Well, I'm Cassandra Coleman and I will readily admit that Horror/the Fantastic has never really been in my interest. For a while I was pretty game on seeing the latest Horror/Scary movie to come out, but The Hills Have Eyes really ruined that for me. It was by far the most nauseating 100 minutes of my life. Ever since then I've been unable to sit through almost any horror movie or show without that movie playing in my mind. I did watch Buffy the Vampire Slayer and X-Files for a time, but even those became somewhat polluted by said movie. I haven't read much of this type of literature though, except for maybe Carrie, so I'm interested to see how this semester goes. I did enjoy both the Mist and Pan's Labyrinth, after much heckling by my friends to see them, so I think there is still hope for me yet.
As for the four part model, I do not think it is limited to Fantastic Horror, but can be applied to other genres. It is very similar to other literary breakdowns that I remember learning in early literature/language classes.
For my part I'll be dissecting The Notebook.
Sighting: Noah sees Allie at the Carnival and feels that he must have her/be with her. He even tells her these sentiments.
Thickening: Their summer together falling in love and the years that pass in which they do not see one another, but are still in love.
Revel: The moments after reading Noah's last letter, Allie gets out of her car, suitcases in hand, ready to spend the rest of her life with Noah.
Aftermath: Right before the two fall asleep together, Allie has a clear moment through her Alzheimer's and tells Noah how much their life together has meant to her, then they die together in their sleep, arm in arm.
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
Posts
i really liked that you used The Notebook as your example. It's a great clearly non-horror example that I didn't even think of.
ReplyDeleteI'm sorry, but The Notebook doesn't fit. It's not enough that you identify a four-act structure; that is, indeed, a commonplace. The acts also have to duplicate the effects that Clute describes; here, your "Revel" has no reversals, and your "Aftermath" has no bleakness, no despair. If it's any consolation, many of your classmates have gotten it wrong as well.
ReplyDeleteAnd I find The Hills Have Eyes nauseating, too.
ReplyDeleteHmm, I guess what I considered the Revel was the part on the handout that said "the world is reversed:good becomes evil." In the sense that she made a decision opposite to what one would expected, but perhaps this is just more of a turning point. And for the Aftermath I considered that there was "no more story to tell." While it was a bittersweet ending, I think it can also be seen as bleak in that despite all the reading and all the time spent with her, her illness still could not be repaired. For all the hearts and flowers and wishes of the world, both still ended up dead in the end. But I can see how that is more an aspect of personal opinion on how you can draw a sense of bleakness out of the story, as opposed to it being an outright sad/disturbing ending that is clearly seen in other examples.
ReplyDeleteI just don't see anyone finishing The Notebook with the sense that Nicholas Sparks has uncovered some bleak and horrific truth about the world. Every novel that ends with the protagonist's death is not a horror novel.
ReplyDelete