The art of the macabre Reading Stephen King's work on our longing for horror films as a deep desire to see violence, hatred and the threat of others has raised a alarming number of shareable points. Every paragraph and every sentence is well condensed into a work that analyzes the human condition quite accurately, without wasting time making the point clear. However, one shouldn't expect much less from King. His experience in the matter made it very clear to him from day one why he could see this tendency in human nature and why we love the work he is best known for representing. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on "Why Violent Video Games Shouldn't Be Banned"? Get an Original Essay To reframe King's piece about our love of horror, one must examine the biological creature that is our human brain. From the beginning of our species to where we are now, our physical structure remains essentially the same, especially on an instinctive level. Sure, our time in civilizations has allowed us to create standards of social behavior and a moral compass against the most basic crimes like violence and cruelty, but at our core we remain the same creatures who took pleasure in watching two men enter an arena, and one comes out alive. Although over time social standards and values have pushed us to repress this desire to see violence in reality and in public, we feel much less shame in openly enjoying a piece of fiction like Friday the 13th. The lust for violence is in us as much as much as our love for pro-civilization sentiments: it's just a matter of indulging in our “mentally ill side” when the time is right and the audience is minimal. At its essence, King's work fundamentally explains that we are all a little mentally ill and that horror stories are where we need to embrace that. Where else can this inner mental illness be applied? Well, for starters, why not look at the modern form of Gladiator rings - UFC fights. For more theatrical presentation, modern wrestling channels get the same point. Whether actually performed or simply dramatized (Looking at you, wrestling), these shows are a means for us to get incredibly excited about what is essentially two people trying to kill each other with a few rules in the mix. You see, this is where the civilized element comes in. However, there is a line to be drawn with this mental illness of ours. When he pushes us to act on violent tendencies and commit murder, then "we'll make you clap on the fun farm" (King 526). But, if it's just simple satisfaction to watch an evil madness unfold at Camp Crystal Lake, then you're safe enough to "be left alone to mind your own business" (King 526). In modern times, we have learned to shove our desire for real-world violence down a cynical, barred corridor of our minds, but while this is hidden, we let it show in fiction as if we were deranged while running away...
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