The Underdogs Case

The Underdogs

For centuries, movies relied on the same prevalent themes and character in order to create popular media entertainment. It happens all the time when we sit down to watch our favorite teen horror movies. We eat our popcorn, while our eyes are glued to the screen, waiting in distress for what is going to happen to the monster's next victim. Even if we can predict what is going to happen next, it seems as if the suspense is foreign to us. One thing we can predict is what is going to happen to the underdog in the film: the underdog is going to come out victorious even though we know that the odds are against him, we always root for the underdog. We do this because, we, ourselves are the underdog. In this essay, there are many examples that we, the underdog, play the victim, while the top dog is the monster in the horror movie.

An underdog falls into two categories: 1. A competitor thought to have little chance of winning a fight or contest. 2. A person who has little status in society ("Underdog" def.1). The underdogs have three main characteristics which define them: first, underdogs show perseverance; when they fail, they get back up, pulling through and staying focused on their goal until the very end. Second, their determination forces them to keep on trying, even if they have lost numerous times, and try to win again. Last and most importantly, underdogs have more passion for their goals than others, serving as a central role in defining who they are. Because of this, underdogs remain hopeful about achieving them, even when faced with difficult obstacles.

Rooting for the underdog seems to be the norm these days because there is always something to be fearful of, just like in a horror movie, the underdog overcomes that fear. Fear is like the monster in a horror movie, because we don't want to face it because it scary to us.

However, in a Virginian newspaper article, written by Malcolm Ritter, he described a 44-year-old woman who, "literally knows no fear" (Ritter). The woman is called SM, a mother of three who suffers a psychological impairment called amygdale, which is a rare genetic disease that damaged the part of the brain that controls emotions such as fear. In her late 20's, she was in a situation, which many would find horrifying. She was sitting on a park bench, when a man came behind her and pressed a knife to her throat. After the man told her that he was going to cut her, she simply looked into his eyes and calmly said, "If you're going to kill me, you're going to have to go through my God's angels first" (Ritter). The man let her go and she walked home as if nothing happened. She felt nothing about the situation, while with others; they would find this as their worst nightmare coming to life. As unusual as this is, society wouldn't root for her triumphs, not because they are jealous that she had no fear, but because she felt no fear, there was no monster that she had to fight, nothing to overcome. Society wouldn't be able to relate to her because SM never went through a struggle or suffering to overcome the scary monster, but she still happened to come out victorious. We want to know that even if there are monsters in our horror story, we are still able to overcome them.

In a horror movie, the monsters are considered to be the "top dog" because the monsters have an advantage: they always seem to be physically stronger and bigger. Due to their strength, it makes it difficult for the victim to triumph over them. An example would be a scene from the third installment Jeepers Creepers, when the monster is able to rip out the top of the school bus with his bare hands to get his victims. His victims had nowhere to go, so they ran. As the audience watches the film, they feel the unfairness because of the monster's advantage. Researcher conducted by Joseph A. Vandello, Nadav P. Goldschmied, and David A. R. Richards found, "that those who are seen as disadvantaged arouse people's sense of fairness and justice" (Vandello, Goldscmied, Richards). Thus, making the audience wanting the underdog to defeat the monster even more. In a magazine article found in Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin, written by Mohit Joshi, he has found that research conducted by researchers in the University of South Florida, concluded that the majority of people favor weaker individuals compared to its powerful opponents. It is evident, that since we see ourselves as the underdog, we want to know that we are able to fight off the monster, even if we were physically weaker. The audience likes watching the underdog because it shows that even with physical strength, doesn't mean it call for a triumph victory. This reason being why we root for the underdog.

In Hollywood, the "underdog theme" is a reoccurring plot in horror movies. There is always a scene where it shows the victims feeling hopeless, questioning if they are able to defeat the monster or end up getting killed by it. As the audience watches the film, they can feel the hopelessness of the victim, because they were in a similar situation where they felt that same emotions. Just like the victim in the movie, people have been through situations where they have fallen into hard times, like they feel like there was no way out. Towards the ending of the middle of the movie is when you start to see the victim creating a plan to defeat the monster. It is not until the end of the movie, where the audience see the underdog undergo the full transformation from a loser to a motivated person who persevered and able to defeat the monster. The audience starts to realize that the underdog doesn't win because he is the victim, be