Horse Sense

While watching the film Nosferatu one scene that really stood out to me was the one when Jonathon Harker is spending the night at the inn in Transylvania and he looks out the window to see the horses flee into the hills with the impending threat of nightfall. He turns away and discovers “the Book of the Vampires” and begins to read about the infamous “Nosferatu.” He brushes this information off and proceeds to go to sleep for the night. When he wakes up in the morning he again moves to look out the window and sees the horses return for the safety of the day. He flips “the Book of the Vampires” open to the phrase “Men do not always recognize the dangers that beasts can sense at certain times.” This is largely related to one of the central themes of Nosferatu which is man’s fear of the unknown. Night, which apparently exists as a dangerous and threatening vessel for evil activity represents the unknown with its weapon of darkness and that which cannot be seen. Nosferatu is filled with other examples of this concept. Transylvania, the land from which Jonathon fetches his future tormentor is a foreign and unknown land. Even Nosferatu himself, although he has many physical human characteristics remains largely separated from the viewer. The viewer cannot determine or relate to any of his motivations or feelings and he exists undoubtedly as the monster and blatant antagonist of the film. He is the embodiment of the unknown in all his creepy, despicable glory. Like the land he comes from he is foreign, unknown, and terrifying.

Human history is filled with examples of man’s fear of the unknown. One of the most common childhood phobia’s of the fear of the dark. Some people sleep with a nightlight well into adulthood because they never feel comfortable in an environment where they cannot see, and thus control, the environment around them. Socially, people are intimidated and scared at first by others until they get to know them and they become less of an “other.” So often the first day of school or the first day of work causes immense anxiety only because of the fear of the unknown. Once this hurdle is behind us we settle into our routines and are complaining about the banality of our lives in no time. It is a curse to political conflict, as countries tend to have more animosity towards each other the more foreign and unknown their cultures remain. In World War II the Japanese living in America were torn from their homes and communities because the lack of understanding of their culture and language produced fear and hostility toward them. When people have more knowledge and understanding of a concept or even an individual, that thing becomes less scary and less of a threat in the human mind. Even at the end of Nosferatu the audience learns that Nosferatu actually has a weakness and can indeed be defeated. Whew, well maybe I can sleep with my light off tonight.