What horror films teach us about ourselves and being human | Dr. Steven Schlozman | TEDxNashville

1. UNIVERSITY OF THE ARMED FORCES
CINEMA APPRECIATION
ACADEMIC FORUM 2
“What horror films teach us about ourselves and being human | Dr.
Steven Schlozman”
DAYANA CRISTINA TAMAYO

2. What horror films teach us about ourselves and being human |
Dr. Steven Schlozman | TEDxNashville
Dr. Steve Schlozman’s Biography
 He majored in English and biology at Stanford University
 He is an assistant professor of psychiatry at Harvard Medical
School
 He has authored more than 40 academic publications
 “The Zombie Autopsies” is his first novel optioned for film
adaptation of Night of the Living Dead
 He states the power of stories and narratives to help people
to understand mental health issues
 He has helped design video games to teach about
neurobiology

3. What horror films teach us about ourselves and being human |
Dr. Steven Schlozman | TEDxNashville
“Horror movies”
Films that are aimed to evoke fear, terror, nightmares for
entertainment purposes

4. What horror films teach us about ourselves and being human |
Dr. Steven Schlozman | TEDxNashville
“Horror movies’ ideas by Dr. Steven Schlozman
”
Horror
Movies
Ways of
entertainment
Knowing ourselves
Profound thinking

5. What horror films teach us about ourselves and being human |
Dr. Steven Schlozman | TEDxNashville
“Influence of horror films”
Influence
of Horror
films
Perception
of personal
experiences
Social
reactions
Emotional
impact
Brain
activity

6. What horror films teach us about ourselves and being human |
Dr. Steven Schlozman | TEDxNashville
“Social Reactions”
 Movies have backstories related to social issues: racism,
injustice, disobedience, break laws, discrimination, shortcuts
 They make us thinking about what is correct or wrong
 They generate feelings and emotions towards others
 They give life lessons

7. What horror films teach us about ourselves and being human |
Dr. Steven Schlozman | TEDxNashville
“Brain processes”
Emotion processing Instinctive response
Metacognition Pattern recognition
Brain
activity

8. What horror films teach us about ourselves and being human |
Dr. Steven Schlozman | TEDxNashville
“Metacognition in horror movies”
 Metacognition is the act of analyzing one’s own thought
processes
 People activate the fight-or-flight response: trembling,
dilated pupils, pale skin, rapid heart beat, rapid
breathing
 Metacognition means thinking about what you are
thinking about, according to Dr. Steven Schlozman

9. What horror films teach us about ourselves and being human |
Dr. Steven Schlozman | TEDxNashville
“Pattern recognition in horror movies”
 Pattern recognition is process of cognitive dissonance when
brain registers information
 Perception is influenced of what we know
 The concept of something doesn’t fit with what is known
 This process is established in young age

10. What horror films teach us about ourselves and being human |
Dr. Steven Schlozman | TEDxNashville
“Personal knowledge of ourselves”
foibles
behaviorvulnerabilities

11. What horror films teach us about ourselves and being human |
Dr. Steven Schlozman | TEDxNashville
“Creating community”
links
connections
empathyhobbies
friendship

12. What horror films teach us about ourselves and being human |
Dr. Steven Schlozman | TEDxNashville
CONCLUSION
Dr. Steven Schlozman shows scientific and social arguments that allow
us to think about the influence and contribution of horror movies to
society and each person who enjoys and wants to watch a horror movie
to ask about any issue and be aware of your foibles and vulnerabilities,
and how horror movies can allow us to consider what is reasonable to
handle a problem in some similar situations of movies in our context