Before watching Nosferatu, I had no idea who or what he was. The first time I heard of him was in a reference from Spongebob Squarepants. As a child, Nosferatu was extremely scary character in Spongebob because of how real he looked compared to the other cartoons. Even though he smiles in the cartoon, it seems disfigured and out of place.
When I watched the black and white film, I was not scared at all. Rather like most horror movies, I was frustrated with Jonathan’s actions. I didn’t understand the logic in Jonathan’s actions when he travels to Nosferatu’s home. Whenever he mentions Nosferatu, the people around him would be afraid and refuse to assist him in his endeavors. I thought their reactions are sufficient evidence that Nosferatu’s home is not a safe place and he should avoid it at all costs. But he continues to be ignorant to the point that he brings Nosferatu back to his own town.
If Jonathan didn’t want his wife to read the book about Nosferatu, he should have disposed of it instead of leaving it lying around. As a viewer, I notice the foolishness of Jonathan’s actions, but I have to acknowledge at that moment in time he was following Knock’s instructions. I don’t blame Jonathan’s initial actions to leave his town, but I do think his ignorance leads to the death of many. In this case, ignorance is not bliss.
The part I found the strangest is Nosferatu’s window scene when he is looking at Jonathan’s wife. It felt strange to me because many horror genres make references to dark windows with various figures in them. I wasn’t creeped out by Nosferatu at the window, but by the setting he appears in. Similar scenes in other films create a feeling of mystery and fear. The figures in the window are usually menacing and pose a threat to the characters.
I’m curious to know if Nosferatu set the norm for the use of windows in horror films. Since it was an early film and this was one of the most iconic scenes. It is possible Nosferatu set a standard. I’ll admit this part was a little scary relative to the rest of the film. Overall, the film was not scary because of the evolution of horror in the past couple of decades. We are accustomed to a different feeling of horror now. Our form of horror is much more fast paced and graphic than Nosferatu is. Our cultures view vampires in a different light now. Vampires are distanced from the idea of horror. Because of these differences, most of us were not scared by the film.
Citations:
zxBlackoutz. “Spongebob – Nosferatu.” Online video clip. Youtube. Youtube, 5 Apr. 2013. Web. 28 Oct. 2013.
ThaTruth. “Ignorant Parental Guidance…” PricelessTruth. 20 June 2012. Web. 28 Oct. 2013. jpeg.
Mor, Mayatrakul. “Improvisation No.8 – Morakot Cherdchoo-ngarm ‘The Dark Window.'” Soundcloud. 7 Jan. 2013. Web. 28 Oct. 2013. jpeg.
I think your mood diary was very relatable. I didn’t know who “Nosferatu” was either before I watched it. I really like your Spongebob reference, that video was funny because as you mentioned, he seemed out of place since the rest of the clip was in color. I also could relate to your frustration with Jonathan’s actions. He was extremely ignorant throughout the movie because even with all the warnings he received from the people around him, he did not get the hint that Orlok was Nosferatu. As you mentioned, all the emotional reactions should have been enough to convince anyone in the right mind to abort their journey to visit Orlok. I like how you brought up that “ignorance is not bliss.” I never thought about that much when I was watching the film but now that you mention it, I think that might be a theme in the film. There are so many instances where ignorance leads to trouble including the crew’s ignorance that Orlok was hiding in one of the coffins on the ship and the townspeoples’ ignorance that Orlok is the cause of their deaths rather than the plague.
I also found Nosferatu’s window scene to be really strange and creepy and it’s interesting how Murnau made Nosferatu invincible except to a woman who can distract him past sunrise. I think Murnau might’ve been trying to convey that men who can’t control themselves will die, most likely due to STDs. This might be far-fetched but I think this scene is significant and has some underlying meaning to it. Like you said, the film is no longer scary to us due to the evolution of horror but it did set the standard for later films.
I think you bring up an interesting point with the window scene, and it’s really fun to conjecture about the intentions of the creators of different movies. In addition, I also connected this to the Spongebob scene because I used to watch it all the time. Funny enough, I found Nosferatu pretty creepy in that scene perhaps because I was younger, but maybe also because the Spongebob episode seemed so suspenseful. I don’t know for sure, but either way right now this movie isn’t as scary as the ones we have out, so it’s interesting to witness how a genre and everything pretty much develops and evolves over time.
As for the part of ignorance on Jonathan’s part, I agree and it’s very frustrating when characters do something we can’t understand. Similarly, it was frustrating to watch Gregor’s family who began to ignore their son after his transformation.
I can definitely agree with your assertion of how in general some characters in horror movies seem to be insanely stupid. They go out of their way to put themselves in what seems to be obvious danger. These instances contribute to my lack of enjoyment for horror films in general. Your SpongeBob reference was a very uplifting one to take into account, with respect to the obvious mood that was set by the film. Your assertion on the window scene also made me think about how many window scenes I recall from all of the movies I have watched. From your writing I can discern a sense of apathy and frustration towards the film, while personally I had a strong distaste for the constant shaking the film had.
I really liked how you related Nosferatu to Spongebob. I felt like he looked familiar and I was right! And that’s an interesting point concerning Nina and the book. Strangely enough that all these characters always get their hands on what they’re not supposed to.
I was not scared while watching this movie either. I had expected myself to be, but I was not. The only part, I agree, was the window that was scary. I found that ironic since usually, a setting isn’t supposed to frighten us. It’s supposed to be the people in it, or the Nosferatu.
Janice Fong
I apologize for posting this too early. I wanted to add that the window seems to be symbolic. Remember, in Metamorphosis, the window was how Gregor died. He didn’t throw himself to a wall, but rather to a window. So maybe a window can represent a better life? Once Gregor threw himself out, his family had a better life. Once the window appeared and the Nosferatu bit Nina, Jonathan was saved.
Janice Fong