It's just a movie....or is it?

John Carpenter and Debra Hill started a new generation of film in 1978 when they directed “Halloween.” With a $300,000 budget, they managed to create the greatest horror movie ever made. “Halloween” was the first of its kind, and all the movies after it were a mere replication of the phenomenon that was “Halloween.” In the late 60’s and early 70’s horror movies arose with the villains being monsters and ghosts, but “Halloween” was the first movie to strike fear in the hearts of babysitters everywhere. Haddonfield, the town Michael Myers wreaked havoc in was a realistic environment. It was the typicality of this town that made it scary because it could be ANY town.
The desire to be frightened is as universal as the desire to be loved. People are entertained by death, destruction, the kill, and the suspense of horror films. The innovative photography of “Halloween” created a world where danger lurked around every corner, and every empty space had the potential to conceal a threat. “Halloween” was all about suspense and the chase, so by the time Michael Myers actually killed his victim, the amount of gore and blood was unimportant to the audience. The film was scary because the audience was closing their eyes out of fear, not because it was gory and they couldn’t watch it.
Michael Myers’ mask was a very important keep to the shear horror of the film. The creators used a William Shatner mask, cut the eyes out of it and shaved the eyebrows off. The black eyes of the mask allowed the audience to put into the absence what they willed. Why and what one person put behind the mask would be different from another. Another important factor that made the movie so scary was the music score. The composer got the idea from a bongo beat. How could something so simple strike that much fear in its audience? The power of music in films is undeniable. It creates a communication with the viewer that something is coming.
Most of the death scenes in the movie were centered on Michael Myers killing the sexually active couples either before they are about to have sex or right after they do. The hidden innuendo of this film is quite clear: “Halloween” is an uncomfortable mix of sex and death. Promiscuity is evil and the virgin always lives.
In the same way that Frankenstein was made of human parts, Michael Myers was a monster made of cinematic parts: the camera, framing, light, shadows, and sound. With all the powers of cinema at his disposal, Michael Myers embodied the meanings of his creation. He was death itself. The goal of a successful horror movie is to get the audience to try and dissect the psyche of the killer. The boogie man should always remain an enigma, and should have a lot of speculation but no firm answers for his motives.



"Halloween: 25 Years of Terror." Anchor Bay Entertainment. 2006.

Helter Skelter!

August 9, 1969 was a normal day in Beverly Hills until it turned into the most famous murder in our history. It occurred at Sharon Tate's house in the thought to be well-secluded hills in California. She was entertaining her friends, Abigail Folger, her boyfriend Voytek Frykowski, Steve Parent, and Jay Sebring, on the night when Charles Manson and the “Manson Family” came to visit.

Winifred Chapman, Sharon Tate’s maid, came to work the next morning around 8 a.m. and found the massacre. Sharon, who was nine months pregnant, attained 16 stab wounds. The first 5 stabs were to her chest and back, which is what killed her. The other 11 wounds just added insult to injury. Her baby died with her. Around her neck was a rope that was attached to the neck of Jay Sebring, who was shot and stabbed 7 times. On the front door was the word “PIG” written in blood. Outside in the lawn, were Abigail Folger and Voytek Frykowski. Abigail was stabbed a ghastly 28 times, while Frykowski’s head was beat in with 5 big blows. He was also shot and stabbed 51 times! Steve Parent, found in a truck outside in the driveway, was shot 5 times, but not stabbed. He was not supposed to show up that night, so the Manson Family just killed him quickly.

Charles Manson had convinced his followers that he was Jesus Christ and he was going to lead them into a hole in the earth in Death Valley to a new civilization. According to Susan Atkins, who confessed everything, the Manson Family had a big list of celebrities they planned on killing, including Richard Burton and Elizabeth Taylor, Frank Sinatra, Steve McQueen and Tom Jones. It was important to select victims that would shock the world, and that’s what they intended to do. She had planned to carve the words "helter skelter" on Elizabeth Taylor's face with a red-hot knife and then gouge her eyes out. Then she would castrate Richard Burton and put his penis along with Elizabeth Taylor's eyes in a bottle and mail it to Eddie Fisher. Sinatra was to be skinned alive, while he listened to his own music. The Family would then make purses out of his skin and sell them in hippie shops. Tom Jones would have his throat slit, but only after being forced to have sex with Susan Atkins.

