These Days
Sophia Chryssovergis
Area: Graphic Design
Sophia Chryssovergis
Thesis Statement
Horror is a genre of fiction created to intentionally induce fear and shock within an audience. These are emotions that humans do not normally relish, yet the genre has found great success since its inception with the Gothic novel in the 18th century. Doctor of philosophy John Morreall posits that the control viewers have over fictional experiences is what allows them to enjoy horror, and even on some level, the negative emotions associated with it. The element of fiction allows an audience to experience terrifying environments and situations without living through the consequences. One may safely read books about vengeful ghosts or watch movies about grotesque monsters with the comforting knowledge that a normal reality awaits them outside of the story. Compared to the horrors of these fictional worlds, our own world often seems less bleak.
However, creators can also harness this escapism and manipulate it to expose the true horrors we face as a society, many of which have been exposed as a result of the global pandemic. This manipulation reveals our lack of control over the narrative, and the escapism becomes much more sinister. When shutting the book or turning off the film does not banish the horror from the world around us, we are powerless to the terror of our current reality. As a fictional horror world that is parallel to our own, "These Days" turns the very enjoyment of horror on its head as it tells the story of a town suffering widespread damage from an unseen beast. Eerily similar to the real life consequences we face now as a result of the global pandemic, it provokes the unsettling realization that this may be one horror story we can’t escape.