12-P2 31 Why Thrillers Thrive?

People go to the cinema to see a life they don't experience reflected on the screen, or to see the same life but consists of emotional disturbances or "Thrills" It is nature that if we don't have these "Shakeouts" we grow sluggish and jellified, People are so sheltered that they do not experience these thrills at first hand, we have to experience them artificially, so we go see them in a cinema to fulfill this. We can see things happening safely and securely, sitting comfortably, through a window, in order to appreciate what the characters going through, we have to receive our thrills vicariously which is not the most effective method.

When watching a well made film we participate in the narrative, For example the scene in "Hells Angels" in which a pilot decides to crash his plain into the envelope of the zeppelin to destroy it, even though it leads to his inevitable death, when you see his face as his plane swoops down, we see him tense and horror stricken, then we are transferred into the pilots seat and it is as if the viewer is the one hurtling to their demise at 100mph. And then at the moment of impact there is a blackout, which leaves the audience shuddering.

There is no harm in this because the audience is aware that they are safe, sitting in an armchair, watching a screen. When audiences go to the cinema they are assured that they are completely safe, and yet imagination plays tricks on them.

Another type of thrill the audience involves themselves in is when a character who the audience is sympathetic towards becomes in danger, and in this cinema is becomes more effective than stage, because cinema can produce the effect of danger without there actually being some, for example, if your 'hero' is to throw themselves into danger, on stage you'll hear the other characters say there's danger, and you'll see the hero jump upstage and disappear from sight. on the screen the hero would be in no greater actual danger, yet the audience will see how big the hero's danger is.

A thriller must be whole hearted and exiting. And that is why the authentic thriller will thrive.


Joe, Lily, Esther, Laura,Tom