Anisa Sanchez

English 21001

Professor Nivens

November 23, 2022

                                                Argumentative Paper

In Dayanna Arias’ “Manipulation at its Finest”, she discusses the connection between the horror genre and its purpose to incite fear. She provides valid examples of horror movies that prove her points. In this essay, she tackles the Stephen King adaptation It, Jamaica Kincaid’s story “Girl”, and the film Psycho. I completely agree with her thesis that these movies were created by white religious old men to strike their audience into compliance through fear. 

            Arias begins with the film version of It. Each of the main characters have a stereotype that can be translated to a bigger meaning. In the beginning of the second movie, we see homophobic slurs being thrown at a gay couple, which turns into violence. Since Richie is revealed to be gay and has a crush on Eddie, who unfortunately dies at the end of the second movie, this can be translated into homophobia, saying that if you are gay, just know that you are not welcome anywhere. It can also be seen as a message to say, gay people don’t deserve love. It is no doubt that conservative white men do not approve of same sex relationships, especially gay relationships. They view it as weak. Unmasculine. Robbing you of your manhood. This toxic masculinity is very prominent throughout their beliefs. The fact that Ben only gets attention from his crush once he begins working out is a direct example of fat shaming. Society, especially white men, have this opinion that only skinny is beautiful. If you are chubby, or above a size 0, you are considered overweight. Therefore, you are not beautiful, unworthy of attention. This is a message that hides in plain sight, even I didn’t realize that. Conservative Catholic men believe their views are superior to any other religion. Stan, who is a Jew, commits suicide because he is portrayed as weak. Racism comes into play here by Stanley being seen as frail as compared to the rest of the group. 

            I also agree with her points regarding Jamaica Kincaid’s “Girl”. It consists of a list of requirements that women must meet in order to be lady-like. Psychologically affecting someone is very important in this story. For a mother to tell her daughter that she needs to do certain things to maintain a good reputation is the foundation of a conservative lifestyle. Catholic white men live with a list of guidelines and being “a proper lady” is definitely one of them. Just take Elvis for example, in the 1950s when he first appeared on the scene, conservative white men saw him as a threat as he was gyrating his hips and doing sexual dance moves. The same goes for women, maybe even more so. Anyone who disobeyed this way of living was considered an outsider. 

            The iconic film Psycho portrays a sense of the scary unknown. This also contains psychological thriller tropes. I stand by Arias’ claim that this particular scene disturbs the peace and conjures up fear within the audience. Creating a sense of peace and quiet, as the protagonist takes a shower and is brutally murdered. To take such a calming scene and rip it away from those watching doesn’t fail to invoke fear. We are supposed to feel safe at home. That’s what everyone says, “Home is my happy place”. Yet this movie, tries to make those, especially women, beware of their surroundings, always. All of these are valid examples that conservative white men that created horror movies convey a certain message on what to do and not to do. I guess it is true that the best way to hide something is in plain sight.