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86:. Williams writes that the success of these body genres "is often measured by the degree to which the audience sensation mimics what is seen on the screen". For example, an audience may experience feelings of terror through horror, sympathy through melodrama, or sexual arousal through pornography. Body horror specifically focuses on the limits and transformative capabilities of the human body.
893:
106:, and play upon anxieties of physical vulnerability. In addition to common tropes used within the broader horror genre, some tropes specific to the body horror subgenre may include invasion, contagion, mutation, transformation, disease, mutilation, or other unnatural or violent distortions of the human body.
137:
in his 1983 article "Horrality: The
Textuality of the Contemporary Horror Film". He coined this term to describe an emerging subgenre which occurred during a short golden period for contemporary horror film. Although Brophy coined the term to specifically describe a trend within cinema, film director
101:
horror may also share this trope, but differ in message and intent. A common difference in the body horror genre is that violations or distortions of the body are rarely the result of immediate or initial violence. Instead, they are generally marked by a loss of conscious control over the body
167:
as a literary form, is thought to be the origin of body horror as a literary genre. According to
Halberstam, "By focusing on the body as a locus of fear, Shelley's novel suggests that it is people (or at least bodies) who terrify people... the landscape of fear is replaced by sutured skin."
253:
is an early example of body horror within anime. The film uses the genre to explore the "notion of the adolescent body as a site of metamorphosis, a metamorphosis that can appear monstrous both to the figure undergoing it and to the outside world."
228:, both of which set the standard for the genre due to the films' primary focus on mutation and visceral special effects. Many contemporary films of the horror genre (those produced after 1968), including body horror, are considered to be
318:
Since the eighteenth century, the horror genre has been popular among readers but dismissed as controversial by some critics who saw the genre and its thematic elements threatening or dangerous to society.
216:. However, body horror tropes existed within film prior to official recognition of the genre. Early examples of the body horror genre arose out of 1950s American horror cinema including
232:
in contrast to classical horror. Because of this, delineations between the genres are difficult to define, since postmodernism is concerned with blurring boundaries between categories.
89:
Body horror often overlaps with, but is distinct from, other horror subgenres. For example, while elements of mutilation may be present in body horror, other similar subgenres such as
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that intentionally showcases grotesque or psychologically disturbing violations of the human body or to any other creature. These violations may manifest through aberrant sex,
180:
is another early example of body horror literature. It shows Gregor Samsa transform into a large bug for unknown reasons. The work has influenced other body horrors like
62:, or unnatural movements of the body. Body horror was a description originally applied to an emerging subgenre of North American horror films, but has roots in early
547:
Cardin, Matt. (2017). Horror
Literature Through History: an Encyclopedia of the Stories That Speak to Our Deepest Fears . Santa Barbara, California : Greenwood.
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through mutation, disease, or other tropes involving uncontrolled transformation. The genre can invoke intense feelings of physical and psychological disgust, or
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notes that the body horror trope had existed before its adaptation to the screen, most notably within fictional writing.
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incorporates recurring body horror aspects within his work through less graphic aesthetic and narrative styles.
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Hutchings, Peter. (2009). The A–Z of Horror Cinema. A–Z Guides 100. Lanham, MD: Scarecrow Press.
159:(1818) is an early example of the body horror subgenre within fictional writing. The success of
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Pinedo, I (1996). "Recreational terror: Postmodern elements of the contemporary horror film".
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Cruz, R. A. L. (2012). "Mutations and
Metamorphoses: Body Horror is Biological Horror".
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Asian Horror
Encyclopedia: Asian Horror Culture in Literature, Manga, and Folklore
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is considered a principal originator of body horror through early films such as
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Jones, T. (2014). "Aw Dude, Gross": The
Mundane Body Horror of Michael DeForge.
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Napier, S. J. (2001). Akira and Ranma 1/2: The
Monstrous Adolescent. In
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Bramesco, Charles; Tobias, Scott; Fear, David (October 28, 2016).
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607:"David Cronenberg Creates a World Where "Surgery is the New Sex""
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Gothic
Realities: The Impact of Horror Fiction on Modern Culture
326:, horror media that fall within the body horror genre are often
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558:
Horror Film and Affect: Towards a
Corporeal Model of Viewership
473:
Williams, L. (1991). "Film Bodies: Gender, Genre, and Excess".
685:"Horrality – The Textuality of the Contemporary Horror Film"
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http://www.philipbrophy.com/projects/rstff/Horrality_H.html
869:"Banned and Brutal: 14 Beyond-Controversial Horror Movies"
508:
González
Montero, Sebastián Alejandro (August 29, 2007).
458:
Skin shows: Gothic horror and the technology of monsters
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The body horror genre is widely represented throughout
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Sugar, Spice, and Everything Nice: Cinemas of Girlhood
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in the 19th century, in combination with the birth of
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Haddad, Natalie; G’Sell, Eileen (November 4, 2021).
