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![Frankenstein, or the Modern Prometheus. [By M. W. Shelley.] by Mary Shelley](http://d.gr-assets.com/books/1348031936m/14052758.jpg "Frankenstein, or the Modern Prometheus. [By M. W. Shelley.] by Mary Shelley")
22nd out of 56 books
—
17 voters
The Philosophy of Horror: Or, Paradoxes of the Heart
by
Noël Carroll
Noel Carroll, film scholar and philosopher, offers the first serious look at the aesthetics of horror. In this book he discusses the nature and narrative structures of the genre, dealing with horror as a "transmedia" phenomenon. A fan and serious student of the horror genre, Carroll brings to bear his comprehensive knowledge of obscure and forgotten works, as well as of th...more
Paperback, 268 pages
Published
January 19th 1990
by Routledge
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From the roots of horror during the Age of Enlightenment (so the author believes) to its modern (circa 1990) incarnations, the author attempts to discern the appeal of horror in its multifarious forms.
Straight out of the gate the author attempts a curiously restricted definition of horror: there must be a monster; anything that doesn't have a beastie to abhor isn't horror (or "arthorror" and he terms it). Although I'm inclined to disagree his arguments are well reasoned enough. What follows is e...more
Straight out of the gate the author attempts a curiously restricted definition of horror: there must be a monster; anything that doesn't have a beastie to abhor isn't horror (or "arthorror" and he terms it). Although I'm inclined to disagree his arguments are well reasoned enough. What follows is e...more
The Philosophy of Horror is a virtuoso treatise of philosophy on the horror genre. It is intensely and rigorously argued and witty at times,as well. It is also full of pertinent insights on this popular entertainment and the psychological mechanism that makes so many people receptive to it. It is also quite a good book to read if you enjoy the philosophical spirit and thought process. Carroll brings much erudition to bear on his topic, including Hume, Freud, Jung, and an encyclopedic knowledge o...more
Although this is a useful approach to the horror genre, addressing significant questions - what is horror? why do we have such strong emotional responses to things we know to be false? why would we want to have such responses? - and proposing interesting responses to these questions, the book could be cut by at least half if the author removed all repetitions of his points. That is to say, Carroll's arguments could be made just as clearly, thoroughly, and convincingly in less than half the time...more
Noel Carroll's work on the study of horror as a genre throughout time is challenging to properly review. My major problem with the book is that it appears to attempt to tackle the philosophy of horror - or, as Caroll puts it, the questions of why people subject themselves to being horrified and why we are scared of beings we know do not exist - from both a philosophical point of view, and from a cultural study approach. Chapters 2 and 3 of his book, for example, could and probably should have be...more
Amazingly clear, and concise, and an approachable, intellectualism.
Excellent, excellent, excellent. May need to take a month, just to absorb what I just read. Very comprehensive, insightful, and illuminating.
Apparently Noel Carroll is the king of missing the point. I wish somebody had told me that before I started reading this silly little book. It should probably say so in the author bio or something, to prevent others from making the same mistake I did.
I guess there are a handful of useful points in the first couple of chapters, but I really couldn't recommend this to anyone but the most masochistic of academics.
I guess there are a handful of useful points in the first couple of chapters, but I really couldn't recommend this to anyone but the most masochistic of academics.
The idea of applying analytic philosophy to horror is misplaced and inappropriate and sucked the soul out of the subject matter. Though focusing on mostly popular American cinema there wasn't a lot of soul left to stuck.
There's some interesting information in here about Horror but it's too dense. It's like reading a graduate thesis.
Dec 29, 2012
Henrik
rated it
4 of 5 stars
Recommended to Henrik by:
Blackwell Companion of Aesthetics (collection)
Shelves:
horror,
philosophy
Re-reading this one because I have begun work on my final thesis at the University.
I enjoyed this book, but didn't agree with a lot of the ideas proposed.
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Aug 24, 2011 04:27am