About Truth or Dare and Psychological Matters
Earlier this year, Blumhouse’s Truth or Dare, directed by Jeff Wadlow, was released. It is very different from the old version of Truth or Dare. With nearly no bloody scenes or jump scares, the film still made me chilled to the bone of how the director portraited the real life, and how a simple game of “Truth or Dare” can turn into something evil and twisted. I realized that although the devil is very scary, the true devil here is the secrets buried deep inside each. It prevents people, to be honest with each other, and how fearful if the secrets are exposed. My research focused mainly on two elements: The questions behind every act of the characters inside the film and the psychology perspective of this game. In the original film, “Truth or Dare” remains opened because there is just no way to outsmart the devil, as the protagonist gave up. In my adaptation, I will focus more on describing the thoughts of the characters, also, a new opening which allows the protagonist to defeat the devil.
Annotated Biblography
“ Lucy Hale on Why ‘Truth or Dare’ is more than just a horror movie: ‘You care for the people’ “
This article focused mainly on why the characters in the film act like that, and how come the protagonist lose to the devil. In the report, Ms. Hale stated that:
“In horror films, you don’t always care about people dying, you’re like, ‘just die already!’ — but with this movie, you care for the people,” she went on to say. “It’s a horror film, but each of the secrets that the people harbor is heavy stuff, which was a formula that made for a unique horror film.”
Ms. Hale’s explaination has informed my project through psychology perspective, where people are actually cared for each other, even in the presence of something pure evil. And because of the caring toward each other, it may become fatal when it is used to against each other.
“Truth or Dare unanswered questions”
This article focused on answering every questions that are still lingering to the audiences. Surely after watching the movie, many people will have questions about why the characters choose to act that way. For instance, Markie - one of the main character,
always rebel against her friends and trying to get away from the group because of small “dramas” happening inside the group of friend. Kirsten Acuna, author of the article, gave the explaination like this:
"Obviously, if this was a real life scenario, you would have everyone stay together. It makes it more exciting in the movie. There's that kind of drama. And Markie is like the rebel outcast anyway within the group of friends and she's the most hesitant about the game, I think. And it takes her awhile to buy into it and believe that it's real."
In my opinion, I think the author’s explaination will inform my project of how a protagonist can be anti protagonist at the same time, in psychology perspective.
“11 lingering questions we had about Truth or Dare”
Same as before, this article focused on explaining every question that is still lingering to the viewers. Of all the questions being asked, this might be the most exciting question in the commentary: “What qualifies as answering a “truth” correctly?”. Here is part of the
explanation provided by Dana Schwartz, one of the editors in Ew.com, a film-review website:
“For centuries, philosophers have debated the nature, and the existence, of objective truth itself. For the questions the demons ask, what qualifies as being truthful enough to not be murdered for it? What if they’re asked a question they don’t know the full answer
to? Or what if it’s a truth they’ve been suppressing themselves? One striking example comes when Lucas is mid-coitus with Olivia and the demon asks him which of the girls he actually has feelings for. While literally still having sex with Olivia, he admits that he actually loves Markie. But love, especially young love, is a fluid and imprecise term. Does true love even exist? …”
This answer will inform my adaptation in the psychological perspective, where questions and answers which determined the characters’ life are on the scale and the elements which determined “a quality truth” will be taken in measures.
“Dangers from secrets and lies”
This article focused on questions, such as the right way to reveal a secret, or the feeling if the information is going to make your life brighter or not. Martha Black, a female writer of CNN and the Oprah Magazine, shared her thought:
“ … taking a safe person into your confidence dulls the isolating edge of a secret -- defuses the desire to gossip. Moreover, a person who has some training and
experience can give you an unbiased opinion about whether the secret is merely a white dwarf or a black hole. (If you want to share a confidence for the sheer salacious pleasure of it, you're obviously out of line. But if you simply must gossip, consulting a professional is better than blurting it to a friend, especially one who knows the people involved.) … “
This is exactly like in the film “Truth or Dare” and this piece of thought has informed my project as I focused on how secrets and lies can be used as a weapon to turn people against each other.
“How Secrets and Lies Destroy Relationships”*
This article focused on pointing out how secrets and lies take part in our life, as an invisible factor leading to broken relationships. In “Truth or Dare,” they even cost the characters their own lives. Part of the analysis pointed out that the longer the secret is hidden, the greater becomes the hurdle of revelation. That’s the X factor showing how the characters in the film fell apart and being killed by the devil one by one. This article had informed my project when the author stated that secrets that we are holding would eventually create the feeling of shame, and we have to manage ourselves around the secrets will create more problem, as the main characters have in the original film.
“How to Avoid “Daring” Behavior”*
This article analyzed the actual concept behind the game “Truth or Dare,” and the danger lurked behind. It explained how the devil can take control of the game even without a living fresh to walk the earth, and how it manipulated the protagonists and the characters in the movie. Wendy L. Patrick, the author of the article and also Ph.D. in psychology study, explained:
“Predators may attempt to lure victims into a compromising situation through appealing to ego and desire for acceptance. This ploy is particularly insidious (and unfortunately successful) when used on young people seeking to be “cool,” modern, or to fit in with a social group. Preying on the desire to conform, predators will dare potential victims to prove a negative — by taunting them to prove they are something they are not…”
This analysis has informed my adaptation as I make a reverse when the characters take control of the game by being honest with each other from the beginning, therefore opening a way to end the madness created by the devil.
Works Cited
Verhoeven, Beatrice. “Lucy Hale on Why 'Truth or Dare' Is More Than Just a Horror Movie: 'You Care for the People'.” TheWrap, TheWrap, 14 Apr. 2018, www.thewrap.com/lucy-hale-on-why-truth-or-dare-is-more-than-just-a-horror-movie-you-care-for-the-people/.
Acuna, Kirsten. “Lucy Hale Answers All the Questions You Have after Watching Her Horror Movie 'Truth or Dare'.” INSIDER, INSIDER, 13 Apr. 2018, www.thisisinsider.com/truth-or-dare-unanswered-questions-spoilers-2018-4?fbclid=IwAR0VE5sr2pExyKir_asWEYgkQ_DuARShQIS7WqqSZ-AJSZUjNymcR4F07HE.
Schwartz, Dana. “11 Lingering Questions We Had about 'Truth or Dare'.” EW.com, EW.com, 16 Apr. 2018, ew.com/movies/2018/04/16/truth-or-dare-11-lingering-questions/?fbclid=IwAR2gTXU8LmL2GDbdVskhq9t3iQJm3NVj2wsu0PDIbpF123hlOxyhcajuAeY.
Beck, Martha. “Dangers from Secrets and Lies.” CNN, Cable News Network, 4 Feb. 2008, 9h55 a.m, www.cnn.com/2008/LIVING/personal/02/04/o.secrets.lies/.
Lancer, Darlene. “How Secrets and Lies Destroy Relationships.” Psychology Today, Sussex Publishers, 31 Jan. 2018, www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/toxic-relationships/201801/how-secrets-and-lies-destroy-relationships.
Patrick, Wendy L. “How to Avoid ‘Daring’ Behavior.” Psychology Today, Sussex Publishers, 8 Apr. 2017, www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/why-bad-looks-good/201704/how-avoid-daring-behavior.