This topic explored movies that showcased the horror being brought inside the house. When most people think of haunted houses, they picture a house that isn’t their own. Haunted houses have become a place outside of your own home that is known to bring our fears to life. People see haunted houses the same as horror movies. It is a way for people to see fears play out, getting a taste of the experience but knowing it will end soon. You go to a haunted house to get scared but you reassure yourself that it isn’t real and when you go home it won’t happen. Both of these movies bring fears into actual homes of families and makes the experience more personal. As we spectate horror movies to see experiences without experiencing them ourselves, we notice the importance of spectatorship in the movies. Spectatorship in Paranormal Activity is seen through Micah’s obsession of film. Micah feels the need to constantly film in hopes that he records paranormal activity on camera. He tries to live through spectatorship rather than experience. For as interested, as he is to “catch it” on camera, he seems to treat it as a joke instead of reality. Katie calls him out for not taking it seriously and he apologizes because he doesn’t want to upset her but he doesn’t truly realize the wrong in his actions. As Katie seems to deteriorate, he continues to be obsessed with filming rather than taking care of her. He lives so much through the spectatorship that he doesn’t handle reality very well. In Poltergeist, spectatorship is what connects the two worlds. Carol Ann is the family member interested in watching the television. While other family members pay no attention to the white noise, she is sucked in mentally and eventually literally. She was so intensely focused on the television, she not only gets lost in it but becomes part of the television. After Carol Ann starts talking through the television, that’s when the other family members become interested in the media and start to spectate in hopes of finding Carol Ann. Spectatorship in this film is seen on both sides. The people spectate the ghosts while the ghosts do the same to the people. The reading says “Spectatorial pleasure for one is displeasure for another” which is shown in this movie. While the two parties spectate one another, both suffer when the other gets what they desire - whether that’s the people living their suburban lifestyle or the ghosts taking Carol Ann because they see her as the light.
How did an invisible spectator act as a character in the film? In Paranormal Activity, the demon is never seen but the actions are. We see covers moved at night, pictures placed in attics, doors being slammed, or even people being thrown. We never see anyone doing this but we see the reality of them happening. Oddly, we don’t try to put a person behind the actions because we accept the invisible character being the culprit. In Poltergeist, we actually see monsters and ghosts but at those times, they aren’t actually doing any acts. When we see objects move around the house or unexplainable occurrences, there is no visible culprit. The poltergeist prefers to act as the invisible spectator rather than a visible one.
How did technology amplify the paranormal occurrences? Can you describe if it was just the technology, the ideals of the people behind it, or both? In Paranormal Activity, it is more of the ideals of the person behind the technology that amplifies the occurrences. It is Micah’s nonchalant attitude and mocking actions, not the camera, that leads to the demon becoming more violent.
Define how the values of the characters changed through the films by naming each point which they swayed to another direction. In Paranormal Activity, Micah didn’t initially take the situation seriously and that lead to him not valuing Katie’s feelings and thoughts about how to handle the situation. As things escalated, he began to realize the seriousness and valued her opinion more. While it wasn’t evident that he completely changed his values, he was forced to accept the reality of the situation. At the beginning of Poltergeist, the children are seeking the comfort of their parents but both parents are caught up in pleasure and enjoying themselves more than seeking to take care of their kids. By the end, the parents are seeking their children to protect and comfort them.