Tomorrow I’m heading to Long Beach for the Long Beach Indie Film Festival. I get to give my presentation about Women and Slasher Films. I’m both excited and incredibly nervous about the whole experience.
One of the things I had to do to prepare for my presentation was cut it down from an hour to 15 minutes. I really had to think about what was important to talk about, and I won’t be able to show all of my film clips. It was a fun challenge to figure out if I could get my point across in such a short amount of time. I think I accomplished the task, and I’m interested in seeing how it turns out.
I can’t wait to get to the conference. I think it’s going to be so much fun! I always get so jazzed and inspired going to them. And I love talking to other people about our passions. Everyone once in a while I just need to geek out, and conferences let me do that.
In celebration of the upcoming geek fest, here’s the information about the book that my presentation comes from. Enjoy!
Horror and slasher films are often dismissed for their apparent lack of sophistication and dearth of redeemable values. However, despite criticism from film snobs who turn up their noses and moralists who look down upon the genre, slasher films are more than just movies filled with gory mayhem. Such films can actually serve a purpose and offer their audiences something more than split skulls and severed heads.
In Life Lessons from Slasher Films, Jessica Robinson looks at representative works that have been scaring audiences for decades—from Alfred Hitchcock’s seminal shocker, Psycho, to the cult classic Black Christmas and iconic thrillers like The Texas Chainsaw Massacre, Halloween, Friday the 13th, and Scream. In this book, Robinson examines common themes that have emerged in these films, their various sequels, and countless imitators—a maniacal and seemingly indestructible executioner, sexual encounters that invariably lead to death, increasingly gruesome ways to slaughter helpless victims, and a lone female survivor who finds a way to vanquish the killer—and looks beyond such tropes for what these films can teach us about life.
From practical advice (listen to your elders) to moral platitudes (teens never learn), each chapter considers a different “lesson” that these films teach. Robinson discusses how the events portrayed in slasher films can resonate with viewers and perhaps offer constructive advice on how to conduct our lives. A fun read for fans and scholars alike, Life Lessons from Slasher Films offers an entertaining and persuasive look at how life can imitate art, and what art can say about life.
Last week on the Girl Zombie Authors blog that I’m part of (you all knew it existed and read it, right? I talk a lot about zombies on there), Scott commented and asked a question about what I think about the hyper-realistic depiction of cannibalism as it pertains to zombie films and to the new movie Green Inferno that came out. I kind of answered it in the comments, but it got my mental wheels turning, and I feel like it needs more of an explanation.
Here was his comment:
Question re: slasher films.
Are you going to see Green Inferno? I state up front that my interest in z-poc fiction doesn't lie in the blood and gore part of the genre. Sure, there's that, and there should be, but I don't see it as a fun focus. On the other hand, there's a good deal of it out there, especially in anthologies, where the writers revel in it. So, with that in mind, and since you brought up slasher movies, how do you feel about a hyper-realistic depiction of cannibalism? Honestly...I can't imagine watching it any more than I can imagine watching Human Centipede or HC2. I know there's definitely a cult following of those two movie...not that I understand why, lol. But, thoughts?
He was asking the question in regards to my comment about slasher films. Many of you know that I have written about slasher films in my book Life Lessons from Slasher Films. Like a lot of the films Eli Roth creates, this genre was also condemned and critiqued for being overly gory and violent.
Oddly enough, I don’t believe I have heard the same argument made for zombie films. I’m sure there are people out there who have said it, but there seems to be a bit more acceptance of having gore and cannibalism in zombie films than in other horror.
I will say that when Night of the Living Dead first came out, it showed humans being devoured in gory fashion. Most zombie films before that had Haitian zombies, and they were more slaves than devourers of flesh. Night shocked audiences because of its content, and zombie films have been following its lead ever since—often to the point of pushing the envelope and showing deaths and the consummation of flesh in intricate detail. It’s rare to find a zombie film or TV show that doesn’t have intestines in it.
