What horror films teach us about ourselves and being human | Dr. Steven Schlozman | TEDxNashville
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- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 23 เม.ย. 2017
- Horror films are a heck of a lot more profound than you think. They actually help us to appreciate ourselves and each other. The trick? They play with your brain. Literally. Watch!
Dr. Steve Schlozman is an assistant professor of psychiatry at Harvard Medical School and a psychiatrist at Massachusetts General Hospital. He majored in English and biology at Stanford University, and after teaching high school English and science, attended Dartmouth and Brown University Medical Schools. Schlozman has authored more than 40 academic publications. He has helped design video games that teach adolescents about neurobiology and has collaborated at Kings College, London to assess attitudes regarding psychiatry among medical educators and curricula. He teaches the subject at Harvard and is the author of, “The Zombie Autopsies.” Additionally, Schloman blogs for The Huffington Post and Psychology Today, and has written articles for The New York Times Sunday Magazine, Psychology Today, The Southwest Airlines Magazine, NBC.com, CNN.com, ABC.com, Newsweek and The Guardian.
This talk was given at a TEDx event using the TED conference format but independently organized by a local community. Learn more at ted.com/tedx
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Does anyone else watch horror movies when they are stressed or sad? Watching comedies or something makes me feel worse. But, I feel so much better after watching horror. 😕
Yes!
🤷♂️Misery loves company?
Yep!
Yeah me too! Something about shared misery is really therapeutic for me. That or I can put my problems into perspective because at least I'm not being chased through the woods by a murderer
So at least for me, I have very bad anxiety, and I love horror movies. Always confused me a lot. It's my favorite genre next to Action and I came upon some research that said anxiety is a very physical thing (the effects it has on your body) and the best way to characterize anxiety is like going through a fight or flight response. When we watch scary movies it gives us something to be completely focussed on because again when we're scared it is truly only fight or flight. We are only in that moment in time and it's the only choice we have. When your body puts an enormous amount of fight or flight response while watching a good horror movie we get all that amped up adrenaline from the anxiety out of our system and the anxiety has found an outlet which is why working out is such a great thing for anxiety because it's almost like a dose of preworkout. I know you didn't ask for that explanation but I just found that out recently and it explains a lot about my tendencies. Thanks for reading. :)
Clowns are scary because their faces “just aren’t quite right”. They have a smiley face but aren’t smiling. Sometimes clowns’ faces are too painted to show emotion well- and that scares people.
Its a sort of uncanny valley.
I"ve had experiences with Ghosts and Demons in a hunted house for rent I lived in it for 4 years, it was the most odd, strange and scary 4 years ever, but thank god I moved to another house
Yeah, I loved his explanation of uncanny valley. How it connects with xenophobia and racism.
yeah thats why i find clowns and ventriloquist dummies so unsettling. those fake painted on smiles
Oh I hate clowns. And people dressed in costumes at, for example, Disney Land. Always have. As a child, my parents thought there was something wrong with me because I sat completely straight faced while other children laughed and cheered at clowns. When I was old enough to identify and articulate what was going on in my head, I explained to them that clowns and people in costumes were all pretending to be happy, or funny, or Mickey Mouse etc, and that made me uncomfortable. Who knows what lies beneath the clown make-up or the costume? I'm more concerned that I'm in the minority and most people like clowns. How... Why..... Just no! Oh and I should add - I love horror movies.
My personal thoughts on this - and if anyone else thinks differently, that's perfectly fine, this is just what I think - is that the fear of clowns is twofold. Human beings are specifically triggered by people in masks - for the exact reason that Jennifer Dahlberg states above: you can't know what the person under the mask is thinking. Even if you know that they're a friend, that they won't hurt you, your subconscious mind is still missing the cues it needs to read the other person. But clowns specifically take that one step further. Clowns don't wear masks - they wear facepaint. And I think that facepaint sort of fuses the mask with the face for that subconscious brain. They have all the bad, unreadable parts of the mask, but our brain doesn't read that there is a face underneath. It's _only_ the mask. I don't know, I'm not a psychologist. That's just my thoughts.
"We dont like difficult questions unless they are asked in displacement"
I feel tremendously horrified when these films stop scaring me. Am I jaded? Am I inhuman? Then a film comes along that makes me want to laugh and hide at the same time. And it's beautiful because I know that I am alive. And I can function. Well... until I realise its 4am and I have to be up for work in an hour.
We're not inhuman, just grown up and very well aware that it's pretend. Or we've seen it a thousand times before. That's why the good horror movies are so precious. They can still get to us!
toastedavalanche - Goths 🖤
Yes you are.
