Bodily Sensation in Contemporary Extreme Horror Film provides a theory of horror film spectatorship rooted in the physiology of the viewer. In a novel contribution to the field of film studies research, it seeks to integrate contemporary scientific theories of mind with psychological paradigms of film interpretation. Proceeding from a connectionist model of brain function that proposes psychological processes are underpinned by neurology, this thesis contends that whilst conscious engagement with film often appears to be driven by psychosocial conditions – including cultural influence, gender dynamics and social situation – it is physiology and bodily sensation that provide the infrastructure upon which this superstructure rests. Drawing upon the philosophical works of George Lakoff, Mark Johnson and Alain Berthoz, the argument concentrates upon explicating the specific bodily sensations and experiences that contribute to the creation of implicit structures of understanding, or embodied schemata, that we apply to the world round us. Integrating philosophy with contemporary neurological research in the spheres of cognition and neurocinematics, a number of correspondences are drawn between physiological states and the concomitant psychological states often perceived to arise simultaneously alongside them. The thesis offers detailed analysis of a selection of extreme horror films that, it is contended, conscientiously incorporate the body of the viewer in the process of spectatorship through manipulation of visual, auditory, vestibular, gustatory and nociceptive sensory stimulations, simulations and the embodied schemata that arise from everyday physiological experience. The phenomenological film criticism of Vivian Sobchack and Laura U. Marks is adopted and expanded upon in order to suggest that the organicity of the human body guides and structures the psychosocial engagement with, and interpretation of, contemporary extreme horror film. This project thus exposes the body as the architectural foundation upon which conscious interaction with film texts occurs.

Este trabalho relata aspectos do processo criativo da redação de um roteiro cinematográfico de longa metragem. Procurou-se investigar, durante o fazer do roteiro, o modo como a narrativa pode ser utilizada para despertar emoções e interesse no espectador. Através da revisão de obras de teóricos cognitivistas do cinema e de manuais de roteiro, levanta-se considerações sobre possíveis estratégias para se envolver emocionalmente o espectador. Para ilustrar estas estratégias, é apresentada uma análise da obra Aconteceu naquela Noite (1934). A partir destas considerações, realiza-se a descrição do processo de escrita do roteiro, procurando demonstrar de que forma as considerações teóricas influenciaram neste processo e no produto final, o roteiro completo. / This dissertation reports some aspects of the creative process on writing a feature movie script. During the screenwriting, it was attempted to investigate how the narrative can be used to elicit emotions and interest in the spectatorship. Through the review of Cognitivist Film Theory Scholars and Screenwriting Guides, considerations were raised on possible strategies to emotionally involve the viewer while telling the story. To elucidate these strategies, the analysis of the movie It happened one night (1934) follows. Having reached these considerations, the script is presented along with the trajectory of its writing.

Este trabalho relata aspectos do processo criativo da redação de um roteiro cinematográfico de longa metragem. Procurou-se investigar, durante o fazer do roteiro, o modo como a narrativa pode ser utilizada para despertar emoções e interesse no espectador. Através da revisão de obras de teóricos cognitivistas do cinema e de manuais de roteiro, levanta-se considerações sobre possíveis estratégias para se envolver emocionalmente o espectador. Para ilustrar estas estratégias, é apresentada uma análise da obra Aconteceu naquela Noite (1934). A partir destas considerações, realiza-se a descrição do processo de escrita do roteiro, procurando demonstrar de que forma as considerações teóricas influenciaram neste processo e no produto final, o roteiro completo. / This dissertation reports some aspects of the creative process on writing a feature movie script. During the screenwriting, it was attempted to investigate how the narrative can be used to elicit emotions and interest in the spectatorship. Through the review of Cognitivist Film Theory Scholars and Screenwriting Guides, considerations were raised on possible strategies to emotionally involve the viewer while telling the story. To elucidate these strategies, the analysis of the movie It happened one night (1934) follows. Having reached these considerations, the script is presented along with the trajectory of its writing.