Word of the Week #235:
For the most part, I think I have indulged in a broad range of artistic experiences.
I have read books of all kinds. I have tried music and movies and dramas covering many genres and themes as I sought to figure out what I like.
However, overall, I do have one gaping hole in my exploration: horror.
Somehow, I just never chose to try it on my own accord, and I wonder why.
Part of it may have been from the fact that I just grew up around a lot of substandard, derivative horror. The movies or shows of that nature rely on shock for their impact more than anything else, which I always found irritating.
I have read Poe’s works. I have watched a couple of Hitchcock classics. I enjoyed them—more the former than the latter—but I didn’t love them, maybe largely because of the aforementioned derivative crap.
Overall, though, how do you even define horror? Being scary? The same things cannot possibly scare everyone, right?
What scares me is not exactly horror, although it is definitely horrifying. After all, most documentaries are scarier than any horror movie you’ll ever see.
Still, I think I could try a couple of new ones. I have some reason for optimism.
Let’s see how it goes.
