Research: Thinking About Fear

Pink- Evie
Green- Panashe
Red- Mariella
Blue- Liam 

In this lesson, we were put into groups of four and told to discuss what scares us most in life, and try and get to the root of why we have developed these fears. My group included me, Panashe, Mariella and Liam. We were given a piece of A3 paper which we divided into four sections. Each group member was allocated a section and wrote about our fears, gave examples and explained why we had these fears. We then explored how these fears developed over time and through other factors such as negative experiences.

The purpose of this research into what scares different individuals is in aid of our coursework, which is to create the opening two minutes of a teen horror film. It gives us a wider understanding of people's fears, many of which are manipulated in horror films. For example, snakes and spiders are common fears amongst people. These fears have been translated onto screen, through films such as Arachnophobia and Snakes on a Plane. Through this research, we can get a thorough insight into what scares people; we can then use this as inspiration for our coursework, as it has to be authentic and feel relatable to the audience. By explaining how our fears have developed, it makes them seem less irrational and more justifiable. This research has also enabled us to see which fears would translate well on screen, and others which would seem ridiculous and impossible to convey in a film. For example, ostriches being one of them.

Panashe stated that his fear was snakes. He said his fear was heightened by an experience he once had with one. This supports the theory that fears usually come from previous experiences that that person has gone through. Experience is a major contributor towards the severity of someone's fear. Another example of this is claustrophobia; my Mum does not like tight and constricted spaces, as she has had a previous experience with feeling enclosed. This makes her more wary of small spaces.

Horror movies can also have an effect and influence on the audience's fears. Liam's fear is being in the woods at night time. Many horror films use the location of woods at night time as they are secluded areas with an eerie and frightening feel about them. For example, the horror film The Cabin in the Woods is set in the woods; woods have connotations of seclusion and solitary. The film Jaws, directed by Steven Spielberg, had a similar effect on audiences. Jaws depicts a vicious great white shark who targets the residents of Amity Island in several blood thirsty and savage attacks. Some people who watched the film became afraid of sharks and they received a negative reputation among the public.

Mariella's fear was perhaps the most common; death. She said that past experiences with family members had made her fear death. She explained that it frightened her because as you get older, it is inevitable that people you know and perhaps are close to are going to die. She then said that she also feared death herself, not just that other people were going to die.

My fear of ostriches and nuclear war stemmed from information and facts that I have learnt over the years. I learnt that ostriches can kill someone by performing one quick which I find quite scary and intimidating. I later watched a TV show in which ostriches were featured and my fear for them developed; their appearance is also quite scary for me as they are large and erratic in their behavious. My fear of nuclear war started from a discussion I had in a lesson. I learnt the effects of what would happen if a nuclear bomb was dropped into a country. The effects would be vast and devastating and irreversible. I realised that there would be no survivors if nuclear war occured and the world would most likely end.

Overall, I think people's fears stem from multiple sources; past experiences, facts, rumours and negative beliefs.