Same
@@uwlimesub6945 its called being desensitized. Youve seen it so much to the point were it gets very unamuzing and predictable.
When I was 8 I was watching a movie where a man was skinning a sleeping man. He'd started by grabbing the cheek and cut the skin and peeling off the face. I couldn't handle the scene so I went to my mum and dads room where my mum and sister were doing facials. As I walked in my sister was peeling off the egg based facial stuff from my mum's face.
Stephen Atkinson Hahahaha. Your reaction must’ve been priceless...
and now you have a facial fetish. 😂
My sympathy ...
Lol
Ope....
This talk is actually good. Have a lot of humours and jokes. Deserve more views than this
Calm down. It's Ted Talk .
I'd have to agree that there isn't really much to this talk, save for the intelligible yet inert ramblings of an older gentleman. It's like, "here's a fact; why?" "To answer that, here's another fact or small unrelated story (due to my social awkwardness); why?" "Now, let's speak to pattern recognition." "Here are some more things I've noticed that are more tied to my career than the horror genre: children can more easily realize a question, have better pattern recognition, and can just sense when something is wrong."
These are great underpinnings to more substantial ideologies, theories, and constructs, to which he does allude to occasionally, yet these underpinnings seem mostly inert stand-lone.
Idk why so many disagree?!. I loved it too.
Heck yes
"We don't like difficult questions, unless somebody poses it in displacement" a great way of describing our strange obsession
i would love to take one of his classes
such a nice comment! thanks
you just did
Guys, if you like his lecture I highly recomend to check interviews with late, great Wes Craven, especially Post Mortem one with Mick Garris and screamography interview, he touches on this topic, but over all he was such a great and wise dude.
Awesome talk! Horror is way more intelligent than people give it credit for being.
And way more literary than academia will admit.
S B Indeed.
I'm a deep person who loves sociology, psychology and philosophy but I never got the point of horror movies until I came across this speech. I 've met horror fans who aren't deep thinkers though and they just like to watch that stuff without analyzing the deep questions. The viewer has to be the thoughtful person to think about a movie.
Well, just depends on which one lol.
Stephen King and Clive Barker are very smart men.
Most authors are smart humans.
It's obviously academic snobbery. 🦇👯
Everything about clowns is unnatural and terrifying. Painted, false emotions, exaggerated body language, the need to be in your personal space whether it is welcome or not. Never will understand the attraction to be near one or be one
What you described sounds like regular human behavior to me. And, in that case, I agree. Humans are horrid.
Karen McGuire Yeah,this worlds full of mentally ill fucks. Just need to find people that talk about cnn all day or something
Interesting...
"kitties look like kitties and doggys look like doggys, can i go now?" that was so funny
Doggies is spelled like kitties.
People I know say I'm crazy cause I like horror films after seeing this I feel way way better thank you
I love horror movies! My favorite type of horror are the ones where in the movies the house is no longer safe. Don't get me wrong I love other types; corn maze, graveyard, stalker, chains murderer, etc. But I just love when movie directors take safety out of the house. Because think about it, you always assume that the safest place you'll ever be at is your house.
I spent the night studying the horror genre and asked myself why i'm so fascinated by it, this video was a great answer
My grandmother laughed all the way through a horror film we were all watching; she thought it was ludicrous. It changed my perspective entirely and horror films never bothered me after that. They're just movies. My faves are the SAW movies.
My fav of the Saw movies is #3
Everything he says applies to science-fiction too. Uneasy questions, community, patterns extrapolation etc.
Yeah and that's why scifi horror movies are my top favorite ones! :)
This is an interesting perspective. I agree, some horror films are really smart and have a lot to teach about society.
But many are just for gore and shock, it’s a stretch to connect love in that moment. I think the physical sensations of movies like these are terrible-people have nightmares for years about these images and it doesn’t help them get a healthy sleep at night, or feel safe in their home.
I disagree, now the themes may not always be obvious but they are there.
i’m so glad that he included “It Follows” (2014) with the great classic movies such as “Night of the Living Dead” (1968).
it had been about 20 years since a real horror movie with real dread had been released.
i had just happened to see it in the theater as a last minute thing.
did not expect anything, due to there not being any good horror in the 20 years before.
& was shocked & awed how well done the movie was.
thank you, writer/director David Robert Mitchell!
& this was a good TEDx Talk!
This. Honestly when I think of a horror movie from this generation that truly frightens me just from thinking about it, "It Follows" is the only thing that immediately comes to mind.
