Dossier » Horror
“Welcome to Prime-Time, Bitch”
Mediated Quasi-Interaction and the Nightmare on Elm Street Film Series
This article examines how filmmakers utilized viewer manipulation in the Nightmare on Elm Street film series (1984—1994) as a playful mode of address, which simultaneously articulated certain socio-political anxieties prevalent in the surrounding culture. These anxieties concern notions of power and visibility as they relate to what John B. Thompson (1990, 1995) calls the “mediazation of modern culture” and the rise of “quasi-mediated interaction” with its monological or one-way flow of media messages into the private domiciles of citizens. This distinguishing characteristic of quasi-mediated interaction is mirrored through the supernatural abilities of the series’ popular villain character, Freddy Krueger, who is able to intrude into the private realms and personal lives of his victims. However, unlike other slasher villains that take the form of emotionless automatons, Freddy is a trickster; a cruel clown who takes pleasure in manipulating his victims’ perceptions of reality. Just as powerful political leaders must be concerned with their own visual presentations of self in the media age, Freddy must also appeal to his victims in the dream world as well as to the viewers on the other side of the screen. Lastly, to ensure the continuation of his cult of personality, Freddy must displace the Final Girl as the “hero” of each film and become the hero himself through strategically placed elements in the films’ mythic structure.
This article reports the results from a content analysis of the highly popular Nightmare on Elm Street film series (1984—1994). The content analysis focuses on 64 scenes of conflict in which human characters do battle with the supernatural villain character, Freddy Krueger. These scenes of conflict are easily identifiable and accessible using the “Jump to a Nightmare” scene access available on the DVDs for each of the seven films in the series, which aids in the possibility for replication of the study. The purpose of the study is to both qualitatively describe and quantitatively examine the extent to which the film series articulates four specific social anxiety themes relating to particular interactional characteristics of the mass media as a system of social control. Therefore, the article begins with a brief recap of the theoretical insights upon which the study is based, as well as the manner in which the anxiety themes are operationalized.
Jean Baudrillard’s (1988) description of the mass media is perhaps the main theoretical inspiration for the study, specifically his suggestion that the architecture of the mass media comprise a system of social control that forbids a reciprocal exchange between the speaker and the listener. Baudrillard sums up his stance on the mass media as a system of social control in the following statement: “power belongs to him who gives and to whom no return can be made” (pp. 577-578). Further insight regarding the social impact of the mass media is gleaned from the work of Marshall McLuhan (1964). According to McLuhan, “the personal and social consequences of any medium—that is, of any extension of ourselves—result from the new scale that is introduced into our affairs by each extension of ourselves, or by any new technology” (p. 23). Drawing upon this insight, the present study proposes that the integration of the mass media into our daily lives helps to both extend and repress our sense of self, and thus places stress upon the collective psyche. Furthermore, because the integration of new mediums of mass communication takes place over long periods of time, this stress will manifest itself in popular horror films as an expression of unconscious social anxieties.
There is a large body of literature which suggests that horror films articulate various repressed social anxieties relating to oppression stemming from differences in class, race and especially gender. In fact, Noël Carroll (1990) suggests that horror films become popular precisely when their “iconography and structures… articulate the widespread anxiety of times of stress” (p. 214). However, as previously stated, the present study is specifically interested in the stress placed upon the collective psyche in relation to the increasing use of the mass media as a system of social control. Therefore, before operationally defining the anxiety themes of interest to the study at hand, it is necessary to more fully describe how mediums of mass communication both limit and extend our sense of self by imposing new scales upon our daily affairs.
John B. Thompson’s (1990) concept of mediated quasi-interaction helps provide such an understanding. To demonstrate the new scales that mediated quasi-interaction brings into our lives, Thompson compares it to face-to-face interaction across four dimensions, including: (1) space-time constitution, (2) range of symbolic cues, (3) action orientation, and the (4) monological or dialogical flow of information. A brief summation of the differences between face-to-face and mediated quasi-interaction is provided in the following four paragraphs. Each of these four paragraphs highlights a dimension utilized by Thompson. Furthermore, each paragraph ends with the operational definition of an anxiety theme developed for use in the present study, as each anxiety theme relates to one of the four interactional characteristics of mediated quasi-interaction.
