EMOTIONS

BASIC VOCABULARYExperience feelings, emotionsMind the verb resent which

means ‘not to accept, be angered at’

Feel like doing: avoir envie de faire

Feel + adj: se sentir Thrills, sensations trigger

physical reactions (tears, sweat, shivering), make your hear pound, cause shuddering…

Be thrilled with; be enthousiastic about; be moved by; be excited by; be delighted by; delight in +noun or vb+ing; be under the impression that; be stricken by; go through ; funny, weird feelings; cause commotion or excitement

Sensational= thrilling, exciting, stimulating, hair-raising, astounding, astonishing, staggering, breath-taking, mind-boggling, unbelievable, great, splendid, fablous, incredible, superb, stupendous…

Love and hateLove, like, be fond of,

relish in, delight in, crave

Hate, loath, detest, be repelled by, be disgusted by, flee, avoid, keep away from, can’t stand, can’t bear, dislike

Structures at work

I love seeing thrillers. I enjoy being scared. I hate seeing horror movies.I am not particularly fond of experiencing fear.I am nervous about seeing this film: it sounds

spooky! I’m afraid of being alone in a dark place. MAIS: I would like to see more horror films.

FEAR

Fear, terror, dread, panic, horror, alarm, dismay, apprehension

Be sacred out of one’s wits; be frightened; give someone a fright

Dread doing somethingGive the goose fleshFearful=frightened, terrified,

scared, panic-stricken, , nervous, edgy, panicky

FearFearfulFearsomeFearlessFearfullyFearlessnessfearfulness

Anxiety= nervousness, concern, uneasiness, disquiet, worry, angst

Anger= rage, furry, ire, angst, irritation, vexation, indignation,

Fra Angelico, The Last judgment, c. 1430

Detail

From the dawn of times man has been fascinated by horrible spectacles and his own cruelty.

Many painters have represented the tortures inflicted upon sinners in hell.

Writers have delighted in evoking hellish horrors.

The garden of Delights, J. Bosch

WHEN FEAR TAKES THE CONTROLS

The behaviours that human beings display when they are afraid are very similar from one individual to another, even in different cultures. If something scares us our first reaction is to stop what we were doing.

In general, we almost try to assess the actual danger that it represents. We do all of this very quickly, reflexively, without any conscious effort or will. If the danger is real, or poses a real threat, we freeze in place and try to assess whether we can flee or hide.

We may also adopt an aggressive defensive behaviour to eliminate the threat or make it go away.

This sequence of behaviours triggered by fear is very common and produces the same physiological responses in all animals.

The behavioural responses generated by fear are remarkably well preserved in all vertebrates. Humans who are frightened stop what they were doing, turn toward the source of the threat, then refrain from taking any action during the phase when they are trying to assess the threat.

The physiological changes associated with fear are very well preserved in the animal kingdom. These of course include all the changes triggered by the sympathetic nervous system to help us deal with the situation: faster heart rate, faster breathing, dilated pupils, and so on. But there are also other, more subtle phenomena, such as the suppression of pain in the face of danger, which is well documented among soldiers in combat, and lets us concentrate our energies on the highest priority threat.

In humans, the basic range of behavioural responses to fear is generally augmented by uniquely human ones that draw on our greater cognitive abilities. But these unique capabilities that our human cortex gives us can also cause us fear, anxiety, and anguish.

People who are old enough now to have been aware of the assassination of President Kennedy often remember in astonishing detail exactly where they were and what they were doing when they heard the news. The same thing goes for the September 11 attacks or for any other landmark event with a heavy emotional impact.

Psychologists are very familiar with this phenomenon of memories that remain especially clear and refer to them as "flashbulb memories".

Now we know that the amygdala, when activated by a significant emotional stimulus, triggers all sorts of bodily responses, including the release of adrenalin by the adrenal glands. It is this adrenalin that helps memories to be encoded more effectively in the hippocampus and the temporal lobe. That is why we are better at remembering things that are important to us, or in other words, things that trigger our emotions.

THEMELa plupart des gens détestent les films d’horreur.Je n’aime pas être effrayée or prise de panique.Certains adolescents adorent voir des images terrifiantes.Les personnes âgées ont moins de chances d’être

enthousiasmées par les films d’horreur que les jeunes. Plus les images sont réalistes, plus les spectateurs sont effrayés. Le plus terrifiant de tous les films que j’ai vu était aussi le plus

réaliste.Les gens aiment avoir une peur bleue car cela fait augmenté

l’adrénaline dans leur cerveau.

Text 2 (booklet)

1) The text focuses on / deals with / addresses / is about horror films and why people like them.

2) The journalist mentions Paranormal activity 3 because it was highly successful (« record-setting numbers ») and because it is a perfect horror film triggering tears, sweat and chills. He argues that it « fills our lust for horribly sweet sensations ». In other words, it follows the well-known recipe (or formula) for horror blockbusters.

3) Fischoff expalins that such films enjoy tremendous success because the audience looks for thrills and loves to be scared. Besides, the viewers relish horror all the more as they know they are safe: nothing will befall them, they will be back home safe and sound.

4) Edward Campbell says that adults are far less keen on horror movies: youths « are more likely to look for intense experience ». The taste for thrills and horror dwindles as people grow older. The hardships and ordeals of real life account for this lack of interest in fictitious horrors. As adult life is rife with strong emotions (unemployment, health issues, etc.), middle-aged people no longer seek out extra thrills!

5) Freud argued that we delight in horrendous spectacles because they stage repressed feelings. Consequently horror is both uncanny (spooky and eerie) and familiar as it reminds us of repressed emotions or fantasies. Jung provides a different explanation. He considers that horror is related to the collective unconscious and primordial images of violence.

6) These films are among the ones people like best; they rank amongst the top favorite horror films.