Chucky: an unappreciated Slasher

As a young horror-movie fan I was never excited to see Jason in the plethora of Halloween’s or Freddy in A Nightmare on Elm Street . I will admit that Jason had this kind of admirable determination to aggressively kill teenagers just because, and Freddy had the fact that he could get into your dreams and do some serious damage – the place you should have been able to escape to – working for him. With these things, and by following the blood-spilling guru himself, Alfred Hitchcock in his movie Psycho (1960), they’ve set the bar high for other slasher films. What then happened was either an attempt at mimicking their slasher techniques, or a seemingly endless loop of re-makes and sequels to try to capture that audience’s attention. This worked on me for a little while, but there was one slasher who I believe did not get the kind of recognition he deserved.

Charles Lee Ray or “Chucky” was the star of Child’s Play (1988), and yes, I am fully aware that he is a doll that can be easily kicked into another room if he tries to attack you. What Chucky critics failed to realize was that his size worked as much for him as it worked against him. My fondest memories (if that’s what you’d like to call it) of Chucky is in the very first movie. As Clover points out, most successful slasher films have a formula that has been working for them: the killer is a psychotic product of a sick family or disturbing past – yet still human, the victim is almost always young, female, and beautiful, the location is a “Terrible Place”, and the weapons used are everything but a gun. Chucky did not escape all these predictable slasher traits, but certainly had some of his own.

The antagonist himself, while a slasher, was creative in his overall presentation. Chucky was not always a killer doll – originally Charles Lee Ray was a serial killer who sought refuge in the body of a “Good Guys” doll using voodoo to transfer his soul. The history behind why Chucky is a serial killer is never fully disclosed, but it’s obvious in the beginning of the film that he has some background with the mafia. It’s safe to assume that because of how most slasher films are, his family life probably played a part in his insanity. The way he makes his way into the lives of the family he chooses to terrorize is fortuitous: a homeless gives him to the victim who is the young, beautiful and blonde Karen Barclay (Catherine Hicks) who then gives him to her son, Andy. All of this works out in Chucky’s favor because now he has a young soul to go into.

The storyline of the movie basically just follows Chucky as he tries to take over Andy’s body and kills anyone who tries to stand in the way. The death count includes people like innocent bystanders and custodians who had the nerve to lock doors that Chucky wasn’t tall enough to reach anyway. Unlike other killers, Chucky had a purpose that was present through out every subsequent movie, and that was to be human again. He killed like other killers did - in an out-of-the-box kind of way.

One scene in particular stuck out (in Child's Play 3) when it showed a garbage man being crushed to death by his own truck once Chucky took the control after tricking him into thinking a child was stuck. This is an example of the death of a male being viewed as more common, while the death of a female is usually drawn out. To me, this was proof that his size had nothing to do with his clever plans. He was able to scurry past his victims in the blink of an eye and hide in places where normal-sized people would not have fit. Chucky was very much a killer you should take seriously.

With Karen, her encounter with Chucky in the living room when she realized the doll was alive was like a game of tit-for-tat. They went back and forth with Chucky slicing her ankle and her then propelling him behind a couch. Karen was the distressed female, but of course, she survives in the movie.

I believe that Chucky was a successful slasher in his early years. As time went on, him getting married and having kids were clearly just to squeeze more movies out and eventually his time was up. The teeny boppers that are drawn to anything that heightens their senses, whether it be sexually or psychologically, started to lose interest when the plot for killing no longer made sense. However, in his prime, Chucky did exactly what a slasher was supposed to do, and that was have you fear the act of death and not so much the unkillable killer.

"The Rock Jocks" Response

1.) Some factors within the radio industry itself that led to rising FM radio came from both the DJs and the changing society around them. The DJs were able to play, essentially, whatever they wanted and because there was so many societal movements taking place at once, their format reflected that. The news programs on the radio as well as the music had a progressive format and was able to get people rallied up and encourage them to get involved in whatever movement was being broadcasted. Corporations believed that they needed to start taking over because they couldn’t afford to take any chances. Eventually radio station owners tried to “polish up” the content (Ie: forcing them to wear ties to work, banning certain programming) but a strike followed. FM radio remained having the freedom that strict AM radio doesn’t allow.

2.) The growth of rock FM can be greatly attributed to the social changes and events of the late 60’s-mid 70’s period. Some of the movements included ecology, civil rights, women’s rights, and anti-war protests. The music played on rock FM appealed to a lot of the younger generation who were looking for an alternative music choice to fit their alternative lifestyle. Many lived a hippie-styled life, and were big fans of this progressive music that was not tightly controlled like AM radio.

3.) New York started off one change with FM radio by creating the first rock station that played “Wild Thing” by The Troggs. Rock proceeded to be a major music genre during upcoming years. Along with that, DJs were using their shows to tackle controversial topics and help bring people together so that they could understand that they are not alone in their ideas. Another thing that FM radio started was a woman being on the air. The first female radio personality was Allison Steele, who had a unique and sultry voice. Now female DJs have an increased voice in that industry.

4.) In the early years of radio economic support came from the listeners who felt strongly about the social change that FM radio was pushing for. FM radio was extremely popular, and so eventually cars were made with that radio frequency already installed. The listenership is what made the radio so successful.

Thoughts on Twitter

Twitter Response Questions

Twitter is enduring because of its accessibility (it’s mobile, and right there at your fingertips) and because it allows you to know miniscule things about your friends that you never thought you’d care about. More importantly, if you’re following someone who actually has vital information, their tweets can be accompanied by useful links. Twitter is what you make of it – if you choose to follow someone whose tweets won’t contribute anything to your life, then you won’t see the good in Twitter. The act of “tweeting” something is easy, and you may begin to forget how quickly your thoughts are being broadcasted. What you will be comfortable in knowing is that whatever information you might be putting out – useless or otherwise – there is someone reading it.

This particular form of online social networking connects you to information that you might not have ever had access to. For example, if you’re following one of your favorite entertainers and they happen to be in the area you live in, they may tweet about a free concert that only their followers would be aware of. This is just one of the advantages to opening up and allowing yourself to be immersed in the world of Twitter.