Why Thrillers Thrive

“Why Thrillers Thrive”

A thriller is a genre of film that is characterized by fast pacing, frequent action and resourceful heroes, who must thwart the plans of more powerful and better-equipped villains. There aim is to leave you with mystery and wonder, to put you one the edge of your seat and make your heart race but with your conscience knowing that you are safe.

There are many different types of thriller. Some are supernatural, for example, centering on mystical antagonists. Others are scientific or medical in nature, forcing their protagonists to contend with biological agents or mysterious scientific happenings. Some are simply straight mysteries with clever or horrific antagonists, while others be focused on the inner workings of the legal system, environmental threats, technology, or natural disasters. One long-established thriller genre is the spy thriller, featuring an often heroic and dashing spy who must confront whichever enemy happens to be popular at the moment.

Thrillers have been around for a long time, One of the earliest 'thrillers' was Harold Lloyd's comic Safety Last (1923). Yet it’s 2010 and thrillers are still a popular genre, Why do a majority of people really enjoy thrillers as a genre over the years?

The article ‘Why Thrillers Thrive’ picks up on a really good point, seeing things that ‘consists of emotional disturbance’ that ‘we don’t experience ourselves’ in reality, gives us excitement and the trill of something being able to upset your homeostasis in an environment where you are completely safe. It gets your heart beating faster, and your mind off of other things. ‘We are safe secure, sitting in an armchair and looking at the struggle and turmoil of life through a window, as it were” Here the essay is stating that your conscience knows you are in a safe environment, you are watching an actor who is in no harm and it isn’t real. This is why people watch thrillers, because they can go through emotional journeys such as your own fears by watching them on a screen while knowing they are safe. It is also ‘thrilling’ and sensation seeking to watch other people deal with your fears, traumas and horrific situations but knowing they are safe at the same time, fright and disgust are enjoyable feelings in the framework of fiction.

Another reason why thrillers thrive stated in this article is where “some characters who have won the audiences sympathy is involved in danger” As a human being you may go through your life without someone you like or sympathies go through something traumatic, so some people may enjoy thrillers because they feel emotions they may not come across in real life. For example wanting a character to escape or wanting the traditional ‘truth seeker’ to find out the truth. Or maybe they are experiences you have been through your self, again such as the truth seeker trying to find out the truth but are far exaggerated than your own experiences, which will make feel the emotional journey that character is going throughout the film. This would intrigue the audience and really play on their emotions. Thriller is a genre that can have a plot that is very like real life, it may be far fetched but the audience can really relate to it.

So over all, this article is telling me that people enjoy thrillers for the emotional empathetic journey and the fact they can really understand what is going on, the audience can compare and relate the thriller to real life.