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797:Gateward, F. (2002). Bubblegum and heavy metal.
334:across a variety of countries. For example, the
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633:"The Automotive-Erotic Body Horror of Titane"
8:
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814:(pp. 39–62). Palgrave Macmillan, New York.
746:"A Quick History of Body Horror in Cinema"
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298:Examples of videogames of this genre are
286:terror. In contrast, Canadian cartoonist
133:The term "Body-horror" was first used by
66:and has expanded to include other media.
406:
239:and within contemporary media, such as
605:Kaufman, Sophie Monks (June 5, 2022).
419:Journal of Popular Film and Television
1560:Internet Speculative Fiction Database
812:Anime from Akira to Princess Mononoke
730:Kane, Paul and Marie O'Regan (2012).
346:franchises have been referred to as "
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659:"Is Body Horror the New Intimacy?"
657:Walker, Billie (January 9, 2023).
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711:"die body crap cut me up smiling"
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732:The Mammoth Book of Body Horror
689:Art & Text, Melbourne, 1983
734:. Philadelphia: Running Press.
74:According to the film scholar
1:
370:New Extremity § The body
560:(Vol. 47), p. 16. Routledge.
431:10.1080/01956051.2012.654521
274:. Highly influenced by the
109:Body horror films, such as
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750:Gehenna & Hinnom Books
314:Controversy and censorship
16:Subgenre of horror fiction
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773:Journal of Film and Video
385:List of body horror media
258:Comics and graphic novels
510:"Pornografía y erotismo"
460:. Duke University Press.
1309:Fire-breathing monsters
456:Halberstam, J. (1995).
121:, have been likened to
1638:Science fiction genres
845:Cooper, L. A. (2010).
699:on September 10, 2018.
523:10.17533/udea.ef.12747
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1212:Organ transplantation
556:Reyes, X. A. (2016).
514:Estudios de Filosofía
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900:at Wikimedia Commons
390:Psychological horror
210:, and his remake of
112:Crimes of the Future
994:Television programs
946:Speculative fiction
683:Brophy, P. (1983).
194:Canadian filmmaker
56:gratuitous violence
38:, is a subgenre of
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586:. January 26, 2017
307:Sons of the Forest
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1252:Weird menace
1180:Lovecraftian
1089:Splatterpunk
1069:Dark fantasy
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348:torture porn
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1628:Film genres
1623:Body horror
1529:Horror host
1512:LGBT themes
1507:Conventions
1436:Fantastique
1351:Sea monster
1299:Evil clowns
1059:Creepypasta
999:Video games
898:Body horror
668:October 22,
642:October 22,
616:October 22,
481:(4): 2–13.
172:Franz Kafka
80:pornography
32:Body horror
23:A woman in
1617:Categories
1534:Horrorcore
1517:characters
1451:Paranormal
1371:Werewolves
1336:Killer toy
1257:Weird West
855:0786448350
401:References
301:The Forest
294:Videogames
230:postmodern
146:Literature
48:mutilation
1476:Tokusatsu
1398:Skeletons
1326:Gargoyles
1247:New weird
1158:Tasmanian
1042:Christmas
984:Magazines
756:March 12,
590:March 15,
532:255928889
439:194091897
360:Abjection
268:Junji Ito
84:melodrama
44:mutations
1589:Category
1471:Thriller
1403:Vampires
1366:Werecats
1274:Monsters
1232:Survival
1200:Werewolf
1190:Jiangshi
1185:Monsters
1170:Japanese
1153:Suburban
1143:Southern
1138:American
1084:Grimdark
1079:Faustian
1037:Cannibal
989:Podcasts
785:20688091
354:See also
328:censored
219:The Blob
95:splatter
1548:Related
1524:Macabre
1502:Writers
1446:Mystery
1415:Witches
1408:Zombies
1393:Mummies
1356:Piranha
1341:Mutants
1319:Dragons
1314:Chimera
1195:Vampire
977:History
495:1212758
225:The Fly
213:The Fly
201:Shivers
183:The Fly
129:History
99:monster
91:slasher
60:disease
1601:Portal
1461:Shenmo
1388:Ghosts
1378:Undead
1292:Ghouls
1287:Devils
1282:Demons
1237:Techno
1175:Korean
1133:Gothic
1128:Giallo
1096:Erotic
1064:Cosmic
1052:Zombie
1047:Comedy
967:Comics
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332:banned
284:abject
118:Titane
104:squick
27:makeup
25:zombie
1490:Other
1383:Death
1346:Ogres
1331:Kaiju
1163:Urban
1123:Ghost
1027:Black
1015:Types
972:Films
962:Anime
955:Media
781:JSTOR
528:S2CID
491:JSTOR
435:S2CID
324:taboo
264:manga
262:Many
250:Akira
241:anime
207:Rabid
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1118:Folk
1101:Guro
1032:Body
1004:list
851:ISBN
758:2018
670:2023
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618:2023
592:2018
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