Why did the Manson Family decide to do this horrendous act? The core of the Manson philosophy was a kind of Armageddon. Charlie preached that the black man was going to rise up and start killing the whites. The black man would win this war, but wouldn't be able to hang onto the power he seized because of innate inferiority, therefore, the Manson Family, would come out from hiding in Death Valley and take over the world. So, how did this big race war philosophy lead them to murder Sharon Tate and her friends? Charles said "The only thing blackie knows is what whitey has told him," he said to one of his followers just before the murders. "I'm going to have to show him how to do it." He wanted the race war to happen now, so he thought this would kick it off.

http://www.crimelibrary.com/serial_killers/notorious/manson

Killers: Born or Made?

In today’s society, we are surrounded by violence in the media. Everything from video games to children’s cartoons contains violent images that could be having an effect on our youth. A popular question psychologists and researchers ask is, “Are criminals born, or made?” I believe that social structure shapes human behavior; and this behavior may turn out to be criminal. It is not a reasonable assumption to say that every person who exposes themselves to violent images is going to turn into a killer, but because our youth is impressionable at that age, they are more prone to immolate what they see on television.

Since Darwin’s time, people have been trying to explain why people commit crimes. Researchers believed that DNA and chemical imbalances at birth caused criminal behavior. For example, in the early 1960s, a researcher discovered that men who had a chromosome pattern of “XYY” were much more common in prisons than in the general populations. These men were called “super-males” and were characterized as excessively aggressive, hostile and more prone to unexpected behavior. The most notorious of these hypothetical “super-males” was Richard Speck, the crazy killer of eight nurses in Chicago in 1966. It was believed that Speck possessed an extra “Y” chromosome. Years later, it was discovered that Speck did not have the pattern and the “XYY” theory eventually fell into disrepute almost as fast as it became popular.

Another psychologist, Cesare Lombroso, became convinced that a criminal was an immoral person, a sort of throwback to primitive man who had not developed to the same biological level as the modern, non-criminal man. Lombroso called this inferior being the “born criminal”, a being who was pre-destined for criminal behavior due to his physical configuration. According to Lombroso, the “born criminal” descended from a “degenerate family with frequent cases of insanity, deafness, syphilis, epilepsy and alcoholism among its members.” However, Lombroso’s theories began to unravel when several weaknesses were discovered in his research. Virtually all of Lombroso’s presumptions were based on studies performed only on convicted criminals. He did not use a control group to which he could compare his results. Therefore, his conclusions could not be broadened to include the general population as a whole.

Since most all research saying killers are born has been discredited, the only liable explanation is that killers are created through society and what people are exposed to. Examples of this include the Columbine shooting, whose criminal behavior was linked back to movies and video games the killers watched. The students went on a rampage on April 20, 1999, the 110th anniversary of Adolph Hitler’s birth, in Littleton, Colorado, at the Columbine High School. Wearing long, black trench-coats, the students walked through the hallways shooting at students aimlessly. They shot 38 classmates, killing 13 before they turned the guns on themselves. The event was an almost exact replica of a scene in a popular youth film of the time in which angry students in long, dark coats killed their teachers with shotguns.

Bartol, Crut R. Criminal Behavior. New Jersey: Prentice Hall. 1991
Siegel, Larry J. (1998) Criminology. Belmont, CA: Wadsworth Publishing Company.

