Statement
For my adaptation on the Blair Witch Project I will be closely examine the fear of the unknown. Not all that surprising of a topic when relating it to a horror movie but the Blair Witch Project goes a little further with the idea both intentionally and unintentionally. The fear of the unknown, also known as xenophobia is a fear both of the unknown and people from foreign countries. The latter part will also show relevancy in my adaptation as I dissect how the Blair witch projects the cultural fears of the unknown.
How does the Blair witch express cultural fear of the unknown? For starters the so called monster of the movie never actually makes an appearance, this is to create a greater sense of tension of anticipating the monster instead of seeing it and having expectations ruined. This wasn’t a budgeting issue with the movie but a bold choice made by the directors before the movie was even filmed in order to extract the purest form of fear from their viewers. The witch is a representation of more then just the monster in the movie, she is the emotional strain that breaks the group mentally through the duration of the movie, she is the anxiety in the back of everyone’s mind that puts them on the edge of their seats in a futile preparation of what happens next, she is the fear and anxiety we cannot see or understand. In short she is as much the new generation changing the economy as she is your fear for the uncertain future because we don’t know for certain how any of it ends.
How will I adapt this? Truthfully quite basic as I would only like to change the setting and how the witch interacts with the characters from the film. In the film the witch places wooden figures and signs in front of the characters camp site progressively increasing the amount each night. I would like to change what she places as different objects of human anxiety’s. This is where the change in setting is important because instead of the woods it will be the characters in their everyday lives while they are harassed not by wooden dolls or signs but by things people have to face regularly in their life. For example mailed collage applications when the character is uncertain if they should even go to collage. Or job opportunity that would give them benefits they need but would require they move to another country. Fear of the unknown is not limited to shock or fright. It can be the feeling of anxiousness you feel in your stomach before a job interview or the anxiety you have transferring to a new school where you don’t know anybody. The goal of my adaptation is to express the variety and relevance of this fear because we all experience it to some degree, it’s just a matter of how and why.
How does the Blair witch express cultural fear of the unknown? For starters the so called monster of the movie never actually makes an appearance, this is to create a greater sense of tension of anticipating the monster instead of seeing it and having expectations ruined. This wasn’t a budgeting issue with the movie but a bold choice made by the directors before the movie was even filmed in order to extract the purest form of fear from their viewers. The witch is a representation of more then just the monster in the movie, she is the emotional strain that breaks the group mentally through the duration of the movie, she is the anxiety in the back of everyone’s mind that puts them on the edge of their seats in a futile preparation of what happens next, she is the fear and anxiety we cannot see or understand. In short she is as much the new generation changing the economy as she is your fear for the uncertain future because we don’t know for certain how any of it ends.
How will I adapt this? Truthfully quite basic as I would only like to change the setting and how the witch interacts with the characters from the film. In the film the witch places wooden figures and signs in front of the characters camp site progressively increasing the amount each night. I would like to change what she places as different objects of human anxiety’s. This is where the change in setting is important because instead of the woods it will be the characters in their everyday lives while they are harassed not by wooden dolls or signs but by things people have to face regularly in their life. For example mailed collage applications when the character is uncertain if they should even go to collage. Or job opportunity that would give them benefits they need but would require they move to another country. Fear of the unknown is not limited to shock or fright. It can be the feeling of anxiousness you feel in your stomach before a job interview or the anxiety you have transferring to a new school where you don’t know anybody. The goal of my adaptation is to express the variety and relevance of this fear because we all experience it to some degree, it’s just a matter of how and why.