Write 3 discussion questions about the movie "the comedy of terrors - Vincent prince (1963)" and chapter 12 on the book (A Companion to the Horror Film - Harry M. Benshoff)(I will provide access to the book)
1) When thinking about the video Feast Your Eyes? Why do you think Lon Chaney’s, in terms of his body and/or makeup, character acting was so revolutionary?
2) How do you think Greek mythology, Christianity and other religions paved the way for “horror”? (pg 208-210)
3) “The horror film…continues to embody the ideological circumstances of the moment that contains it” (Sharrett, pg 71) Coming out in 1920, in what ways is Cabinet of Dr. Caligari a reflection of postwar era?
4) In Cabinet of Dr. Caligari things aren't really what they seem when we find out Frances has been a patient at a mental facility the whole time. Discuss the theme of perception v. reality and how the form of expressionism further illustrated Frances' dreamlike state?
- Lon Chaney was one of the first horror film icons, embodying several monsters and ghouls such as the Phantom in the Phantom of the Opera and Quasimodo in The Hunchback of Notre Dame. Both of the aforementioned characters are hideous yet sympathetic to the viewer. How does Lon Chaney use pantomime to create sympathy in such terrifying figures?
- Germany’s Weimar era was strife with post-war trauma and engaging in a new 1920s risque scene, resulting in combinations of violence and sexual obsession in German Expressionist art and film. How does The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari dwell on the aspects of violence and sex to reflect the culture of 1920s Germany?
- In Ch. 4 of the textbook the section called “Horror and the Coming of Feminism” references Roman Polanski’s horror masterpiece Rosemary’s Baby as an attack on the patriarchal society. In Rosemary’s Baby, the husband is regularly viewed as a manipulator, and Rosemary must surrender herself to the confinements of the marital relationship and gender assumptions. Given that this film came out in 1968, more than 50 years ago, has the horror genre progressed or regressed for the feminist agenda?
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