Shock / shock-value

Note:  Main notes on post-modernist terms:  -[post post-modernism]-

See also:   [Film Terms (on film page)]
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                   [Art Films]
                   [(art) Concepts]

Shock / shock-value

Shock is the reaction of the reader/viewer/listener to something 
un-expected and almost always has a negative, dis-heartening, or 
disturbing value associated with it. 

Shock value is the concept of being shocking just to shock
the audience and begs the question as to the value of the
image/sound/etc in terms of "artisitic integerity". In many
cases the author of the work uses shock to produce a given
state so that they can then lead the reader/etc by their
emotions to a conclusion/state-of-being that the author
wishes to manipulate the viewer to.

Shock is often lessend by slowly getting the viewer used to
a given state of existence. For exmaple, in Homer's "The Odyssey"
the idea that the giant orgre, The Cyclops Polyphamos, would
eat Odysseus' men was slowly introduced little by little in
the story. 

Of course this is exactly the opposite of the intent of HORROR 
story writers: They want to produce as much shock as possible
to add to the "horror experience". Note that the opposite of
this is used in ironic humor to make the viewer think one
thing (shocking) and then show that what they thought was not
true. Regardless of the motivations, the affect of the shock
is often on the sub-consious; ie, the limbic part of the brain
only knows of danger and does not really understnd the idea
that "it's only a movie" or "it's only a prop" and thus 
produces much the same "fight or flight" physio-chemical
reaction as if the threat were actual, real and present. 

Shock is also used for propaganda purposes to manipulate the
viewer. The most common case is to take some sacred concept
and show that some group is acting in a derrogatory or bad
manner towards the sacred object or custom. A common example
is to justify the intrusion into people's lives so as to
prevent a real or perceived threat and this is accomplished
effectively by the use of shock.  
       -[See "falacies" under Rhetoric]- (in lit)




Chronology

film clip examples, etc.