Ronald DeFeo ..The Amityville Murderer

November 14, 1974 is marked in history as the night of one of the most horrific murders in our country’s history. Ronald DeFeo Jr. was the murderer of his six family members, killing them at point blank range in the middle of the night with .35 caliber shot gun. He first walked into his parent’s room. Following the 3 shots he fired into his parents, he headed to his little brothers’ room. After the quit massacre in there, he finished his family off by killing his two little sisters as well. Proceeding this horrific event, he calmly took a shower got dressed, dumped off the shot gun shells and his bloody clothes into a storm drain, and headed to work.

He claimed to have attempted to reach his family all day, calling and going by the house. The cars were in the driveway and the door was locked, no one was answering the phone either. Around 6 p.m. he decided to break into the house through the kitchen window since he was concerned about his family. He discovered the bodies and ran to the local bar and said his parents had been shot! At first everyone believed that he had no connection with the murders, and the thought never crossed anyone’s mind that he had in fact murdered his entire family. At first he said the mob did it because his family had had a mix up with them a few years back, but his story began to unravel as the police found the gun box in his room. He was taken to prison and awaited his trial. At the trial, the question was and still remains, “Was he mentally stable at the time he killed his family?” The psychiatrist firmly believed that he was insane at the time, but the jury did not buy it. He is still serving his 6 consecutive life sentences in New York.

So what state of mind was Ronald really in during his murdering spree? Doctors to this day believe he was insane. He claimed to have heard voices and other schizophrenic symptoms that led him to killing his entire family. How can you put someone away for life (6x) if he was mentally ill? That question can be answered very easily: he was NOT insane, he was pissed off. He felt such resentment towards his father because he used to beat him and treat him horribly. This resentment grew further into resenting his entire family. One night he decided he wanted to be freed from his burdening family, so he killed them all. He knew what he was doing. He was in the state of mind of a serial killer, not a psychopath (and yes, there’s a difference).

Yes he was messed up in the head for murdering his entire family, but that should not excuse his crime. His father basically produced the pent up anger machine from childhood. I believe this goes back to the idea that killers are not born, they are produced. He was not born with a genetic disposition that was only maintained by killing his family. There was nothing wrong with his brain! He was a cold-blooded killer who knew exactly what he was doing.

www.amityvillemurders.com/

Message from your Heart

Kina Grannis was the winner of the Doritos Crash the Super Bowl contest, where she was given a deal with Interscope Records. She is an extremely talented artist whose songs are not just for easy listening. The creator of her website said, “Her lyrics tell a story, spill out emotions, and confront the eccentricities of life. Kina's ability to parallel the delicate nuances of her melodies with poignant observations on life, love and the many uses of pennies is superseded only by her transcendent voice, which rivals that of many of today's popular musicians.” After watching the video and listening to the lyrics of this song, one can easily agree with this statement.

The song, entitled “Message from your Heart,” is about a heart talking to the person that encompasses it. How she thought of this song is truly beyond me. The first two lines set the mood for the rest of the song. The heart wants it known that it is the source of all your emotions, more specifically the two polar opposites: love and misery. The heart lets us know when we are in love, and when we are completely miserable. Without the heart, we wouldn’t feel anything, according to the heart that is. I would like to argue that the heart in this song is extremely boastful and selfish. It thinks it runs the show! It goes on and on about all the things it does for you and you give it no credit whatsoever. The heart thinks its time for the person to start taking care of it.

Kina paints beautiful illustrations of the heart and what its functions are. It gives the listener a new way to look at the heart besides just pumping blood in and out all day long. The heart works 24/7 while you are sleeping and awake. When you aren’t active, it’s still working. One line says “I don’t work for free, please take care of me.” All the heart wants is to be taken care of because it takes of you. Not working for free means that it has no choice but to give life to the person it beats in.

When it says, “Don’t break me I bleed constantly,” it not only means literally pumping blood constantly, but also bleeding in pain. It gets no brake, no day off. It has no other job except providing life. It is completely devoted to its host, no questions asked. However, it does have a simply request: for everything that it does for you, the least you could do is to take care of it. Taking care of it could mean a number of things, including eating healthy so you won’t have a heart attack. But I’m sure, in this song, it is referring to your love life. Don’t put yourself in a situation where the heart has to be in more pain than it already is in.

