Kwaidan: Stories and Studies of Strange Things by Lafcadio Hearn      Blog 3

In old western horror stories there is seems to be distinct rules of what is darkness. That the dead is pure evil or blasphemy and only brings misfortune to the living where in eastern culture death is part of life that creates a bond for their ancestral to the living and it is the responsibility of the living to appease the dead. In Japanese culture, the people pay respect to and honor the dead and the supernatural. It is more focus on how one should have virtue and to cleanse the evil that being good and evil are temporally states that people go through. In western horror, it depends on the point of view the readers are given and there are more obvious roles of who is good and who is evil and who will come out as the winner. In Japanese horror literature, it seems that the power or supernatural are channeled through human’s emotions and morality.

Examples in Japanese literature when there is unfinished business or a promise between two lovers or a strong emotion of hatred or love can created almost fairy-tale like stories where unusually and mythological events are taken place because of Karma. In western death is seen as the end of life as tragedy when someone loses a love one or got killed out of hatred or despair examples. Or reminding the living that death is caused by either being old, sick or violently killed. Japanese literature also has similar ways of one look at death as a lost but dying heroically would consider being a happy and honorable way to go and that is more focus on the Japanese stories. Where as the western focus more on the people’s negative take on death and the lost of the love one.

In Eastern culture the words that come out of our mouth are like a binding written contract or any writing or promise or oracle or foreseeing the future has magical forces working on it. That we humans must do what ever we can to appeased the spirit with not violence but with passive ways. That any creature be it human or animal have a spirit or soul that with certain power can will it-self to come back the dead. Playing on the theme on fate and destiny. On the ideals on family traditions on how a human should act and how dying is only another journey that should not be sad but be remember of that person’s good deeds. It is not death that is sad it is how you die and what you die for that it has it’s own meaning other than life ending. Those superstitions are not taken lightly. Duty is taken very seriously and if not kept in check can lead to dire and drastic consequences that may seem extreme to westerns ideals but in the eastern culture it is like an permanent engraved rule set in stones. The humans that start the evil stay evil until death in western horror stories and it is a psychological transformation. The eastern is more of not only the inside is corrupted but there is a physical transformation if one is tainted or impure in mind and spirit. The supernatural can be negotiated between mankind and the supernatural in Japanese lit. Where the western lit. has more of a battle to see who will triumph and be on top of the food chain.

 Eastern literatures express that it is natural for supernatural to exist and intertwine with life on Earth with mankind. But both Western and Eastern literatures agreed that the dead or undead possess great power and should not be taken lightly as it will bring more tragedy and misfortune. Western horror stories are more on human corruption creates monsters. Both moral stories dealing with human corruption of their own interpretation of monster or horror. The western focus more on human corruption and how it reflects on the monster created by its harsh situations. Where in Japanese stories shows what the ideals reflect on the culture of how to be a proper person and how being a good person will be rewarded or if one does a bad deed that person will be punished in a supernatural way, a moral lesson for readers.

The audition 1999 film seems to express that being single in Japan must mean it is unnatural and you are a monster. Abnormality revolves around people who are lonely which means you must be single and you will be cursed. Single young women are dangerous in most movies as a symbol of a temptress or damsel in distress that will burden the male hero. Sexist vibe of how a single woman has to be either a slut, stupid, or crazy and that a single man is honest and doesn’t fool around. This of course is supposed to be irony in that the woman is the predator and the man is the victim. Women get mistreated a lot in the movies have a very sick and twisted life to be a monster when they had people around them acting like monsters hurting them. Overall it was an interesting movie with very specific and obvious gender roles that seem popular in Japanese culture and many around the world  in literature and films.