In my book, Undead Obsessed, I talk a little about cannibalism. Here’s what I say:
Cannibalism is incredibly taboo within our society. We view it as the most abhorrent act one human can do to another. It is primal and barbaric. Only in extreme cases of survival is it viewed as tolerable. Night of the Living Dead takes this notion and portrays it in gory detail, often showing zombies fighting over various body parts of their victims. To add to the horror, the other characters never refer to the zombies as zombies, they are just “them” or “ghouls.” They don’t look like monsters, which makes them incredibly dangerous. This is especially evident near the end of the film when a little girl attacks and kills her parents. She still looks like a child, but behind her innocence is a desire to maim and consume. The girl eats part of her father, and when her mother shows up she knows the creature before her is no longer her daughter, but she can’t act to destroy her child. This leads to her being stabbed repeatedly with a trowel. If the monster doesn’t look different, how do you fight against it?
In most horror films, the basic premise is us versus them, humans versus a monster. In most films, that monster is a creature that looks different. Humans can differentiate themselves from them because they aren’t us. But at one point in time, zombies were us.
In most zombie films and shows, zombies aren’t the only creatures the survivors have to be wary of. They also have to be suspicious and cautious of other survivors. The lines between us versus them become blurred. There’s still a difference between the groups, but not a huge one.
While I haven’t seen the Green Inferno (and yes, I’m intrigued, but I doubt I will see it in the theater), I have a feeling that Eli Roth will portray the cannibalism in horrific and gory fashion. I’m sure his goal is to make the audience walk out of the theater feeling nauseous and uncomfortable. But that’s what he does.
Eli Roth and a few other horror film makers (the creators of Saw come readily to mind) have developed a genre that many refer to as “torture horror” or “torture porn,” and it is condemned for being ridiculously violent and gory for the sake of gore. And these films absolutely push the envelope when it comes to violence.
But they’re not the first. Slasher films used these tactics when they first came out. “Realistic” horror films such as Last House on the Left and The Hills Have Eyes or Wrong Turn also employ this over-the-top violence. And while some people claim it’s just gore for the sake of gore, it’s also used to shock the audience. It’s used to make us feel uncomfortable, to make us squirm in our seats, to heighten our level of disgust and fear.
One of the goals of horror is to bring to the forefront those things that scare society. In the 1950s, that fear was the fear of nuclear war and communism, so the films reflected that. There were such moves as Them! and Invasion of the Body Snatchers.
When it came to slasher films, which had their heyday in the 1980s, they reflected the idea of wanting to return to a more conservative time. The 60s and 70s had just happened with teens rising up to change social norms, so slasher killers try to suppress teens and their social change by killing them. They also want them to stop their sexual revolution, which is why most teens get killed during or after some kind of sexual encounter.
I have no doubt that Green Inferno also has some type of social message in it also. Again, I haven’t seen the film, only the trailer, which shows a group of teens who want to go into the rain forest to protest its destruction, and they get captured by a savage, primal tribe. I can only guess that they are tortured and eaten in horrific fashion with a few of them trying to escape—and maybe succeeding, but only after going through a horrific ordeal.
But, again, I don’t know because I haven’t seen the film yet.
My point is that horror has always and will always continue to push the boundaries of what makes an audience uncomfortable. There will always been an us versus them and a fear of the unknown—because that’s what continues to scare the American population.
It continues to be said that we have become sensitized to violence, and a lot of the blame lies in horror movies, but in some cases, it’s just real life. How much violence do we see on our news channels? How many reports do we read about people being killed by gunmen? What about the war? Violence is something we can’t and don’t get away from in our daily lives. We may not see it in all of its gory detail on the news like we do in horror movies, but it’s still present.
Horror movies have a certain freedom when it comes to depicting violence on film because the audience knows it’s fake. The audience may not like it or condone the violence, but we know no one really got hurt. The same can’t be said about what we see on the news. There is no fantasy or separation from reality there.
And we should be uncomfortable with the violence—both in the movies and in the news. We shouldn’t appreciate that bad things happen or become numb to it, and I think that’s where horror movies become important. By pushing the envelope and by making the audience queasy, it reminds us that we should react to violence. We should be horrified by what we see, and that should make us want to change.
However, on the other side, these are just films created to be entertaining and allow the audience to escape for a while. So, if that’s how you approach watching them, so be it. You are allowed to enjoy them.
