- Sep 22, 2013
- 4,956
- 250
- 85
Halloween is the popular annual festival of masquerade and 'spook-mysticism' (derived from the Gaelic festival of Samhain) and is preceded by Devil's Night (October 30), a night of general mischief and sometimes vandalism-related crimes.
We dress up in masks and costumes (of comic book characters, monsters/ghouls, witches/wizards, etc.) for Halloween to celebrate the idea of identity masquerade (a thing of symbolic note in the modern age --- i.e., Internet chat room faceless identity-masking aliases or 'avatars').
Masquerade parties are an ancient custom, but Halloween is a cultural phenomenon signifying a social fascination with self-disguise.
It would be wise to consider how in the modern world of high-traffic claustrophobia (e.g., Wall Street, Facebook, multi-culturalism), Halloween (and masquerading) is almost a philosophical thrill.
Halloween just might become a festival of anarchism and crime as much as it is of masquerading mysticism.
We've heard of serial killers wearing masks or costumes (to look 'evil' or 'invisible'), and Americans celebrate masked horror film ghouls/avatars such as Michael Myers (a Halloween killer) and Leatherface (a chainsaw-wielding cannibal).
Remember those news stories of people committing copycat crimes modeled after Oliver Stone's controversial violence-glorification film "Natural Born Killers" [1994]? Movies are presentations of daydreams/fantasies/nightmares and represent a mirror of the social subconscious.
We watch movies to 'escape' reality as much as we dress up in costumes/masks for Halloween to escape the 'confines' of reality and everyday life.
It wouldn't therefore be surprising to hear of crime waves or serial killers who rise to prominence (on Halloween Eve) by preying on our fears about identity, visibility, dreams/nightmares, and 'self-presentation.' Are masks/costumes symbols of courage or symbols of anxiety?
We all wear 'masks' of some kind, and Halloween is a mystical event promoting the philosophical appreciation of masquerade, but how can law officials and criminal psychologists understand the socio-cultural forces that may give rise to 'celebrity-seekers' seeking to commit copycat crimes modeled after the movie masked mania of American film psychos such as Michael Myers or Leatherface for Halloween?
It's no surprise Hollywood (USA) makes 'vanity-presentation paranoia' films such as "The Mask" [1994] and "The Purge: Anarchy" [2014].
Is there a way to confront 'masked criminality' BEFORE Halloween? Law officials in the modern world have the challenge of dealing with the tangible link between traffic culture and malicious mischief.
We dress up in masks and costumes (of comic book characters, monsters/ghouls, witches/wizards, etc.) for Halloween to celebrate the idea of identity masquerade (a thing of symbolic note in the modern age --- i.e., Internet chat room faceless identity-masking aliases or 'avatars').
Masquerade parties are an ancient custom, but Halloween is a cultural phenomenon signifying a social fascination with self-disguise.
It would be wise to consider how in the modern world of high-traffic claustrophobia (e.g., Wall Street, Facebook, multi-culturalism), Halloween (and masquerading) is almost a philosophical thrill.
Halloween just might become a festival of anarchism and crime as much as it is of masquerading mysticism.
We've heard of serial killers wearing masks or costumes (to look 'evil' or 'invisible'), and Americans celebrate masked horror film ghouls/avatars such as Michael Myers (a Halloween killer) and Leatherface (a chainsaw-wielding cannibal).
Remember those news stories of people committing copycat crimes modeled after Oliver Stone's controversial violence-glorification film "Natural Born Killers" [1994]? Movies are presentations of daydreams/fantasies/nightmares and represent a mirror of the social subconscious.
We watch movies to 'escape' reality as much as we dress up in costumes/masks for Halloween to escape the 'confines' of reality and everyday life.
It wouldn't therefore be surprising to hear of crime waves or serial killers who rise to prominence (on Halloween Eve) by preying on our fears about identity, visibility, dreams/nightmares, and 'self-presentation.' Are masks/costumes symbols of courage or symbols of anxiety?
We all wear 'masks' of some kind, and Halloween is a mystical event promoting the philosophical appreciation of masquerade, but how can law officials and criminal psychologists understand the socio-cultural forces that may give rise to 'celebrity-seekers' seeking to commit copycat crimes modeled after the movie masked mania of American film psychos such as Michael Myers or Leatherface for Halloween?
It's no surprise Hollywood (USA) makes 'vanity-presentation paranoia' films such as "The Mask" [1994] and "The Purge: Anarchy" [2014].
Is there a way to confront 'masked criminality' BEFORE Halloween? Law officials in the modern world have the challenge of dealing with the tangible link between traffic culture and malicious mischief.