Lit. of Horror fantasy and sci-fi      MLee

Interview with the Vampire by Anne Rice

 For some vampires that still cling on to their human beliefs find that feeding was not just to eat but a very intimate experience that gives them life in the most intense way, like intercourse. This acknowledgement is like a connection with how the Native Americans didn’t just kill the buffalo for food but acknowledge its soul and body that gives life to not only to their own kind but also to the Native Americans. Vampires treating blood like an elixir of life but once a human is dead their blood is poison to vampires as if dead pus dead will equal to death. And life is a cycle transferable passing on to one person to another and the vampire are a dead vessel filled with the elixir of life.  With blood being the only thing that moves in a vampires body it can amplified the vampire's five senses to be in best shape ever. The reason why some humans are drawn to the raw power of the vampire is that vampires defies death and sees humans as a formula of elixir of life. This kind of bond is like any human relationships in a psychological way. Examples with blood brothers exchanging blood or the bride and groom exchanging rings or the lost of virginity is by the evidence of blood.

Vampires usually have heightened animal instincts that without the human body’s limited senses are able to show a whole new perspective that is not of human, a sense of freedom (at least during night).  Sine vampires don’t have a heart to tell them that they are alive only their primitive instinct acknowledges and goes directly to the source of life like darkness to light; the stronger the light, the darker the shadow and this could mean as life is connected with death it is a constant give and take situation. The cycle of life and death attract to each other because one cannot exist without the other. Maybe that is why humans are drawn to vampire whose body functions sole purpose is to take life to balance off of being dead.

 A vampire mindset is cleared of humans’ weakness and most of the fears that usually control and influence their former human lives but with that out of the way they have time standing. Blood has also associated with lust and power. But vampires are not perfect predators because they still have their former life personality or moral or fears that could define how each would live just like humans. Vampires are similar to humans in many ways of how any being would react to a new powers and limitations living under different rules of life.

Lestat is a vampire whose former human’s emotions is reflected on his aggressive vampire behavior towards humans unlike Louis who had a more pleasant lifestyle and still sympathizes with the humans and how precious their lives are. Louis feeds mostly on animals and avoids any unnecessary bloodshed that relates to humans.  Lestat is ignorant of how to obtain money because of the lack of his human education. Where Louis’ high-class education taught him the art of finance and investor and manager making him a very self-sufficient vampire unlike his unintelligent mentor. Louis still had his wits that help him understand why his mentor picks young men simply because they represent the prime of Life, when maximum possibility of life.

                                                                      mlee Lit. Horror, fantasy, sci-fi class 

Frankenstein by Mary Shelley

The Gothic themes are a combination of horror, death, and a little of romance. The horror, in the story, focus on the characters being alone and separate from one another. In human society we are social creatures that naturally form and need a community in order to survive and we take comfort of each other’s company.  Frankenstein lost his mother and study aboard leaving behind his precious sister and only friend, Clerval. Death, in the book, is described in a poetic way as if describing a romantic painting. That death can leave a beautiful impression of the dead, reminding the Frankenstein family of how great his mother, Caroline, did for the family especially with Elizabeth. In the novel it tells even if something was pure and innocent that they are no exception to the struggles of life and death using the beautiful and innocent Elizabeth as an example. Frankenstein’s thirst for knowledge made him thought he was revolutionary and inspiring leading to insanity of creating an abnormal creature with no thought of the dire consequences. The Monster kills the beautiful maiden Elizabeth and others out of loneness, confusion, and no guidance .

Frankenstein isolated himself from his family and later the guilt of causing an indirect deaths to his only family, forever in rage and vengeance against his own creation for the rest of his lonely life. How the monster felt isolation of being the only one of his kind and the abandonment from his creator and how he is view as a monster when he himself is a victim of neglect and solitude that can drive any human or creature to insanity and hatred causing him to do drastic and terrible deeds. Both blind in rage and loneness lead to many unnecessary bloodsheds and the death of the main character. That there can be a bond with the monster and Victor Frankenstein because they’re all each other has, giving the monster and Frankenstein a sense of purpose of life that fills the void of the horrible isolation from society. This creates a small romance of how the monster cries other the dead body of Frankenstein as if he lost his only friend.     

In the movie, Young Frankenstein, it shows the obsession of Frankenstein consumes him throughout his entire life and dreams influencing him into similar path of his grand father, the original Frankenstein, of becoming a mad scientist. The horror for Frankenstein was facing unknown territory with strange people with questionable background questioning his beliefs causing fear and resentment.

                                                                                     mlee Lit. horror, fantasy, and sci-fi class