Greek myth Oedipus King and two recent films, Angel Heart(U.S.A., 1987) and Old Boy(Korea, 2003), are the representatives of describing fear since the ancient times. Analyzing these texts will help to reconstruct “a short history of fear”. Oedipus King represents the fear of ancient Hellenism, the harsh destiny that neither ordinary people nor hero could escape, though he did nothing to deserve it. This unfair harshness of destiny that oppressed ancient peoples' subconsciousness began to lose its power as Christianity promised God's punishment only for sinful behaviors. Angel Heart relies on the fear of Lucifer's hell where no hope for salvation exists. This fear had ruled the collective mentality of the middle ages, but became less threatening due to de-christianization. Old Boy reflects the fear of incest, the serious taboo which would cause a fall from bourgeois society and its privileges. This fear of the modern ages was, on the one hand, strengthened by sexual disorder since the execution of XVI. On the other hand, it was reinforced as the genetic knowledge about deformed offspring from incestuous marriages became a popular social discourse among the nineteenth-century intellectuals.

Greek myth Oedipus King and two recent films, Angel Heart(U.S.A., 1987) and Old Boy(Korea, 2003), are the representatives of describing fear since the ancient times. Analyzing these texts will help to reconstruct “a short history of fear”. Oedipus King represents the fear of ancient Hellenism, the harsh destiny that neither ordinary people nor hero could escape, though he did nothing to deserve it. This unfair harshness of destiny that oppressed ancient peoples' subconsciousness began to lose its power as Christianity promised God's punishment only for sinful behaviors. Angel Heart relies on the fear of Lucifer's hell where no hope for salvation exists. This fear had ruled the collective mentality of the middle ages, but became less threatening due to de-christianization. Old Boy reflects the fear of incest, the serious taboo which would cause a fall from bourgeois society and its privileges. This fear of the modern ages was, on the one hand, strengthened by sexual disorder since the execution of XVI. On the other hand, it was reinforced as the genetic knowledge about deformed offspring from incestuous marriages became a popular social discourse among the nineteenth-century intellectuals.

fear(두려움), destiny(운명), salvation(구원), fall(몰락), Old Boy(올드 보이), Angel Heart(엔젤 하트), Oedipus King(오이디푸스 왕)