For example, the above picture shows German Expressionist artwork for the film "Der Januskopf" (1920)

Gatiss proposed that in more recent times horror films had been used to show Spanish societies memories of its dictatorship with "Pans Labyrinth" and the environmental consequences of new technology in zombie film "The Living Dead at The Manchester Morgue". Of course there are/were many horror films made with purely commercial motives. But it made me think how much horror in film has moved away from German Expressionism and exaggerated sets/costumes, or Italian horrors such as "Deep Red" with incredibly intense colour, to a much more realist vision of films such as "The Orphanage". Even with films that depict monsters, ghosts and supernatural beings that we can't completely fathom or that terrify us, the setting becomes so much more based on reality than ever before. I think this realist path is mirrored in music and other genres of film too - even traditional forms of art.

Films like "This Is England" really fulfill that "my life" story for a lot of people, and we have become obsessed with watching things be represented back to us in a very realistic manner. People like gritty and not fanciful. For example, "counter cinema" is so acclaimed now; the story with a lack of narrative and realistic thread is so highly regarded. In a world of apparent "connection" with new media, people seek representations of themselves for comfort and justification more than ever. People like to watch themselves. A Uses and Gratifications theory reading might presume this is for human connection and understanding, but can that be all it is? Connection and understanding doesn't require a literal carbon copy of yourself, abstract works like "Waiting for Godot" or "Eraserhead" could surely provide all of the understanding and communication someone could need, but these aren't obvious reproductions, so why do we like them so much now? And why do we seek it so much in artistic forms? Film is a tool that can be used to create infinite worlds or make anything happen - the impossible even, so why should we want to see film make happen what we do everyday?

Even with music this could be said to be happening and have been happening for a long time - since punk even. In "Panic" Morrissey sang -

"Burn down the disco

Hang the blessed DJ

Because the music that they constantly play

It says nothing to me about my life"

I think this is a sentiment very relevant to now. 

"Ash Wednesday" by George Shaw
From artrabbit.com

This move can also be seen in some areas of the visual art world. For example, last years Turner Prize nominee and panelist for this year's John Moore's Painting Prize, George Shaw paints pictures typical to us all of suburban life - the Modernist sentiment of paying attention to that which is always there but rarely noticed (e.g left). People want to see things real to themselves, to relate to it, or to form a relationship with it perhaps. Could this mean that the surreal has gone, or is just around the corner?