First, the space-time constitution of face-to-face interaction differs from mediated quasi-interaction in the following manner. In face-to-face interaction, people share a context of co-presence. In other words, they exist in the same space and time. This is not true of the mediated quasi-interaction that occurs through mass media in which the communicator on the screen exists somewhere else in space, and often in a distant or not-so-distant time period. This study proposes that modern horror films articulate the alienation experienced by users of mass communication mediums through the threat that the abnormal villain character poses to an individual under attack. Therefore, “lack of co-presence” is the first anxiety theme of the study, and it is operationalized as a scene of conflict in which a hero character faces Freddy alone for any period of time.
Second, the range of symbolic cues available in face-to-face interaction differs from mediated quasi-interaction in the following manner. In face-to-face interaction, the people interacting with one another have a multiplicity of symbolic cues upon which they can draw while discerning the message or information that is being relayed to them, including facial expressions and other body language. Historically, a slow disintegration of the public sphere has taken place and continues to take place. We have retreated into our private domains and interact with the outside world through the use of screens. Therefore, the range of symbolic cues available to us is narrowed or constrained by, for instance, the gaze of the television camera which relays information and images to us. This study proposes that modern horror films articulate the disintegration of the public sphere, as a logical extension of the narrowing of the range of symbolic cues, through the threat that the abnormal villain character poses to the community under siege. For instance, Jonathan Lake Crane’s (1994) analysis of the original Friday the 13th (1980) suggests that “the film takes the nascent community, the one we have assumed through years of similar cinematic experiences must of necessity prevail, and crushes it” (p. 146). Therefore, the “breakdown of the public” is the second anxiety theme, and it is operationalized as a scene of conflict in which at least one hero character is killed by Freddy.
Third, the action orientation of face-to-face interaction differs from mediated quasi-interaction in the following manner. In face-to-face interaction, the message or information being relayed is oriented toward specific others who are in the presence of the speaker. As previously stated, in mediated quasi-interaction, the communicator often exists in a different space and time than the listener, and therefore the message or information being sent, although perhaps intended for a specific audience, is oriented towards an indefinite range of potential recipients across the chasm of time and space. Furthermore, because mediated quasi-interaction involves the passing of messages and information through screens, such information is often represented using visual images. This poses a challenge for those in power, such as political leaders, who wish to maintain a positive presentation of self. As Thompson (1995) suggests, “the visual appearance of political leaders… becomes an important feature of their self-presentation before audiences who are remote in space and who can see without being seen” (p. 137). As those in power hone and manipulate their visual presentation of self, audiences become distrustful of the messages and information being relayed to them. This study proposes that modern horror films articulate this anxiety through the abnormal villain character’s efforts to trick the hero(es) through changing or concealing his, her or its identity, oftentimes through the use of supernatural powers and abilities. Therefore, “manipulation of the visible” is the third anxiety theme and it is operationalized as a scene of conflict in which Freddy uses his supernatural powers and abilities to alter his appearance.
Fourth, the flow of information between speaker and listener in face-to-face interaction differs from mediated quasi-interaction in the following manner. Whereas face-to-face interaction allows for a dialogical or two-way reciprocal exchange between speaker and listener, mediated quasi-interaction has a monological or one-way flow of information as perhaps its most distinguishing feature. For example, the television viewer cannot respond in any direct fashion to the communicators on the other side of the television screen whose visuals and messages are entering into their private domains. The agency that they have in this exchange is strictly limited. At most, they can change the channel or turn the television off altogether. This study proposes that modern horror films articulate this anxiety through the abnormal villain character’s efforts to intrude into the private spaces of the hero characters (e.g., a house, a bedroom, a car, etc., as opposed to public spaces such as schools, workspaces, cemeteries, etc.). Therefore, “intrusion into the private realm” is the fourth anxiety theme, and it is operationalized as a scene of conflict in which Freddy enters into any space that at least one character is occupying for his or her personal use.
An important note is needed here before moving on to the results of the study. Freddy’s main supernatural power is his ability to enter into the dreams of the hero characters, which could logically be considered a private space. Yet, every scene of conflict in the Nightmare series essentially takes place in a dream sequence. Therefore, this study discounts dreams as private spaces so as to not influence the results in the favor of finding the presence of a theme. However, Freddy’s invasions of the hero characters’ private spaces, both inside and outside of the dream world, are counted as evidence of the “intrusion into the private realm” anxiety theme.