I really liked the film but it really wasn't all that good. It's okay at being unnerving but that's about it. I found the antagonist itself very boring.
There's a lot of other media that started to excel in horror. Such as Manga and Video games. IE. Silent Hill, Uzumaki, Dead Space
As a horror lover and future child psychiatrist, thank you.
you are of course very welcome! May I ask where you are in your pursuit of becoming a child psychiatrist? Maybe I can help. we need more.
steve schlozman Where I reside, I noticed there’s an overflow of psychologists in the medical field.
You tell any other patients. Go watch a horror movie
Watching this entire video has convinced me you can make a scholarly argument for literally anything.
One of the first things that make people creeped out are things that are out of context. Especially things that are SUPPOSED to be cute or happy really tend to get under our skins and can unsettle us. It's actually quite fascinating to study and understand.
About the thing with horror bringing people together, imagine if you go to the theater to watch a new horror movie and then you realize that you're the only person in that auditorium, 99.9% of people will just turn around and leave, even if they have been looking forward to it since the first trailer or even if it's an old movie, it INSTANTLY doesn't feel right. With literally ANY other genre, no one would give a damn.
This is actually a very important talk with valid & educated points. People have constantly blamed horror movies for acts of violence. Yet, that cannot be proven in any capacity. The 3 points he made about horror movies can & was proven in this short talk, by a psychiatric professional.
Now I believe that there secret behind horror movies 🤫👁is A Symbolic Of insight
Horror usually makes me more sad than scared. The reason why is because the killer, be it human, supernatural, or something else, has its way with the characters and they die horribly and they usually don’t deserve to die. The killer then gets away Scott Free to do it again. There’s no justice. We get enough sad endings in real life.
OMG. I feel the same way. As mom I completely understand why Mrs.Voorhees In the original Friday the 13th.
For me, horror movies are a way for me to affirm that I'm weird and I live outside of society's expectations most of the time, and watching them makes me feel like that's okay. Freaks! resonated with me for this reason, like I'm not disabled and I don't struggle the exact way the characters in the movie do, but I know that shame and that sense of alienation from everyone else. And the revenge scene at the end is SO satisfying to me. It felt so cathartic.
Carrie was a movie that hit too close to home for me. I relate to her alot. Being an outsider and not everyone understanding you. Being publically humiliated. Having something weird about you that even yourself couldn't comprehend, Wanting revenge on those who wronged you. In a way it was like looking at a mirror of my own life. Not as extreme and tragic as hers, since i didnt get abuse from home or at school THAT harsh, but very depressing and sad and kinda pathetic.
I saw John carpenter's 'The Thing' at age 5.. Never been the same. No other genre of cinema draws me in like horror. Nothing provokes more emotion than fear and anxiety. It really is a naturally induced rush of adrenaline.
Normally I don't watch horror. Just think there are healthier and more pleasant things to watch. But man was I so engaged in his presentation and it is so spot on. To an extent you can apply this to other genres. Excellent excellent!
As someone who's been an avid horror fan for years, this was really interesting to watch! I've grown desensitized to most horror at this point, but sometimes a movie comes along that really makes me think and wonder, and I love that feeling. Nightmare on Elm Street is by far my favorite bc it's one of those concepts that lingers in the back of your mind.... people don't appreciate horror enough tbh
No people dont appreciate horror enough and it kinda makes me sad. Its a very creative craft too.
I was immediately intrigued by this lesson. It's a nice refreshing perspective on the genre. I personally like Italian horror.
Re-cut Trailers by DD giallo is experiencing a resurgence.
Wow. This is the most thought provoking video I’ve ever seen.
I can remember doing exactly the same thing as a teenager, in Kansas, sitting in a friends basement, drinking 3.2 beer watching horror movies. I love this lecture. Wish I could have taken his classes.
LOVED this, wish it was longer!
My teacher shows this channel in class and I LOVE IT we have to write an essay for the SOL in a few days and these help SO MUCH!!! They gave me ideas and inspiration for a great essay!
what a legend. amazing talk.
Me watching this at midnight, knowing I have school tomorrow
That scene he described in Salem’s Lot was my first encounter with being scared watching a horror movie. It got me good too! I was a kid as well, but damn ... it still gets me.
The only reason why i do not like blood gut gory horror movies is because that's all it is. If you real want me to be scared cause me to think. Cause my spirit to be shaken. THAT is what i like. when that happens i then question why was my spirit shaken. what was the purpose behind that film. this is the only reason why i watch horror movies now. before it was entertainment but now i just like to think and understand the supernatural realm. Call me weird...
