Die Hard as an Emotion Symphony: How Reptilian Scenarios Meet Mammalian Emotions in the Flow of an Action Film

TY - JOUR

T1 - Die Hard as an Emotion Symphony

T2 - How Reptilian Scenarios Meet Mammalian Emotions in the Flow of an Action Film

AU - Grodal, Torben Kragh

PY - 2017/12/1

Y1 - 2017/12/1

N2 - The article analyzes how action films use different emotional sources of arousal to create narrative tension and suspense in the PECMA flow (i.e., the mental flow of perceptions that activate emotions, cognition, and action). It analyzes how different emotions link to each other or contrast each other in the narrative flow that one metaphorically might call an emotion symphony. The flow may create a time-out experience because of the way in which the action-oriented flow recruits consciousness in full, similar to the way in which music creates flow experiences, as discussed by cognitive music aestheticians. The article discusses how the flow supports character simulation and how it uses a small set of scenarios (HTTOFF scenarios) to drive the flow. To illustrate the symphonic flow, it makes a close reading of John McTiernan's Die Hard (1988).

AB - The article analyzes how action films use different emotional sources of arousal to create narrative tension and suspense in the PECMA flow (i.e., the mental flow of perceptions that activate emotions, cognition, and action). It analyzes how different emotions link to each other or contrast each other in the narrative flow that one metaphorically might call an emotion symphony. The flow may create a time-out experience because of the way in which the action-oriented flow recruits consciousness in full, similar to the way in which music creates flow experiences, as discussed by cognitive music aestheticians. The article discusses how the flow supports character simulation and how it uses a small set of scenarios (HTTOFF scenarios) to drive the flow. To illustrate the symphonic flow, it makes a close reading of John McTiernan's Die Hard (1988).

KW - Faculty of Humanities

KW - karaktersimulering, kognitiv film teori, følelsesregulering, evolution, flow-oplevelser, paradigm scenarier, visuel æstetik

KW - character simulation

KW - cognitive film theory

KW - emotion regulation

KW - evolution

KW - flow experience

KW - paradigm scenarios

KW - visual aesthetics

U2 - 10.3167/proj.2017.110206

DO - 10.3167/proj.2017.110206

M3 - Journal article

SN - 1934-9688

VL - 11

SP - 87

EP - 104

JO - Projections: The Journal for Movies and Mind

JF - Projections: The Journal for Movies and Mind

IS - 2

ER -