Week 12 Discussion

The terror in Joyce Carol Oates’s “Where Are You Going, Where Have You Been?” feels very different from the fear you get while watching a horror movie. I will compare it to my experience while watching Stanley Kubrick’s “The Shining.” Oates’s story is about subtle, creeping dread. Arnold Friend is not an over the top monster, it is unsettling because he’s almost normal. There are disturbing detail like his too tight boots or the way he seems to know too much about Connie. It’s the kind of fear that comes from the unknown. Who is he? What does he really want? The author never answers these questions, so your imagination does all the work, which makes it feel very personal and almost too real. In The Shining, the terror is more right in your face. Kubrick fills the screen with unforgettable, horrifying images; the blood pouring out of the elevator, Jack’s crazed face through the splintered door, the ghostly twins. It feels like the film grabs you by the throat and forces you to experience its fear directly. But even with all its big, scary moments, The Shining also digs into psychological terror, like Jack’s slow descent into madness and the suffocating isolation of the Overlook Hotel. It is intense and relentless; you are at Kubrick’s mercy as he builds the tension. I feel that the biggest difference is control. With Oates’s story, you set the pace. You can pause, reread, and let the dread simmer. With The Shining, or any other terror movie, you are there as part of the ride, and the director is not letting you off the hook or any breaks. Both terrify you, but in different ways.