I won't call you weird. I don't like violence, because I can't stand the idea of someone in pain.
What scares me is psychological horror.
J Toland For me, my senses became numb. I still understood everything on another level. It at the same tome my brain felt like a pile of mush. That couldn’t understand any human emotion or pain. I watched horror movies and it helped me cope with that sadness in my life. But I feel you, psychological horror is beautiful, yet scary and unsettling.
Excellent talk.
Brilliant talk!!! THANK YOU ;)
I really enjoyed this presentation and I like his pleasant way of speaking.
So helpful for writing and fascinating subject 🙏
His personal story is true to memories of my siblings and I while we were watching Salem's Lot. That movie scared us, and still has left a strong impression on all of us, we all remember it.
this is so well explained and I completely resonated with it all. Had this question for a while now and tried watching some other video that says “oh people just love adrenaline” and although I agree but I don’t often get much adrenaline from these movies more so I just love to discuss them with friends and family. They always start really in depth conversations and it’s such a blast. also now that u mention the idea of racism coming from pattern interruptions,,,, now that’s the real horror of this all, I’ll have to bring that up with my “deep conversation pals”
Kindred spirits. Thanks
This was actually a very good talk.
Fantastic Presentation!!!
thanks for watching it. I'd love to get more folks going to see these films in the theaters
I laughed, I cried, I shared.
KEVIN! That means a lot coming from you!
It's kind of a point that most horror fans acknowledge even if they can't say why... as you pointed out. The film critique I've been doing for twenty years includes a fairly harsh opinion of my favorite horror genre, but I find most "serious" film reviewers dismiss horror entirely, missing out on all the nuances. I was happy to hear your praise for 'It Follows' (a favorite of Linda and myself), but it's too bad you couldn't have mentioned 'Get Out' and its commentary on racism and cultural appropriation; if you haven't seen it yet, see it!
Here's my mostly spoiler-free review of 'Get Out': moviecrypt.com/2017/04/03/review-get-out-its-not-your-imagination/
Get out is terrific - even groundbreaking. I wanted to include it, but the TED folks like you to stick to the talk you submit, and Get Out came out after I had submitted that talk. Your review is terrific.
The Salem's Lot reference has me shook. Absolutely the scariest film I saw as a kid in the 70s. What a time to be alive!
Honestly, I recall that film like it was yesterday
This was perfection!
He is so funny and such a good speaker
Thanks, Chelsey. I'm a bit of a ham, but I have fun
I don’t even like horror but this talk is great
I don't ever watch them personally, so this was something I've often wondered about! Thank you for the impending information! ☆☆☆☆☆
This Actually Blew My Mind.. to Think That Racism Could Stem From Such conditions.. understanding Is The Key To Terminating the stigma. God Bless This Man. more People Must Know About This. It Could Move Mountains With It’s power.
This is so nice!
This is great! Should have more views
I’m interested to learn this topic because for me I love horror I find it interesting and intriguing in the moment but I noticed that afterwards it would make me sad “depressed” and kinda paranoid like everything I doc could lead me to the date of the victim of horror movies
Same
Brilliant - can't wait to share with my students
Great speaker!
One of the best Ted talks I have seen! Dr. Scchlozman, Have you ever done a talk or study on the interest in true crime? I am very into it as well and my husband finds it distasteful that I am interested...
I would be interested in such a study. I can definitely understand how an interest in true crime could be seen as "distasteful" or even disturbing, but something about it is so captivating. And I am not at all prone to violence.
That sounds very interesting. I've been wondering about this; it seems connected to horror in that we love to be freaked out and even disgusted to a certain degree.
Mine too but I buy him video games so I can keep him occupied whilst I watch it. 😀👍
Salem's Lot! Was 7 when that was on. And my folks let me watch it, when they were out. I can relate.
Love it!
I just knew he was going to say Salem’s Lot! My first as well, I recognized that guy right away; definitely my scariest movie as well. I’ve always been tantalized by scary movies and the deep psychology within. I never thought about it though, and this Talk completely helped me see my interest in a different way. Thanks for your Talk!
I remember Salem’s lot and that Scene tapping at the window! I agree!!!
Horror movies today aren't about scaring us anymore, they're now about grossing people out.
I saw Salem's Lot when I was 7 and I just KNEW the blue guy was sleeping under my bunk! 100% I love horror movies sometimes I wonder why I love them so much.
this was fun to watch
Wonderful!!!! I've always loved Horror, as far back as I can remember. My favorite book is The Other, by Thomas Tryon, and the movie (I think from the 70s) is AMAZING! Followed by Stephen King's It, probably. I haven't yet seen It Follows, which I know I should, but I've seen many of the scenes on youtube. I'll check it out, now that you spoke about it. Fantastic talk!
