Friday, October 6, 2017

Are You Scared of IT?

by Rich Felicetti



         The most popular film of summer 2017 has been Andres Muschietti’s It, which focuses on an interdimensional malevolent entity that terrorizes the children of Derry, Maine. The being assumes the role of each child’s primary fear. It most commonly masquerades as Pennywise, a frightening clown, given that most young children fear clowns. It is also seen as a leper when assailing a germophobic child and a werewolf when abducting one child that is petrified of the wolfman. With each child that goes missing, It grows substantially stronger.

From a psychological standpoint, the children are paralyzed by their fear of Pennywise. One common method of reducing fear is exposure therapy, or repeated interaction with the aversive stimulus. After facing Pennywise for an extended period of time, they learn that without his power over them, he is incredibly weak. As the children’s fear begin to fade, It disintegrates, and the children reign supreme. Thus, after repeated exposure, the fear was no longer paralyzing, and the evil Pennywise was thwarted.

So face your fears this weekend and go check out this movie.


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