The term supernatural refers to the phenomenal ability to overcome the power of natural laws. Supernatural concepts such as angels, demons, magic, and deities are mainly founded on elements in the Christian religion; however, many religions and folk traditions in different cultures also include elements of the supernatural. In ancient times, humans unintentionally developed supernatural concepts to explain incomprehensible events and phenomena, such as illnesses, death, and natural disasters. While stories about supernatural deities and creatures in ancient societies had a practical use in addressing people’s concerns and allowing partial control of the population’s behavior, they also presented an entertainment source. For example, short horror stories with ghosts and witches were common in the Greco-Roman period, and the audiences had a pleasurable experience from listening to such stories (Brinkhof). In modern society, supernatural themes in art, films, television, and literature are still popular due to their nature of simultaneously appealing to the feelings of human awe, fear, and admiration.
Firstly, similar to people in Ancient Greece, modern audiences find supernatural themes more enjoyable than real stories. Different elements from the supernatural concept have been successfully implemented in many popular fictional series, such as magic and witchcraft in the Harry Potter series and vampire characters in the Twilight saga. Books heavily rely on the power of the reader’s imagination, so, naturally, people tend to use the fantasy genre to simulate the first-hand experience with something exciting and strange. Moreover, by giving characters supernatural powers, authors bring variety to the relationship between the characters. Lastly, the implementation of supernatural elements in stories makes characters’ problems less realistic, providing the readers an opportunity to relax or distract themselves from the burdens of everyday life.
Next, in the aspect of supernatural representation in films and television, the integration of supernatural concepts significantly increases the scale of the visual component, attracting more viewers. While literature is more liberating in encouraging authors to create unique characters and plots, the film industry is bound by budgets. Thus, to be highly profitable, the film must have a strong visual component and something that will attract the audience. The integration of supernatural elements into the story makes the film more attractive to the audience because most people are already familiar with folklore and literature that uses that supernatural force or character. For example, one of the most popular supernatural characters, popularized by Bram Stoker, Count Dracula, was featured in multiple films and television shows both as the main character and one of several supernatural characters. Therefore, while literature utilizes supernatural elements to expand the scope of the readers’ imagination and ensure their positive experience, films use supernatural to attract viewers with familiar characters and effective visuals.
Furthermore, the abundance of supernatural in modern pop culture can be traced to the global influence of the Christian religion. Christianity presents one of the most powerful religions in modern society; nearly one-third of the world’s population is considered Christian. While there are several denominations in Christianity, they all share a similar understanding of supernatural concepts, contributing to their increased use in pop culture. Furthermore, even though some may suggest Islam as the most powerful religion in the world, Christianity’s influence is increased by the power and wealth of its followers. The American pop culture is easily exportable because of its consumerism character, and therefore international entertainment market is mostly presented by American products. For several years, Christian supernatural concepts were familiarized in all corners of the world through pop culture. Thus, defining how supernatural elements are used in the modern media determined that the reason for the abundance of supernatural elements is the great influence of Christian religion and American culture on the world.
The representation of the supernatural in modern art, film, television, and literature can be interpreted as the impact of American culture on the global entertainment sphere. The issue attracts attention to the problem of the cultural imperialism strategy utilized by the United States in the conditions of globalization. Cultural imperialism as an economic strategy in exporting cultural goods presents one of the essential sources of the United States’ income. However, in the future, the trend can negatively influence global society by exterminating less popular local cultures. For example, because of the abundance of American cultural goods in the international entertainment market, some foreigners know more about American culture than their own (Fergie). Thus, the initial positive notion of America promoting liberal values of freedom, independence, and truth transformed into the export of cultural goods from Hollywood and large business corporations.
In addition, the issue of American influence on global culture is worsened by the fact that America does not participate in active cultural import. Despite the growing number of immigrants in the country, the American population does not engage in the process of cultural exchange due to parochialism and a flawed education system predominantly focused on American history. For example, in the film industry, there are no foreign films on the list of 500 highest-grossing films in the U.S (Fergie). Therefore, the representation of the supernatural in media can be interpreted as a depiction of how America continuously exported its culture over the years while protecting it from external influences. In the context of society, the interpretation emphasizes how the world’s population relates to Americans while deliberately avoiding interacting with other cultures.
Lastly, in defining whether the phenomenon is sourced from overall American society or situated culture, one can suggest that filmmaking industry culture significantly impacts the situation. The lack of diversity in filmmaking industry and Hollywood has become a relevant theme in the last few years, with most focus on racial disparities and African-American representation in the film industry. However, the diversity requirements also include promoting cultural exchange and integrating different cultural perceptions and beliefs in media. It is unlikely that the population’s parochialism in patriotism-centered education will be addressed in the nearest future. Thus, as a reactive and influential field with a large audience, the film industry should make more efforts to provide a foundation for the quality import of cultural goods.
In conclusion, exploring the purpose of supernatural elements in modern art, films, television, and literature allowed defining that integration of the supernatural elements generally improves the consumers’ experience with cultural goods. Furthermore, exploring the source of the popularity of supernatural elements established a connection between American pop culture and the influence of Christianity. The essay determined that the modern representation of the supernatural in media emphasizes how deeply American export of cultural goods influenced global society. Lastly, the essay suggested that the lack of cultural diversity in the filmmaking industry created a situated culture that significantly impacted the situation.
Works Cited
Brinkhof, Tim. “Horror fiction: the unexpectedly ancient origins of ghost stories.” Big Think, 2021.
Fergie, Dexter. “How American culture ate the world.” The New Republic, 2022.