Written by Sneh Lahurikar and Kunshi Varma
Edited by Mehul Shah
Unnatural, Horror, Spooky, Eerie and Creepy. The month of Halloween is finally here. These are some of the feelings that the cinema industry is now capable of making us feel. They can do so in various ways. They horrify the most basic of the objects like doors or lights. The most common symbols are creaky doors, dim or flickering lighting, loud unexpected sounds, mysterious winds, whooshing shadows, rocking chairs and thunderstorms.
Pumpkins have become a symbol of Halloween all over the world. Pumpkins were believed to keep away evil spirits in earlier times. They also represent the harvest season which falls around the same time as Halloween. In some places, glowing pumpkins are a way to welcome the people and show them that they are awaiting visitors who are going trick or treating.
There is also an Irish myth about 'Stingy Jack.' Jack kept tricking the devil into not taking his soul or not sending him to hell, but when he died, he was not let into heaven either. So he wandered the Earth using a carved cabbage root with a piece of glowing coal in it as his only source of light. After that, people started using carved vegetables to scare away his soul.
One of the things one might notice during a horror movie or show are extremely close-up shots. These shots ensure that the essence of the character, every movement, and expression get captured. It helps in keeping the audience hooked up to the scene and builds up the tension as the story proceeds.
Many of the sound effects used contain dogs howling. These effects draw the attention of the audience. Dogs are known to howl when they are facing anxiety or sense something is wrong. Thus, this creates a sense of suspicion among the characters.
Let's look at the cultural role the festival of Halloween plays, particularly regarding the influence of social groups on individuals and conflicting social groups. The sitcom 'Fresh off the Boat' perfectly encapsulates this phenomenon. Through the multiple episodes depicting Halloween in the Huang household, we see the conflicting ideologies prevailing in the family over the holiday spirit.
The holiday starts with showing Mr Huang, who is more attuned to the American way of life and leans into celebrating the occasion, handling the decorations, managing costumes for the family and dealing with trick or treating. On the other hand, we have Mrs Huang, who doesn't even like Halloween and only tolerates the day because it only happens once a year.
While Mr Huang enjoys the aspect of being able to be whatever you wish to be on Halloween, Mrs Huang finds the notion childish. She implies it is stupid to 'invite' spirits by celebrating horror in the form of a festival.
These differing opinions show the influence a group has on individuals. Mr Huang runs his restaurant. There he comes in contact with hundreds of people who mostly share the common belief in Halloween as they are mostly Americans. Mrs Huang stays at home, working on her book or managing her realty firm, where she doesn't interact with that many people to influence her original process of thinking, which she retains throughout the series. This build-up of influence manifests itself in the clash of opinions between the couple.
Differences also show the way a particular event gets viewed from a global perspective. To Mr Huang- who happens to be surrounded by Americans in his work environment, Halloween is a fun time for all, kids and adults alike, while engaging in harmless, spooky shenanigans. However, Mrs Huang, unaffected by other influences, thinks it is a total waste of time, effort and money to have children dress up and be awarded candy for it. It also represents the difference in the ideologies of various geographical regions. Specifically, Halloween is popular in the West but unheard of in the East, except for the most metropolitan urban sprawls.
The cultural impact of Halloween is undeniable now, especially its role in forging and festering spooky mythos across the world as the festival continues to spread with Westernization.
This spread only grows through visual media as it is displayed more and more as a part of American life that serves as an aspirational model to people across the globe who wish to embody this lifestyle and take up celebrating it; in a way, costuming themselves as Americans on the 31st of October to engage in some scary fun despite all the different national and cultural backgrounds they belong.
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