Ever feel desensitized?

As some of you might be able to attest to, I'm always on the internet. I find that when I was younger, watching movies like "Faces of Death", "Mondo Cane", etc... pretty much numbed me from horror movies in general. That is under recently, I came across some rather gory photos and videos on the web.

Seeing real life being taken away due to war, corruption, etc... has in some ways left me feeling rather desensitized. Anyone else out there share that strange feeling of almost empty and yet unresponsive to some of the bizarre stuff you've been exposed to?

Tags: and, bizarre, desensitized, movies, on, stuff, the, web, weird

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Permalink Reply by Spindaddydad on August 23, 2008 at 3:35pm: I agree. Movies are kind of like crack or heroin in that once you experience the high of something new ( an original horror or a uniquely funny comedy) it raises the bar for others of that genre and nothing less seems to get the job done. Blair Witch did that to me with the "realistic" horrors and Apatow films are beginning to do that with the "shock" comedies.; ▶ Reply to This

Permalink Reply by Howard on August 23, 2008 at 3:37pm: In a way I kind of felt "Blair Witch" had an influence on "Cloverfield".; ▶ Reply to This

Permalink Reply by Spindaddydad on August 23, 2008 at 3:52pm: Yes, I think it did too. Set off the shaky cam technique that was fresh for a while but now is way overused. We now need something else to "freshen up" our sensitivities.; ▶ Reply to This

Permalink Reply by Spindaddydad on August 23, 2008 at 6:28pm: Guy, I think you are right. Kind of like riding a roller coaster or other amusement park ride, with a horror movie we can look for the thrill of being scared but then can walk away knowing it wasn't real.; ▶ Reply to This

Permalink Reply by pihkal020 on August 23, 2008 at 7:03pm: I guess people seek mediated horror because it deludes them into thinking they have it under control somehow
with a horror movie we can look for the thrill of being scared but then can walk away knowing it wasn't real.

Not me. I am interested in the aesthetics of horror.

I agree that "real life" is far more scary. And has its own aesthetic.; ▶ Reply to This

Permalink Reply by pihkal020 on August 23, 2008 at 8:03pm: Sadly, this is probably true ;)

Very analogous to your Best Action Sequences thread...; ▶ Reply to This

Permalink Reply by Howard on August 23, 2008 at 8:09pm: I think that's why the good horror movie tries to detract from what your saying. Classic example would be "Signs"(albeit, not quite a horror), something about that significant scene where the first sighting of the alien appears. People actually screamed in theatres. While it was "just a movie" people were caught off guard(indicated less mediation that originally perceived).

However, I do completely agree that real life scares people even more.; ▶ Reply to This

Permalink Reply by pihkal020 on August 23, 2008 at 8:13pm: I think Guy and SPindaddy are spot on in terms of what most horror movies are made to do. A controlled adrenaline jolt with a cathartic "relief" by the time credits roll...; ▶ Reply to This

Permalink Reply by Rev. Mark on August 23, 2008 at 8:39pm: Try working with the mentally Ill.; ▶ Reply to This

Permalink Reply by pihkal020 on August 24, 2008 at 6:39am: Try chatting with them on here...; ▶ Reply to This

Permalink Reply by Slappy on August 25, 2008 at 8:43am: ▶ Reply to This

Permalink Reply by Slappy on August 25, 2008 at 8:41am: I don't watch them because my mind twists them into horrors beyond imagining. I can't watch them because then I scare myself. I can read horror, I can watch anime horror, etc... but live action horror movies are real enough to set my mind into horrifying, mind-blowingly real movies of its own, awake or asleep. I can watch suspense type movies but out and out gore nope, I do sick things in my head after.; ▶ Reply to This