The main thing I took from this song is that the heart is constantly reminding you that it’s the center of your life. It maintains your life. It wants gratitude. It wants to be taken care of, because it so graciously takes care of you. I do think it is being quite selfish in its request. The heart makes it appear that it is the only thing in your body when in fact there are tons of other organs vital to your survival. In reality, the heart has nothing to do with your emotions at all, your brain does. But no one thinks the brain is a cute organ. Who says you broke my brain? I have a brain ache! People refer to their heart breaking when they are hurt because they feel like want to die when they lose something they love, and if your heart is literally broken and not functionally, you will die. Therefore, that is where the heart metaphor arose.

Ed Gein, the Ghoul of Plainfield

Ed Gein, the Ghoul of Plainfield

The original ‘Texas Chainsaw Massacre’ movie was made in the 70’s, but it was re-made a few years ago. The horror film is about a group of teenagers who get stranded in a small town which turns out to be a death trap. The Hewitt family preys on anyone who comes in their direction. By the end of the story, only one girl escapes the clutches of ‘leather face,’ which cut off his victims face and turns it into a mask. One might ask, who has not seen the film, why it is so scary? It is just another movie about some fictional character that kills people for his own sick fantasies. However, within the first 5 minutes of the movie, the audience discovers that this movie is based on true events, and that is why The Texas Chainsaw Massacre is one of the scariest movies ever made. This movie is composed from the life of a serial killer known as Ed Gein. What caused this small town boy to become one of history's imfamous killers? Was it a genetic disposition that he could not control, or did something or someone cause his downward spiral into murder?

Although the ‘massacre’ did not occur in Texas, and no chainsaw was actually involved, the main idea behind this movie was referenced from Ed Gein, the ghoul of Plainfield, Wisconsin. He killed over 20 people in the 1950s. Because the 50s were a time where TV couples were not allowed to be seen in the same bed, his crimes were horrifying to everyone in his time. Police found a woman gutted and strung up by her heels like a deer in his shed. There were jars of noses, and a belt made of female nipples. He used skulls as soup bowls, and propped up his coffee table with shin bones. He grew up in Plainfield where the population fluctuated between 600 to 680 people. His house was a good distance from town, where he was isolated from all human contact except his crazy mother. She was domineering and fanatical in her religion and did not want Ed, or his brother Henry, have much to do with the outside world. On a conscious level he basically saw his mother as a god-like figure whom he worshipped, but I believe unconsciously he built up resentment against her because she would not let him have contact with anyone, especially women. One might argue that his lack of communication with the outside world led him to killing just because he did not know any better and had irreversable chemical imbalances. On the other hand, I would like to argue that his mother's influence on his life caused him to do the horrible things that would soon come.

After his mother grew ill and passed away, Ed’s life began to spiral down. His house became almost a symbolic representation of what was going on inside his head. It was complete chaos, you couldn’t move at all in his home because there was so much stuff in it. He had odd collections of dentures and chewed up gum. He also had an extraordinary collection of Tales of the Crypt and The Vault of Horror comic books that illustrated extreme and graphic violence. He became obsessed with these and decided it was time to act on his obsession, so before he went on a killing spree, he started robbing graves of women who reminded him of his mother, which was symbolic of the resurrecting of his mother. The most common thing he would do with the women he dug up was to cut their faces off and make masks with them. Gein was fascinated with the idea of transsexuals, and I believe he wanted to be a woman, more specifically, his mother. Because he had no contact with the outside world, he did not know how he was supposed to act, so he just emulated his mother.

Most psychiatrists and people who examine the lives of people like Ed Gein believe that serial killers are born with some genetic chemical imbalance that makes them want to kill, but in Ed’s case, I believe the serial killer was created inadvertently by his controlling mother. If he was allowed to associate with anyone outside his family, or have a girlfriend for crying out loud, maybe he would not have become one of the most infamous serial killers of our time.

