Posted on 01/11/2021 5:58:31 PM PST by nickcarraway
Zombie and other horror and science fiction movies and TV shows may have prepared viewers for the current pandemic. Credit: Patrick Mansell, Penn State Tales of post-apocalyptic landscapes in which few survivors emerge into a new and much different world have long been popular tales woven by screenwriters and authors. While many enjoy these stories, thinking of them as nothing but a guilty pleasure, they may not realize that immersing themselves in fiction has prepared them for the reality of 2020, according to a team of researchers.
John Johnson, professor emeritus of psychology at Penn State, recently conducted research with several colleagues revealing that an individual's enjoyment of horror films could have better prepared them for the COVID-19 pandemic as opposed to others who do not enjoy frightening entertainment. Their findings are documented in Personality and Individual Differences.
"My latest research collaboration was unique in that my colleagues wanted to identify factors beyond personality that contributed to people's psychological preparedness and resilience in the face of the pandemic," Johnson explained. "After factoring out personality influences, which were actually quite strong, we found that the more movies about zombies, alien invasions and apocalyptic pandemics people had seen prior to COVID-19, the better they dealt with the actual, current pandemic. These kinds of movies apparently serve as mental rehearsal for actual events.
To me, this implicates an even more important message about stories in general—whether in books, movies or plays. Stories are not just entertainment, but preparation for life."
Johnson said that in what might be considered retirement, his emeritus status has allowed him to continue to be engaged in the research projects of his choosing, while also helping other researchers along the way.
"Now that I am retired, I have all the time in the world and the freedom to choose any kind of research project that I find truly interesting," said Johnson. "Many of my most recent projects began at the invitation of other researchers who hoped that I could lend my expertise to these projects. Most of these researchers are just beginning their careers, so in a way, I am teaching and mentoring them as well as helping them conduct their research."
Johnson's impact on personality research continues to be felt even in retirement, as young researchers and longtime colleagues still reach out to draw on his expertise.
"This study was conceived by a graduate student in human development and biology at the University of Chicago, Coltan Scrivner," Johnson said. "I had recently reviewed a terrific paper he wrote on morbid curiosity, so I knew who he was. Coltan conducts research on the psychology of horror, and therefore contacted two Danish researchers who were experts on horror, Mathias Clausen and Jens Kjeldgaard-Christiansen, to see if they would collaborate with him. I had previously conducted and published research with Mathias and Jens on what attracts people to horror and villains, so they invited me to the project. We all had input; mine was primarily on how to measure personality, preparedness and resilience, and how to conduct the statistics. Coltan collected the data online, and we quickly wrote up the results and submitted to a journal that was looking for studies on COVID-19. It has been an absolute joy to work with the Danish research team and their colleagues."
The researchers designed a survey they pilot-tested. They administered the final survey to 310 persons via a website. Thirteen items in the survey assessed positive and negative resilience. A set of six questions covered preparedness for the pandemic.
Participants then indicated the extent to which they were fans of horror, zombie, psychological thriller, supernatural, apocalyptic/post-apocalyptic, science fiction, alien-invasion, crime, comedy, and romance genres in movies and television. Next, participants were asked about the past and present experience with and interest in films that were explicitly about pandemics. Other questions appeared in the survey for other projects and as controls.
The results of their collaborated effort may be enough to make many feel justified in staying up late to watch horror films, in spite of what their mothers told them.
"What we found was that people who watched certain kinds of movies before the pandemic seemed to be helped by them during the pandemic," Johnson said.
Though, for those ready to fire up Netflix and get their horror fix now, they may be late to the party in preparing for the COVID pandemic. But, as Johnson explained, it is never too late to make ready for the next hurdle in life.
"I'm not sure that watching such movies now would be helpful for our current situation," he said. "However, my understanding of pandemics and other life-challenging events is that similar future challenges are absolutely inevitable. The past is often forgotten too easily. Who remembered the Spanish flu epidemic until scientists brought up that piece of history during COVID-19? This reinforces my belief that consuming stories from books, films and maybe even video games is not just an idle pastime, but a way for us to imagine simulated realities that help prepare us for future challenges."
Idle pastimes are not something easily understood by an individual with Johnson's passion, and his continued efforts beyond his teaching days highlight that.
"I think that a lot of people assume that when professors retire with emeritus rank, they spend all of their time traveling, pursuing hobbies, or just relaxing at home," said Johnson. "Although I have certainly done those things since I retired, I have also continued to conduct research and publish articles, often collaborating with younger researchers who need my expertise in personality measurement."
It was a psyop.
The antifa-generation wants to live in Walking Dead land.
Zombie movies got me psyched for a “pandemic”...blowing off heads of zombies seemed like a formidable challenge.
“The Scouts’ Guide to the Zombie Apocalypse” will prepare you. Grossly funny. Chloris Leachman as a cat lady and more!
https://www.imdb.com/title/tt1727776/?ref_=nv_sr_srsg_0
“It has been established that persons who have recently died have been returning to life and committing acts of murder. A widespread investigation of reports from funeral homes, morgues, and hospitals has concluded that the unburied dead are coming back to life and seeking human victims. It’s hard for us here to believe what we’re reporting to you, but it does seem to be a fact.”
We basically live in the first Mad Max movie, but with two important differences: 1) we have relatively cheap gasoline, at least for now, 2) the population portrayed in that movie was homogeneous, whereas we have a great deal of diversity. The decay of the formerly high trust society and the crumbling institutions are spot on. My takeaway is more ammo.
As for strict zombie movies, I would be hard pressed to name one that I don’t love. Zombieland is awesome because it’s fun. I can’t turn away from The Omega Man if it’s on.
The old zombie movies were to scare your date into pulling closer.
Telling you all the Zombie troof.
Rule #1
Cardio
The first ones to go were the fatties, lol
The latter actually prepared many people for stuff that came true (Rogue intelligence agency leaders, ruthless Chicoms, and a Black POTUS, for example).
The dead used to be happy coming back just to vote, now they want to eat your brains...
I fear a tyrannical government more than a seasonal flu or zombies.
I have often reflected that many are actually enjoying the apocalyptic lockdown scenario. It’s LARPing for them. They are getting satisfied by it.
There have been a rash of dystopian books and movies, all aimed at the younger millenials. Think Hunger Games, the Divergent and Purge books and movies.
My granddaughter, who is in her mid-20s, still thinks she is Katniss Everdene when she goes out to “peaceful protest” something. She is on a mission - to what, she doesn’t know.
And she is not alone. Thankfully she draws the line at Antifa.
The CDC has a zombie preparedness program. Humorous, yet point is if you’re ready for zombies you’re ready for anything.
https://www.cdc.gov/cpr/zombie/
What a crock! I don’t watch zombie or comic book movies.
I saw some meme awhile ago.
“What I thought my Apocalypse outfit would look like”: And shows an image of a gal in a slim black body suit with armor, swords, pistol, etc.
“What it really looks like”: Sweat pants, frumpy shirt and fuzzy slippers on the couch.
“I fear a tyrannical government more than a seasonal flu or zombies.”
One could argue that they are using Covid to turn us into zombies. Not thinking for ourselves, following the rest of the herd, mindless sheep. Covid allowing for mail-in ballots that were manipulated. But not to worry, the government will swoop in and take control of “the problem”.
I really enjoyed “The Zombie Survival Guide” by Max Brooks. (He wrote “World War Z”, wayyyy better than the movie.)
Guess it’s time to reread.
Who knew . (Although I reread 1984 in March.)
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.