General Observations

• The label "Based on a true story"/"Based on true events" seems to be very present in the horror genre. This attracts people as there is an odd fascination with the macabre of certain events and people's curiosity drives them to ultimately see the movie - only really to be disgusted and shocked by what they see. For example when the Tobe Hooper's "The Texas Chain Saw Massacre" came out, people were drawn to seeing such a new development to the horror genre which scared new audiences and still manages to today because it doesn't seem too far fetched as what ghosts do. People are the real monsters and certain horror movies remind people of this fact.
• Also present for uplifting movies, or amazing true stories that are unbelievable but real. For example "The Impossible" or "The Blind Side"

The Conjuring - True Story

The Conjuring is a 2013 horror film directed by James Wan starring Vera Farmiga and Patrick Wilson. The film is "based on a true story" but how true is that?

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1457767/synopsis - written by a user of IMDB (not very reliable - however I have seen the movie and this is very true to the plot line) 

• The film begins like the typical haunted house film - a young unsuspecting family move into a new house (which ironically looks scary and sinister) and horrible events begin to unfold. It begins with the death of the family dog which, in the beginning, refused to enter the house. Then it escalates to the point where a powerful entity attacks the eldest daughter after her little sister repeatedly bangs her head on the cupboard which was there before they moved in. This sparks them calling in help from Ed and Lorraine Warren - a married couple who paranormal investigators. 

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/culture/film/10169312/Lorraine-Warren-ghosthunter-extraordinaire.html 

• This is an actual interview with the woman who has seen all this first hand. A quote from the article was 'A lot of [the film] is very accurate,’ which is quite a bold claim. 
• Looking at the reliability of the source; it is not a personal webpage, it's from a prestigious newspaper known at The Telegraph. The domain is .co.uk. The person who wrote it is jane Mulkerrins, a journalist for The Telegraph newspaper. The date of the article is 13th July 2013. Yes, there a few links to different websites that involve the Warrens, their business and outcomes because of it. The evidence could be considered biased as they are actual quotes from Lorraine Warren, who could be lying to keep up appearances. However, it would be impossible for one to ever know. The site's global ranking on www.alexa.com is 220 and it's ranking in the United Kingdom is 21. Jane Mulkerrins seems to be a freelance journalist who works with other newspaper websites for her articles. This article was put on the web to help sell the new movie "The Conjuring" and to also inform people on the real Lorraine Warren and other things she has witnessed and done. I think, for reliability I would rate this website a 7 or 8 out of 10 because it is a well known and respected newspaper but even then newspapers bend the truth and use quotes out of context for their own ends.

In the film there is a sub-plot involved with a doll called Annabelle. This is the real doll. 

The doll in the movie has obviously been made to look more menacing and sinister to make the audience frightened with watching the film. Especially with the opening shot; an extreme close up of the Annabelle doll showing half of its creepy and terrifying face which is held for an uncomfortable period of time which almost becomes unbearable to watch.

• http://www.usatoday.com/story/life/movies/2013/07/22/conjuring-true-story-perron/2457209/ Andrea Perron has 3 books out about the Perron's family life. 

Celebrity Culture

Celebrity Culture

Arguably, celebrity culture can be dated back to much earlier than the obvious contemporary limelight. In Ancient Egyptian times, Pharaohs would try to seize their legacy by having massive monuments and structures built in their honour. Civilians would believe they were gods. Rameses II reigned for just over 66 years and lived ‘til his 90s; it shocked the Egyptians when he eventually died – it was believed he was indestructible.

In a way, celebrity culture hasn’t changed – in fact, it seems far more like a cult in the 21^st century than it ever did in past. This is probably because of social medias such as Facebook and Twitter. It’s a minute link between said celebrity and the whole fan base that makes the fans feel appreciated and respected.

A good example of a cult like fan base is that of Justin Bieber. Firstly, his fans have a collective term for their love of him – they are called Bielebers. Having a group name unifies the fans to almost an army like status. They verbally assault anyone who tries to say anything negative about him and refuse to see his actual persona. In reality, Bieber is seemingly egotistical – he even decided to spit on fans. But how twisted are the fans? They liked it. There are actual videos on the internet of young girls saying they enjoyed someone spitting on them. If that isn’t a cult, I don’t know what is.

Celebrity culture is fueled by different mediums. Predominantly, gossip magazines such as Heat magazine and chat shows. This is because the stars appear like themselves. That can either be very appealing or a complete turn off. In some cases, these mediums can make and/or break careers. They have instigated a whole range of controversy as many people believe that celebrity culture is pro-anorexia. Kate Moss once said “nothing tastes as good as skinny feels.” This messages is very poisonous as it can spark something in some young minds and cause them to stop being healthy.

However, there are more reserved and eloquent people within celebrity culture including posthumously famous people. They can leave a long legacy, much longer than their actual life.  

Anne Frank was a milestone in celebrity culture and posthumous fame because she documented her life until being sent to a concentration camp. She wasn’t famous for “wearing it best” or being a party animal. She was simply famous for being an intelligent young girl who unfortunately died days from liberation – a tragic story.

James Dean is another posthumous figure in celebrity culture. He had the main part in only three movies and was Oscar nominated for two of them. These films were East of Eden; Rebel Without A Cause and Giant. He was described as cultural icon of teenage disillusionment. He also had a huge gay following because of his character’s care for the secondary character in Rebel Without A Cause.

In conclusion, celebrity culture is both negative and positive and caused by peoples fascination with how the other half lives.