I watched a movie last night—a typical horror flick where a yuppie couple ventures into a rural area, encounters hillbillies, and ends up hunted, tortured, and murdered. The only twist was that this one took place in the UK.
Are movies and media a complete inversion of reality? In real life, a yuppie couple might visit the countryside, enjoy a few nice meals, take in the scenery, and return to their urban lives after a refreshing getaway. The worst they might face could be a minor irritation like a local asking, ‘Here to see the sights?’ They’d then head back to their concrete jungle, where their diet consists of soy and high fructose corn syrup.
Why don’t they ever make a horror movie about a nice rural family visiting the city to see the bright lights and museums, only to find themselves hunted through a grim urban landscape like Detroit or Chiraq? In reality, a movie about country folk in the city would probably end within 15 minutes: ‘Family goes to the city, takes mass transit, wife and children are pushed in front of an incoming train by a homeless man,’ or ‘Dad drives into the city and gets shot at a random intersection for no reason’… roll credits. The film would be over in 10 minutes.
I suppose it’s at least a subtle acknowledgment that Hollywood imagines country folk as having the agency to set up a brutal cat-and-mouse game with city dwellers.
The only movie I can think of where suburban or rural people encounter horror in the city is when a group of hockey fans takes a shortcut to a Red Wings game and gets hunted down by a gang led by none other than Denis Leary. Detroit gang leader, Denis Leary.
What kind of mind dreams up such a complete inversion of reality? I have to say, I’m not fond of whoever concocts these movie ideas.
Thought and Memory 