Week Four: Old Weird and New Weird

I appreciate strange or non-linear storytelling in particular-- not that I think I'm above 'regular' kinds of storytelling or anything. Both are good. I'll admit that a lot of nonlinear books I read or movies I watch go way over my head, but I enjoy the surprises and I enjoy the way that these works challenge the way we normally experience media. I think that's a very important theme to have, especially in a genre such as horror. This genre is riddled with all kinds of tropes and predictability, though at its core you would think it's supposed to be weird! I see a lot of interesting dramas and documentary-type films, but when I see a horror film challenging the norms I really get excited.

I read a bit of King Rat outside of class, which I'd always wanted to read, but I really don't think I got far enough to explore what was so weird about it.
The movie we watched in class however, was far more compelling. We watched Under the Skin, a 2013 film starring Scarlett Johansson that definitely explored the world of "new weird". Right off the bat it turns over a number of tired horror tropes on its head, as it seems to feature a woman prowling the streets of Glasgow and preying on men-- not the other way around, as you would think. Before long, you realize that supernatural elements are involved-- but again, not the way you would think. I sincerely enjoyed the way that this film approached these scenes. At first I was under the impression that the movie was highly metaphoric. The strange pool of liquid that the main character was luring these men into seemed to come off as a way to represent a woman serial killer in such an alien way because the concept itself is so alien. I later learned that the film is actually very supernatural, but I still stand impressed. I feel that these elements were very gently and excellently handled.

I think 'weird' is very compelling, for me at least, because it gives you a break from a world saturated with formulaic storytelling. I respect people who work structurally but I try to think of storytelling as an organic process and that each different story is its own living, breathing thing, and that you may treat it as such. I feel when I watch films and read books like this that they are really pushing the limits of storytelling and I can really respect that. I know many people are afraid of things that are 'weird' or foreign but I think that weird keeps the world interesting and we should not shun it, but embrace it.