The Archetype of the Journey in Modern Horror Films: The History of a Subversion

Abstract

The archetype of the journey has an important role in the imaginary cultural heritage of the United States. Throughout the late 19th and early 20th centuries, American literature would focus much of its arguments on the figurative and metaphorical journeys, like many of the classic Hollywood genres and those genuinely American such as the western. Over the years, in the context of the political, social and cultural crises that the United States would go through during the late sixties, modern horror cinema would appropriate of this archetype to carry out its final subversion. In the following article, we will deepen on the importance of the archetype of the journey within the American cultural imaginary and its subsequent fracture in times of social crisis, through the study of its evolution in the literature and film genres. The use of a multidisciplinary methodology will allow us to approach the subject from a perspective that includes the historical, artistic and social realities.