Horror Studies Final Exam Flashcards

Comprehensive practice flashcards covering core concepts, theorists, and film-specific themes for a Horror Studies final exam.

According to Sigmund Freud, what is the definition of 'The Uncanny'?

The uncanny refers to something that is simultaneously familiar and strange, where horror emerges when ordinary reality becomes destabilized.

What are common uncanny elements mentioned in the lecture notes?

Common uncanny elements include doubles/twins, repetition, automation/mannequins, the blurred line between alive/dead, and the return of hidden repressed desires.

How does Julia Kristeva define 'Abjection' in 'Powers of Horror'?

Abjection is horror produced when boundaries collapse, specifically between human/nonhuman, self/other, inside/outside, and life/death.

Which films are cited as examples of the abject due to cannibalism and bodily transformation?

Raw and Audition.

According to Edmund Burke, what defines 'the sublime'?

The sublime is overwhelming terror mixed with fascination and awe, characterized by vastness, obscurity, darkness, power, and danger.

According to Noël Carroll, what two characteristics define horror monsters?

Horror monsters are 1. threatening and 2. impure/categorically transgressive (e.g., a zombie being both dead and alive).

What is the 'Paradox of Horror' according to Noël Carroll?

It is the question of why audiences enjoy fear/disgust; Carroll argues that curiosity drives spectatorship and the desire to understand the monster.

What is Aaron Smuts’ 'Paradox of Painful Art'?

The idea that negative emotions can still create meaningful pleasure for an audience.

What are the key traits of Carol J. Clover’s 'Final Girl'?

She survives through intelligence and resourcefulness, possesses a masculinized name, and exhibits vigilance and moral awareness.

Which three categories are identified by Linda Williams as 'Body Genres'?

Horror, melodrama, and pornography.

According to Harry Benshoff in 'Monsters in the Closet,' what do monsters often symbolize?

Monsters often symbolize marginalized sexual identities, where 'otherness' becomes monstrous and queer desire is linked to transgression.

What characteristics does James Quandt use to describe 'New French Extremity' in 'Flesh & Blood'?

Graphic sex, graphic violence, bodily transgression, and psychological extremity.

According to Appelbaum, what can the 'Aesthetics of Violence' reveal?

Violence can reveal ideology, expose social systems, and critique spectatorship rather than being merely spectacle.

How does Pierre Bourdieu describe 'Taste and Cultural Capital'?

Taste is socially constructed and used to signal class and identity, reinforcing power structures through the distinction between 'high art' and 'low culture.'

What is 'Paracinema' according to Jeffrey Sconce?

A cinematic aesthetic that values trash, exploitation, camp, excess, and bad taste, celebrating films that mainstream culture rejects.

What similarity does Joan Hawkins find between avant-garde cinema and horror?

Both challenge spectatorship, use shock, and create sensory disruption, breaking the distinction between art cinema and exploitation.

How does Kristin Thompson define 'Cinematic Excess'?

Excess consists of stylistic elements like color, music, editing, and spectacle that exist beyond narrative necessity and disrupt story immersion.

What are Robert Self’s 'Systems of Ambiguity' in art cinema?

Art cinema creates meaning through unresolved psychological uncertainty and fragmented narratives, requiring the audience to interpret rather than passively consume.

What are the characteristics of 'Grindhouse' exhibition culture according to David Church?

Urban theaters, double features, exploitation marketing, sensationalism, and low-budget aesthetics.

According to Underberg-Goode, how does Creepypasta function in digital legend formation?

It functions like folklore: collaborative, mutable, participatory, and anonymously circulated through digital remix culture.

What concept do Cooley & Milligan describe regarding 'Haunted Objects & Networked Subjects'?

Digital horror creates networked fear and technological nostalgia where old media feels uncanny and online circulation blurs fiction and reality.

What are the core conventions of 'Analog Horror' identified by Pasquale?

VHS aesthetics, distorted audio, fake broadcasts, government conspiracies, degraded footage, and liminal spaces.

How does Kaplan describe the effect of digital culture in 'Lost in the Simulation'?

Digital culture destabilizes reality by replacing authenticity with simulations, leading to digital alienation and fragmented identity.

Contrast 'The Abject' and 'The Uncanny' as defined in the course terms.

The Abject involves disgust, bodily collapse, and contamination; the Uncanny involves eerie familiarity, psychological destabilization, and repetition/doubling.

What is the core difference between the 'monsters' of Classical Horror and Analog Horror?

Classical Horror features physical monsters, while Analog Horror features corrupted media.