Information about Ed Gein was researched from the special edition two disc ‘Texas Chainsaw Massacre’ DVD!!!

Droplets

Droplets

I'm leaving you
I'm not sure if that’s what I should do
It hurts so bad
I'm wanting you but cant go back
Trying to find, to find
That all elusive peace of mind
Stuck here somehow
Shrouded beneath my fearAnd doubt, but I don’t need it

Cuz I'm walkin down this road alone
and figured all I'm thinking bout is you, is you my love
And my head is in a cloud of rain and the world it seems so far away
and I'm just waiting to fall
In droplets, droplets

You left a mark
I wear it proudly on my chest
Above my heart
To Remind me that I feel the best
When I'm with you
To me everything is effortless
You know its true
My eyes are painted with regret and I don’t need it
Cuz I'm walkin down this road alone and figured all I'm thinking bout is you,
is you my love
And my head is in a cloud of rain and the world it seems so far away
and I'm just waiting to fall and sink into your tears

You are like the raindrops, the raindrops falling down on me

You left a mark you left a mark
She left a mark he left
She left he left
And I don’t I don’tNeed it.

Colbie Caillat is by far my favorite artist. Not only are her melodies awesome, but the lyrics themselves are incredible. She finds ways to put into words what most people only attempt to. I have not found one song that I do not like because they all relate to some aspect of my life. I believe this is why she has become so popular because the songs are so simple yet incredibly meaningful at the same time. This song in particular is my favorite because it talks about having to let someone go that you don’t want to, but you know it has to be done for whatever reason it might be. Everything has a beginning, middle, and an end, but this song seems to be in the reverse order.

The first line IS the end because she says “I’m leaving you.” As the song progresses, it appears that the song is going backwards and forwards at the same time. The girl is at the end, but the guy wants to go anywhere EXCEPT the end. The first verse and chorus of the song are from the girl’s perspective. She is making the tough decision to leave her boyfriend because of he made an unknown mistake. When she says “trying to find that all elusive peace of mind, stuck here but somehow shrouded beneath my fear and doubt,” she wishes she could remember a time she was at peace with herself and more than likely her boyfriend. She can’t seem to find this peace because her fears and doubts about her boyfriend are keeping her from seeing it clearly. She wants to go back to the beginning, but simply cannot. The chorus is a metaphor about her not being grounded, but in the rain clouds. I believe the rain clouds also signify her elusiveness caused by her conflicting thoughts. “I’m just waiting to fall in droplets” indicates her tears.

The second verse is the guy talking back to his girlfriend, sung by Jason Reeves. He is clearly trying to convince her that she is the only one he wants and loves and wishes he could take her back to any place before this specific time. The second verse almost makes you forget that the song is about a bitter ending because it is so sweet. But let’s not get distracted! He knows he messed up and he is actually a very nice job sweet talking her. He is trying to convince her that they are good together and he deserves another chance. My favorite line is when he says “My eyes are painted with regret and I don’t need it.” He is looking at his girlfriend, knowing what he did and he wishes he could take it back, but he can’t. He can’t turn back the clock and change what he did, but he knows whatever he did is unforgivable to her.

The last line of the second chorus says “I’m just waiting fall and sink into your tears.” I believe this line means he is just waiting for the bottom to fall out of the relationship when she tells him that they are over. The ‘fall’ in the song is the fall from the rain clouds, but it can be translated to the fall back into reality: the reality that he has lost the love of his life because he messed up. It also signifies the fall back to the end. Back to where they were when she said “I’m leaving you.” The closing lines of the song are the couple going back and forth saying the other left a mark on them. The mark for the girl is a bad mark because she was hurt by her boyfriend. The mark on the guy was a good mark left by the girl he loves and he will never forget how he felt when they were together. Do you forgive and forget? How do you move on after a heart ache like this? This song illustrates the back and forth struggle that couples face when one person makes a bad decision. I think the group The Fray said it best when they sang, “Sometimes the hardest thing and the right thing are the same.”