Having outlined the interactional characteristics of mediated quasi-interaction and operationalized the anxiety themes of interest to the study, the article now turns to a discussion of the study’s findings. In what follows, the results of the quantitative examination of the study are addressed first and followed by qualitative descriptions for seven scenes of conflict from the third film in the series. Out of the 64 scenes of conflict, these seven scenes are chosen for elaboration because the results of the quantitative analysis suggest that the third film articulates the anxiety themes more strongly, or at lease more consistently, than the other films in the series.
The anxiety theme of the “lack of co-presence” is the most prevalent of the four anxiety themes present in the film series. This theme occurs in 47 (70%) of the 67 scenes of conflict. The percentage of articulation for each film (f) in the series is as follows: f1 = 89% (8/9); f2 = 70% (7/10); f3 = 100% (7/7); f4 = 80% (8/10); f5 = 63% (5/8); f6 = 75% (9/12); f7 = 27% (3/11).
The anxiety theme of the “breakdown of the public” is the least prevalent of the four anxiety themes present in the film series. This theme occurs in 26 (39%) of the 67 scenes of conflict. The percentage of articulation for each film (f) in the series is as follows: f1 = 33% (3/9); f2 = 40% (4/10); f3 = 57% (4/7); f4 = 60% (6/10); f5 = 38% (3/8); f6 = 25% (3/12); f7 = 27% (3/11).
The anxiety theme of the “manipulation of the visible” is somewhat prevalent. This theme occurs in 32 (48%) of the 67 scenes of conflict. The percentage of articulation for each film (f) in the series is as follows: f1 = 56% (5/9); f2 = 50% (5/10); f3 = 86% (6/7); f4 = 50% (5/10); f5 = 38% (3/8); f6 = 33% (4/12); f7 = 36% (4/11).
The anxiety theme of the “intrusion into the private realm” is also somewhat prevalent. This theme occurs in 33 (49%) of the 67 scenes of conflict. The percentage of articulation for each film (f) in the series is as follows: f1 = 78% (7/9); f2 = 60% (6/10); f3 = 71% (5/7); f4 = 30% (3/10); f5 = 63% (5/8); f6 = 17% (2/12); f7 = 45% (5/11).
For the most part, the frequency of the anxiety themes tends to decrease significantly after the third film. This trend becomes more apparent when the percentages of the four anxiety themes are averaged into single index scores separately for each of the seven films. The index scores for each film (f) in the series are as follows: f1 = 64%; f2 = 55%; f3 = 79%; f4 = 55%; f5 = 50%; f6 = 38%; f7 = 34%. These index scores indicate the combined presence of the four anxiety themes within each film and demonstrate that the frequency of their articulation steadily declines after the third film in the series.
This decline in the presence of the combined anxiety themes during the decade of the series’ existence perhaps points to a decline in the importance of mediated quasi-interaction in the broader culture. One might speculate that an emerging form of technology was bringing about a new type of social interaction. For example, the influence of the home computer, and later the Internet, was taking hold during this time period and giving rise to computer mediated interaction. Of course, this form of interaction has its own set of interactional characteristics that help to extend the human sense of self and introduce new scales into our lives. Whereas Thompson (1990) suggests that mediated quasi-interaction is a key component of what he calls the “mediazation of modern culture,” (pp. 3—4, emphasis mine), perhaps computer mediated communication was ushering in the mediazation of postmodern culture.
However, if the box office gross for each film in the series is used as an indicator of their popularity, it is interesting to note that the popularity of the series as a whole declined in a fashion similar to its decline in its articulation of the combined presence of the four anxiety themes. For instance, as of February 4, 2005, the Internet Movie Database reports the following grosses for each film (f) in the series: f1 = $25,504,513 (11% of series gross); f2 = $29,999,213 (13% of series gross); f3 = $44,793,222 (20% of series gross); f4 = $49,369,899 (22% of series gross); f5 = $22,168,359 (10% of series gross); f6 = $34,872,033 (16% of series gross); f7 = $18,090,181 (8% of series gross). It is true that the popularity of the series, in terms of box office grosses, begins its downward trend after the fourth film rather than the third. However, the popularity of the fourth film may have been primed by the previous film’s successful articulation of the four anxiety themes.
At this point, qualitative descriptions of the seven scenes of conflict from the third film are utilized to flesh out the manner in which they articulate the anxiety themes. As indicated above, the index score for the third film is 79%, which suggests that it articulates the four anxiety themes stronger, or at least more consistently, than the other films in the series. Therefore, each of its nightmare scenes are discussed separately in what follows.
