AMERICAN NIGHTMARE, AN

As a horror enthusiast & video store proprietor I find myself defending the genre almost on a daily basis. Often on an intellectual level and sometimes to temper the fears of parents who are concerned that their kids being exposed. I've been called "sick" and "immoral" for having a passion for horror and globally there is, of course, a bizarre stigma that comes with the genre. Ironically horror is the oldest form of storytelling known to man. Parents misunderstand it and don't even realise that they feed horror to their kids by way of Roald Dahl, Harry Potter and heap of other stuff. Children's literature is full of horror and there's no better example than the Brother's Grimm. Horror is an important outlet to address fears and stimulate emotions that are too often suppressed. One film I often recommend when defending the genre is The American Nightmare. It delves into horror films from the 70s and 80s and studies their significance and correlation with current events. Experts from various fields (media, psychology, history etc) lend their opinions and insights to make for an eye opening, revealing and intelligent study of the importance of horror. Those of us who are already buffs won't learn a lot from The American Nightmare but its most definitely a useful tool for educating the uneducated.

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