I've often wondered why people like scary, gory movies. I'm not sure I want to start watching them, either, even after listening to this - I worry what it might do to me.
I wouldn't compare gory horror to psych horror. They get their horror factor from shock and disgust, whereas psych messes with your head.
And thats ok :)
@@pixelbucket8884 Midsommar, Ma, and The Mist come to mind
I remember the scene from Salems lot 1979 , and hearing his 11 y.o experience, I was like what? Average age of seeing our first horror film is 11, i was like 6. Loved to traumatize myself and it was subconscious. Refreshing to hear his point of view and expertise!! Thank you for this
Man, that jump scare really got me.
To me horror movies are the reason why there's so much crime
I really don't think so, like there's still no proof that violent video games create violent people. More than anything it's just easy to blame shootings on pieces of media rather than the actual problems.
Horror movies touches a different nerve in our body
This is my favorite Ted Talk!
I would've LOVED to have him as a psychiatrist when I was a child!!
thanks, Pineapple. Makes my day
@@UNSaSS Aw, that makes MY day! 🙏👻
The chain reaction of a compliment 😁🌸
@He loves you! What on earth are you talking about? 😅
To think *what* is normal? Molesting?😅
*THAT* I doubt 🙈
I like this !
A cat with pug eyes. Oh the horror.
profound video xx
What still haunt me to this day are my student loans! 😬
I just finished Steven king s audiobook
Petrified. Scariest movie I’ve seen in a while!!!!
First one I was allowed to see as a kid was a Disney live movie, "Something Wicked This Way Comes."
Oooh I remember I was 11 when I saw The Omen. 1982. I was so scared of that nanny that I couldn't even go in my home alone after school the day after. Dang I miss being scared of a good horror movie
Horror is quite possibly and objectively the absolute best of all genres.
Great public speaker, I think the Blair witch movie was one of the scariest ever made.
Is there anything other more scarier than the Blair Witch Project?
Nashville so close, would love to take his class
Check out Last House on the Left. Wez cravens first movie, and Shivers by chronenburg, And Hellraiser all the them.
Great talk... To be fair though: I probably would be freaked out by anybody standing in my backyard at 11:30, holding a meat cleaver and staring at my window - not just clowns. I think it's the meat cleaver rather than the clown in this particular context. Clowns are freaky though.
It’s like my first time watching The Grudge, really messed me up when I was 12
Wow! ♥
This was great!!!
I fail to see what this speech taught me exactly, but I did enjoy it nonetheless.
My daughter is 6 and isn't afraid of scary movies and things, she actually enjoys creepy and scary themes and entertainment. I can't remember her ever really being scared of stuff like that, I wish I had half her courage.
I saw Friday the 13th at 4 years old.... that's what happens when ur the youngest.... saw Swamp Thing at 3 THAT scared the shite out of me....
Lol....swamp thing got me as well....was also the youngest and also about 4 or 5 hahaha
@@aniwtada gotta love older siblings eh?
Yeah...gotta.
aw flip side for me. first movie was jeepers creepers at 3. became addicted to horror after that lmao
The TV show???
this ted talk felt like a horror movie
The vampire movie about his brother - The Lost Boys?
The picture made it look like it could be The Lost Boys, but no. There was no little brother, lost in the woods, then appearing to his big brother in the window in that movie.
I wish I had him as a lecturer 😭😭😭
12:30 also sounds like Lost Boys
But in The Lost Boys, it was the older brother floating outside the windows, and the little brother was locking the windows to keep him out, screaming that he's a freakin' vampire. Not letting him in.
Right off the bat, two Stephen King adaptations
Only acceptable in USA to scream in the in the cinema. Not in UK. It drove me nuts when I saw a horror film in the USA with 'audience participation '. I like to experience the movie in my own head. Audience participation impinges on my experience of the movie.
Thank you! I totally agree with you even tho i am American.
Really? People are quiet in theaters in the UK when watching horror movies? That's pretty crazy. I wonder what causes the difference. And is it the same on roller coasters? Dunno why it has always annoyed me when people scream on roller coasters 😂
I knew what he was going to Talk about before he was even finished. You, I was prepared to be scared.
Freddy Krueger deserved to be burned alive - was never a question that crossed my mind. Great Talk though
I never used to watch horror movies until I seen the walking undead and can see our real world is simulated to that seen people looked like zombies after taking mamba and when something tragic happened how a group people survive together and help fight it together.