Boo!

Before creating any solid ideas about a suspense film, I thought it would be important to research fear; what is fear? And more importantly, what aspects of fear do we all share as humans? I feel that once I am able to get a grasp on this, I will be able to strike fear all the way to human instinct. Once you know instinct, you can’t miss.

To begin, it is important to know exactly what fear is. According to the National Institute of Mental Health, "Fear is a feeling of disquiet that begins rapidly in the presence of danger and dissipates quickly once the threat is removed.” We all know what it is, we’ve all felt in. Maybe in the form of butterflies in the stomach, instant sweats, or even shaking. It is a part of human nature. So, knowing this, it is important to know that fears are either innate or learned. A baby isn’t born afraid of a gun, but he is afraid of loud noises. And that is what I want to tackle with my project, the fears that we are all born with.

According to Doctor Karl Albrecht, an expert in cognitive styles, there are five general fears we all share. The fear of Extinction, Mutilation, Loss of Autonomy, Separation, and Ego-death. Dr. Albrecht explains that the fear of extinction is really just a fancy way to talk about the fear of death. From this fear come many others, such as the fear of heights. When you think about it, if you peer over a building and feel afraid, you’re really scared of falling over and dying. 

The fear of mutilation is the fear of losing an important part of our body. From this fear comes the fear of certain animals, such as insects; we are afraid they will cause some sort of damage to an essential body part. The fear of the loss of autonomy is the fear of being trapped, enveloped, or enclosed. Being physically trapped what we know as claustrophobia. But from the fear of the loss of autonomy can also be seen in being afraid of commitment, losing your freedom and the ability to do things "your own way". The fear of separation is the fear of being left alone, not loved, or not wanted. Think about when you hold back telling someone something unpleasant because you fear that will cause the person to not like you. The fear of ego-death relates to the fear of the “loss of integrity of the self.” So imagine you being jealous of your girlfriend with another guy, it’s the fear of her valuing him more than she does you; the fear of you losing your worth to her. 

Interestingly, the University of Chicago came out with a study about something called “approach avoidance”. According to Dailymail’s summary of the study, we humans are innately afraid of things getting closer to us; it implies objects moving closer, sounds getting louder, and even dates of events approaching. When you think about it, it makes perfect sense. Surely you’ve been in a conversation with somebody that tries to get closer to you, resulting in you feeling uncomfortable. Or when you think of a trip or presentation coming up and get a little nervous. Even when you’re watching a movie and hear the music start to build, like it’s getting closer to you. We’ve all felt approach-avoidance and it’s a big part of our daily lives. 

Doesn’t this make you feel just… uncomfortable?

Out of all of these, I am most fascinated by approach-avoidance. I had never put much thought into it, it’s simply a reflex we all get used to since the day we are born. And for movies, approach-avoidance plays a very big role. Think about scary movies you’ve seen in the past and how they’ve used this; the music building up to get really loud, a random close-up to someone’s face, or the idea of being followed. With this in mind, I can’t wait to implement it and see what kind of effect can come out of it.

I hope you’ve learned a little something about fears with this, I know I did. And don’t feel bad if you get anxiety from things that you think are not normal; maybe they’re just getting closer to you, or maybe you’re just afraid of being mutilated.

P.S.
Please leave a comment on this post telling me some fears you think we all experience!


Albrecht, Karl. "The (Only) 5 Things We All Share." Psychology Today. N.p., 22 
     Mar. 2012. Web. 11 Mar. 2016. <http://www.psychologytoday.com/blog/ 
     brainsnacks/201203/the-only-5-fears-we-all-share>. '

"Cambridge International AS and A Level Media Studies (9607)." Cambridge 
     International Examinations. N.p., n.d. Web. 9 Mar. 2016. 
     <http://www.cie.org.uk/programmes-and-qualifications/ 
     cambridge-international-as-and-a-level-media-studies-9607/>. 

Griffiths, Sarah. "Back Off! Our Brains Are Hardwired to Feel Fear When Someone 
     Moves Towards Us - Even If They're Not a Threat." Dailymail. N.p., 24 June 
     2014. Web. 11 Mar. 2016. <http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sciencetech/ 
     article-2667168/ 
     Back-Our-brains-hardwired-feel-fear-approaches-theyre-not-threat.html>. 

"Neuroscience and Psychiatry Module 2: Fear/Safety, Anxiety, and Anxiety 
     Disorders." National Institute of Mental Health. N.p., n.d. Web. 11 Mar. 
     2016. <http://www.nimh.nih.gov/health/educational-resources/ 
     neuroscience-and-psychiatry/ 
     neuroscience-and-psychiatry-module-2-fear-safety-anxiety-and-anxiety-disorders.sh 
     tml>. 

Images:

 N.d. Mashable. Ed. My-Fantasyworld. Web. 11 Mar. 2016. <http://mashable.com/2014/02/24/3d-gifs/#ZmK2_8xJwmqc>.

2014. Mumbai. Where Cool Things Happen. Web. 11 Mar. 2016. <http://www.wherecoolthingshappen.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/02/420-feet-     nnabove-mumbai-640x410.jpg>.