So, to answer Scott’s questions, I think that hyper-realistic depictions of cannibalism and violence in horror films have their place, and I think it’s a safe place that allows audiences to confront the horror, know it’s fake, and then decide the best way to react to it. I think it allows us to look at what is happening in the real world and realize that something has to be done.
And to his other question about the Human Centipede and its sequel, I have never seen either film and don’t plan on seeing either film, but I believe that like other horror films they speak to the depravity of the human condition and what some are willing to do to others and the reaction they get should be one of disgust; however, if it’s something an audience enjoys, they can.
I hate to travel. And by that I mean when I go to the airport, I usually have a panic attack. I freak out going through security, and then I have to take a Xanax before I even get on the plane.
I never used to be like that. My freshman year of college, I attended school in Florida, and I flew back and forth several times over the course of the year. It never bothered me then. In high school, I went to Australia and switched planes multiple times before reaching Perth. Didn’t bat an eye.
Now, it’s all I can do to stay calm. The older I get, the more mental I become.
(Side note: my coworkers and I were talking about this the other day at work, and one of them said that the reason it’s probably an issue now is because I’m more aware of my mortality. When I was young, the world couldn’t touch me. But now, I have different priorities—kids, family—and losing them or having them lose me is probably where the fear stems from.)
Right after I hit send, my stomach started tingling and I became anxious. What was I thinking? I can’t go to these places. I’ll have to get on a plane! I’ll have to be in a big city! I’ll have to speak in front of people!
Then I took a deep breath and told myself to calm down—which only slightly worked.
The reason I put in proposals for these conferences was because the world isn’t going to come to me. People aren’t going to find out who I am just because I have books on Amazon. Sure, a few might, but I want to increase my readership. To do that, I have to tell people about what I do. I have to get out there and show them what I’m doing.
I’m fully aware that this may not lead to book sales, but it still gets me out there. People will still be able to see my name and know that I wrote something. And, on top of that, I like talking about what I’ve done.
I picked these specific conferences because they focus on film and scholarly work. My presentation is based on my book Life Lessons from Slasher Films. I am incredibly proud of the work I put into this book, but I rarely have a chance to show it off. I felt that these two venues gave me the opportunity to do just that.
It’s scary as hell, and I’ll probably wind up having a panic attack at some point, but I need to step back for a minute. First of all, I haven’t been picked yet. There’s no guarantee I’ll have to present at either of these conferences. The first step was to make the effort, and the second is to wait for a response.
Despite my fear, I really would like to get out more. Even though it scares me, I really enjoy presenting and getting people involved in discussions. The workshops I’ve done around the state of Wyoming have been fantastic, but this gives me a chance to branch out. Being at the conferences also gives me a chance to network with others who think like I do.
There are far more pros to going to these conferences than there are cons, but convincing my brain of that is sometimes difficult. I just hope that I get the chance to go. If you would be so kind as to wish me luck or cross your fingers or sacrifice a chicken so I get picked, I would really appreciate it.
UPDATE: I received an email this morning informing me that my proposal had been accepted for the Long Beach Indie Film Festival. Wooooooot! This is going to be fun!
Of course this news is incredibly exciting. It could mean big things for authors, and I'm so happy to be part of that group. It's going to be interesting to see how it works out.
When I first thought about submitting to Booktrope, I was incredibly hesitant. I mean, I already had a couple indie publishers (who are absolutely amazing and fabulous), why would I want to add another one to my list? It seemed silly to me. Then, I met Wendy on Facebook, and she was so nice and so sweet and so proud of what she was doing with Booktrope, she convinced me to give them a try.
When the book was finally finished and I was ready to submit, Booktrope was closed to submissions. I figured that was probably a sign, but Wendy had read the manuscript and really liked it, so she talked to Katherine (one of the co-founders), who was willing to publish the book based on Wendy's recommendation. It was awesome.
You can really tell a lot about a publishing company by the way they talk to their authors. Both Wendy and Katherine conference called me to explain to me what Booktrope was all about and answer any questions I might have. I was still unsure at that point about publishing with them, but talking to them calmed my fears and hesitancy, and I couldn't wait to be part of the team.
