290. Modern Horror



Hey classic horror films were fine and dandy back in the day. They had real horrors happening, too, with two world wars happening in the span between the first Frankenstein film (1910) and House of Dracula (1945). Monsters were a fantastical thing to fear in a time in which people were seeing human monstrosity on the daily. 

Today, many regions are still experiencing daily horrors, but the things that terrify me the most don’t have legs, claws, fangs or bolts on their necks. It’s the realization of entrenched institutionalized racism, the obvious encroachment and popularity of white supremacist philosophies, the infinitesimal but prolonged deleterious effects of our lifestyles on the environment and the systematic erosion of truth and science. These are the things that are all around us and seem to be at a crescendo. These are the things that make me hide under the covers.

The most impactful moment while viewing a horror film happened to me in 2017, eight years ago. The movie was “Get Out” and the monster was the red and blue flashes of a police car (ok that one part in Hereditarywas also good). An amalgam of ideas that suggested volumes. I’m not an ACAB guy, I’ve met many police officers who are very decent people. The large majority. The system is a bastard, though, and it has been for a long time. It’s not until everyone realizes what bias is and the bias that we all have, that the horrors start to percolate. 

The DEI program in the organization I worked for, (before the layoff) was doing a lot to open our eyes to things like bias. And now, programs like that are being crucified for it. Now why do you think that is? The alt-right will tell you that these programs made it so that meritorious white people were being replaced by minorities without merit. Nothing of the sort was or is happening, they are being crucified because they were opening people’s eyes. What’s a monster if not something that wants your eyes wide shut?

Anyway, thanks for coming for the laughs and staying for the raw stuff.

 

 

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