The first nightmare scene is titled “Freddy’s Home.” It articulates the following three anxiety themes: (1) manipulation of the visible, (2) intrusion into the private realm, and (3) lack of co-presence. This particular scene includes a common motif of the Nightmare series: the “dream within a dream” sequence. The viewer witnesses the character Kristen fall asleep, flee Freddy while cradling a little girl in her arms, and appear to wake up before going into the bathroom. While turning one of the knobs of the bathroom sink, it suddenly comes to life and clutches Kristen’s hand. The other knob transforms into Freddy’s claw, and Freddy’s visage appears in the mirror. This scene demonstrates the manner in which Freddy uses his supernatural abilities to disguise his presence in her bathroom in order to attack her while she is alone.
The second nightmare scene is titled “What’s Eating Kristen?” It articulates the following two anxiety themes: (1) lack of co-presence and (2) manipulation of the visible. In this scene, Freddy yet again attacks Kristen while she is alone by appearing as a giant snake that erupts from the floorboards underneath her. While Freddy uses his supernatural abilities to make himself appear more menacing, it is important to note that Kristen survives this encounter by using her own supernatural abilities. Kristen uses her “dream power” to bring another character, Nancy, into her dream to help her fight Freddy. Nancy is a returning character from the first film in the series. In fact, she is the “Final Girl” of the first film: the only teenage character to survive her lone battle with Freddy after his slaughter of her peers. Therefore, Kristen’s dream power, and the defensive manner in which she uses it, helps to underscore the importance of another’s presence.
The third nightmare scene is titled “The March of the Bloody Puppet.” It articulates all four anxiety themes. This scene takes place inside the Westin Hills Psychiatric Hospital. Freddy uses his supernatural abilities to enter into a room shared by two sleeping patients, Phillip and Kincaid. Freddy morphs out of a marionette hanging on the wall, and Phillip awakes to witness him grow to normal size. However, Phillip is unable to move or cry out for help; a chilling scene that exemplifies his loss of agency and his inability to “answer back” or respond to his situation in any meaningful way. After Freddy slices open all four of Phillip’s limbs, his skeletal muscles erupt from his body and become the strings with which Freddy controls him like a puppet. Freddy forces Phillip to march out of the ward and to the top floor of Westin Hills, far removed from the presence of others. However, his peers watch helplessly from a window as Phillip appears to be sleep-walking on a ledge. Unlike the viewer, Phillip’s peers are unable to see that it is Freddy controlling Phillip’s actions. The viewer observes a gigantic Freddy towering over Westin Hills and witnesses him sever Phillip’s muscles with his clawed glove. Both the viewer and Phillip’s peers see Phillip plummet to his death.
The fourth nightmare scene is titled “Welcome to Prime-Time, Bitch.” It also articulates all four anxiety themes. In this scene, the teenage patient, Jennifer, seeks privacy in the Westin Hills lounge while all the other patients are asleep in their rooms. She is attempting to stay awake by watching television. In an earlier scene, the viewer hears Jennifer tell her peers that she aspires to move to Los Angeles and become a television actress. In other words, she aspires to be on the other side of the screen; the side on which the power lies, the side from which messages are sent and not received. With this in mind, Jennifer unknowingly falls asleep while listening to Dick Cavett interview Zsa Zsa Gabor about acting school. In a brief turn of events, Dick Cavett turns into Freddy, and the television channel goes out just before he strikes down Zsa Zsa. Stunned, Jennifer walks over to the television set mounted on the wall and slaps it in an attempt to better the reception. Suddenly, two arms pop out of the sides of the television set and lift Jennifer off of the floor. The arms are soon followed by Freddy’s head, which morphs out of the top of the television set. Before killing Jennifer by slamming her head through the television screen, Freddy delivers what has become one of the most memorable lines of the entire film series: “This is it Jennifer—you’re big break in TV. Welcome to prime-time, bitch!”
The fifth nightmare scene is titled “What’s Wrong Joey? Feeling Tongue Tied?” It articulates the following three anxiety themes: (1) lack of co-presence, (2) manipulation of the visible, and (3) intrusion into the private realm. In this scene, Joey is lured away from a group therapy session by an attractive nurse. He follows the nurse into a private room where she confesses her desire for him. After disrobing, she climbs on top of Joey and begins kissing him. Suddenly, the nurse’s demeanor changes as four elongated severed tongues lash out of her mouth and tie Joey’s limbs to the bed. Once the nurse changes into Freddy, he quips: “What’s wrong Joey? Feeling tongue tied?” This line of dialog serves as a double-entendre in that Joey’s character is mute, and as was the case with Phillip’s character, he is unable to respond to his situation in any meaningful way.