Incidentally, the only other publishing company I spoke to was Scarecrow Press, who published Life Lessons from Slasher Films. At the time, another publisher was interested in the book, and the editor at Scarecrow really wanted it, so he went that extra mile to persuade me to publish with them.
And it worked. It's so nice to know that a publisher is invested in you and your work.
Recently, Wendy had to step down as my book manager, after doing an amazing job. Pam became my new book manager, and she is just amazing. Even though I've never met her in person, I feel like we're friends. The relationships that are formed between author and book manager are just amazing.
I don't regret submitting my manuscript to Booktrope, and I wouldn't hesitate submitting more. In fact, they are the ones who will be publishing Undead Obsessed and Dealing with Devils. I have more books brewing in my mind, including another zombie novel, and you better believe I'm going to let Booktrope publish them if they want to.
First thing this morning, I received a text from my mom to let me know that my article was in the Rocket Miner.
I am doing my Women and Horror presentation at the Rock Springs Library. It is based on part of my nonfiction book, Life Lessons from Slasher Films.
I'm very excited. I revamped the presentation of my film clips, so I'm interested to see how smoothly that part goes. If anyone is close and wants to see me present, it's on April 10th at 7:00 at the Rock Springs Library. I promise you'll have fun!
On Thursday I had my first Wyoming Humanities Council presentation. I was invited to talk to a high school class in Hanna, Wyoming. This town is fairly small. If I recall, it had just under 900 people. I knew it existed, but I'd never been there. My spouse has visited it often because he goes hunting in the area.
The road into town is a two-lane windy highway with lots of hills. Sagebrush-covered landscape surrounds you on either side. To the south is Elk Mountain. After heading away from I-80 for about 12 miles, you see the buildings glittering in the distance. The high school is one of the first buildings in town.
As is typical of Wyoming, the wind was howling as I climbed out of the truck and made my way to the school. I had to press a bell and wait for someone to let me in. After checking in at the front desk and getting my visitor badge, the teacher took me to her classroom and I prepared for the presentation.
The kids entered full of energy. And I mean full of it. Voices were raised, excitement was in the air. The vast majority of the kids had gotten releases to get out of other classes so they could see my presentation. There were probably about 20 total, along with a few teachers who decided to wander in.
I was a little nervous at first. It's always nerve wracking to have to stand in front of people and talk. Thankfully, I'm not that shy and I really enjoy talking about my passions. It didn't take long for me to stop shaking.
There were a few technical issues with the presentation. One video from YouTube wouldn't play, one of my DVD clips wouldn't play, and the kids were a little boisterous, getting in trouble a couple of times for not paying attention. But we worked it out, and I was able to talk through the videos that wouldn't play. I need to tweak my last question at the end so it ends up being more of a discussion, but on the whole, it was a great experience. I really had a great time being there, and I hope the kids learned something exciting.
My fingers are crossed I get the chance to do my presentation again!
I'm spending the weekend refining and perfecting my presentation for the Wyoming Humanities Forum, which is sponsored by the Wyoming Humanities Council. I am doing a section from my nonfiction book, Life Lessons from Slasher Films, on Women and Horror. Basically, I am looking at how women have been portrayed in horror films and how slasher films changed their roles from victims to heroes.
When I first received acceptance of my proposal, I was told not to expect too many requests for my presentation. It was different from what the Forum generally offers. She was being honest, which I appreciate--no sense having false expectations--but I wasn't swayed. Yes, different can be bad, but it can also be good. Maybe people are looking for different. Maybe they want something outside of what is normally offered. There's only one way to find out. If I don't take the chance, I'll never know.
I don't usually shy away from challenging situations, especially when it comes to my writing. It's all about risk. I've done readings before where no one has shown up. It sucks, yeah, but that just means in the future when the room is packed full of readers, I can look back at those times and laugh.
I have to start somewhere. I have to make an effort. I'm on the Forum list for 2 years. If I only get one presentation in that time, it'll be worth it. If I don't get any, so be it. My name is still on the website. The only thing I can do is put myself out there and hope for the best. I can keep my expectations low, but I still have expectations.
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