The Psychology of Serial Killer Movies • Hacker News Board

Re: The Psychology of Serial Killer Movies

#11

Post by ianai » Sat, Sep 28, 2019, 1:40 AM UTC

cwmma wrote: post #5

the_af wrote: post #4

Interesting article. A nitpick however: "American Psycho" is not really a serial killer movie, is it? In fact, it's debatable whether any killing occurs at all. (Of course, the embarrassing sequel completely misses the point, from what I've read -- and I refuse to watch it).

yeah but it's structured like serial killer movie, even if it's ambiguous as to whether it might just all be in his head.

It’s even more of a serial killer movie because it revolves around a serial killer story within a story.

Re: The Psychology of Serial Killer Movies

#12

Post by truth_be_told » Sat, Sep 28, 2019, 4:16 AM UTC

I hate Horror/Serial Killer movies and avoid watching them. I find them morbid and do not understand the American fascination with them. To me it is an indicator of something intrinsically wrong with modern American society. Other countries/cultures with huge movie industries (eg. India, China etc.) produce nothing like what Hollywood does in this genre. Psychologically, our minds can be bent towards the best of the best and the worst of the worst given the right stimulus and conditioning. For a healthy functioning society we need systems in place to dampen our worst tendencies and heighten the best ones. These sort of movies do the opposite.

Re: The Psychology of Serial Killer Movies

#13

Post by malvosenior » Sat, Sep 28, 2019, 4:47 AM UTC

truth_be_told wrote: post #12

I hate Horror/Serial Killer movies and avoid watching them. I find them morbid and do not understand the American fascination with them. To me it is an indicator of something intrinsically wrong with modern American society. Other countries/cultures with huge movie industries (eg. India, China etc.) produce nothing like what Hollywood does in this genre. Psychologically, our minds can be bent towards the best of the…

Some people like to be scared (but really, safe). It’s like a rollercoaster. Others like to learn what humans are capable of. Learning anything about history will quickly show you things as bad or much worse than any serial killer story.

Re: The Psychology of Serial Killer Movies

#14

Post by topmonk » Sat, Sep 28, 2019, 5:25 AM UTC

truth_be_told wrote: post #12

I hate Horror/Serial Killer movies and avoid watching them. I find them morbid and do not understand the American fascination with them. To me it is an indicator of something intrinsically wrong with modern American society. Other countries/cultures with huge movie industries (eg. India, China etc.) produce nothing like what Hollywood does in this genre. Psychologically, our minds can be bent towards the best of the…

Japan has far worse. See “Audition” , for example of this.

https://m.imdb.com/title/tt0235198/?ref_=m_nm_knf_i3

I was really emotionally affected after that one. Good fun.

Re: The Psychology of Serial Killer Movies

#15

Post by watwut » Sat, Sep 28, 2019, 1:57 PM UTC

krapp wrote: post #6

ksdale wrote: post #3

"This is what violent death is really like. It is unexpected, out of nowhere – it cuts our stories short. Victims of homicide do not pop into existence three minutes earlier in order to be killed." I love this line and I think this is one of the most valuable things entertainment can provide. Great literature and movies make you feel some approximation of actually going through the thing that is being portrayed. I've…

>there are dozens of super hero type movies that display violence as utterly ordinary, necessary, and proper, where only the bad guys die forever and justice is ultimately served. Not just superhero movies - action movies, westerns, ancient myths and religions in which the heroes were always violent - maybe violent and cunning, but always violent , and the gods were often as ruthless and petty as nature itself. Think…

> Thinking of violence as anything but utterly ordinary, necessary and proper has been the exception rather than the rule in human societies. People still believe in war as a noble adventure that turns undisciplined boys into proper men.

One thing to consider is that a lot of this is literally propaganda.

If you want war, you need rally public support. Or at least it is helpful.It is tripple helpful for young men to go there voluntary and see it as calling. You need then to believe certain things to facilitate building great army.

The army and war being shown as aspirationa was often political. Even censorship rules often facilitated that goal.

Re: The Psychology of Serial Killer Movies

#16

Post by michannne » Sun, Sep 29, 2019, 2:58 AM UTC

rasz wrote: post #8

michannne wrote: post #2

One of my favorite movies is The Guest, mainly because it subverts the idea of explaining to the viewer why the situation is the way it is. All of the main character's life events have led him to the point he is at in the beginning of the movie, and there are already concurrent plot threads running by the beginning, but we're never told or given an explanation as to why the situation is in the state it's in, just tha…

> The Thing -- you'd think something, anything will be explained by the end of the movie Because its explained in its entirety at the beginning: "Se til helvete og komme dere vekk. Det er ikke en bikkje, det er en slags ting. Det imiterer en bikkje, det er ikke virkelig. Kom dere vekk, idioter!" ~= "Get the hell away. It's not a dog, it's some kind of thing. It imitates a dog, it's not real. Get away, idiots!"

I was more referring to the possibility that one character is not what he says he is at the end of the movie