The sixth nightmare scene is titled “What a Rush.” It articulates the following three anxiety themes: (1) lack of co-presence, (2) breakdown of the public, and (3) intrusion into the private realm. This is one of the longer scenes that takes place in multiple settings. It begins with Kristen’s character fighting to stay awake in a padded cell dubbed “the quiet room.” Once she succumbs to sleep, she finds that her peers have joined her in the dream world to protect one another from Freddy and to rescue Joey. Yet, Freddy soon manages to split them up in an effort to divide and conquer. For instance, Kristen seemingly wakes up in her bedroom believing the entire film up to that point to be a nightmare. Her mother comforts her before being beckoned by a suitor downstairs, who asks: “Elaine, where do you keep the bourbon?” As her mother is about to leave, Kristen tries to stop her, stating “Please, Mom, I just don’t want to be alone.” Suddenly, Freddy emerges from the hallway, grabs a hold of Kristen’s mother, and states: “I said, where’s the fucking bourbon?” before decapitating her (Note: this scene was not counted as an articulation of the manipulation of the visible because Freddy never alters his visual appearance, but only his voice). Although Kristen is able to escape Freddy and reunite with Nancy and Kincaid, two other characters are not so lucky. Both Taryn and Will are separately hunted down and killed by Freddy, who makes similar wisecracks before dispatching them as well.
The seventh nightmare scene is titled “The Souls of my Children give me Strength.” It articulates the following three anxiety themes: (1) lack of co-presence, (2) manipulation of the visible, and (3) the breakdown of the public. This is also an extended scene that takes place in multiple settings, but the end of the scene demonstrates its articulation of all three anxiety themes. Kristen, Nancy, Kincaid and Joey mistakenly believe that they have defeated Freddy. They witness Nancy’s father materialize and tell Nancy that he has passed on, having been killed by Freddy earlier in the scene. As they embrace, Nancy’s father turns into Freddy and kills her. Before the others can react, Freddy uses his power to close the door to the room, shutting out Kincaid and Joey. Kristen is left in the room with Freddy to fend for herself.
These scenes demonstrate the manner in which the film series utilizes the iconography of its villain character, Freddy, and the structure of its narratives to articulate the social anxieties relating to the stress placed upon the collective psyche due to the new scales that mediated quasi-interaction introduces into our lives. Moreover, these textual elements seem to be designed like a valve that functions to cathartically release such stress. For instance, each film contains similar narrative features that facilitate the hero characters’ lack of co-presence and the eventual breakdown of the public, such as the “dream within a dream” sequence. These narrative features are an example of how the films engage their viewers through a playful mode of address; both the filmmakers and the viewers know that the hero character is not really awake. The viewers know that Freddy is tricking the hero character, and they are therefore implicated in his ambush. When Freddy’s trap is sprung, the tension built up through the articulation of these anxiety themes is released.
Freddy’s character functions in a similar fashion. His character symbolizes abnormality when paired with the normality that the hero characters represent for the viewers. Therefore, his ability to manipulate his visual appearance mirrors the media’s ability to distort reality. His intrusion into the heroes’ private realms mirrors the media’s intrusion into the viewers’ private domains. The tension built up during the articulation of these anxiety themes is released when Freddy cracks a joke before killing a hero character. However, it appears that the joke is ultimately on the viewers themselves.
In his commentary for the film Freddy vs Jason, Robert Englund, the actor who portrays Freddy, suggests that “Freddy’s always been a kind of cruel clown, and he likes to take the teenage sort of culture and vernacular and kind of jam it back down their throats.” We see here that if the heroes represent normality for the viewers, and viewers laugh at the heroes’ demise, then they are really laughing at their own dire situation. In other words, through the films’ playful mode of address and Freddy’s “cruel clown” persona, the viewers become accustomed to the personal and social consequences of mediated quasi-interaction. Just as Freddy absorbs the souls of “his children” (i.e., his victims whose faces are enmeshed in the scared flesh of his chest), the viewers are assimilated to the new scales introduced into their affairs by the mediazation of modern culture. Viewers become part of the architecture of that system of social control; rather than cogs in the machine, they become pixels on the screen.
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