January 6th, ANXIETY

Today, I wish to talk about a form of fear which was touched upon in The Biology of Fear, one which they state is a more "tonic" state of fear, related to prediction and preparedness -- anxiety.

In the book Cinematic Emotion in Horror Films and Thrillers, Julian Hanich states there are several types of cinematic fear, different stages of the experience, with their own dramaturgical impacts and intentions: direct horror, suggested horror, cinematic shock, cinematic dread, cinematic terror (Hanich, Anxious Anticipations, 2010). Anxiety is linked with cinematic dread, in which we feel for both the character and a threatening outcome of the situation (Hanich, 2010). This links back to the uncertainty mode of fear we touched upon yesterday, in all of its forms. We (audience and characters alike) may not know what the danger is, where it is, or when (or even if) it will appear -- and thus the time spent is one in anticipatory fear for a dreaded outcome. Film naturally does this through its cinematography and audio-visual stimuli to signify to the viewer something is about to happen -- such as stillness, a calm before the storm, where the music suddenly fades out and time seems to linger. Time seems to warp around it, and the wait itself can become unbearable (Hanich, 2010).

The anxiety causes us to dread what we know is inevitable -- the ending of the scene. We wish to postpone what we know will happen, and in this wait we may even start to imagine what will be and become scared of that as well, much like a non-filmic anxiety. Anxiety can be typified by tension, apprehension and worry, which may become manifest even without the presence of actual danger (Muris, 2007). Anxiety is rooted in confrontation with a distal threat (both physical and temporal), and once the threat is detected, it shifts to fear (Hanich, 2010).