Hey all, I was wondering if I could get some help from people on this forum in relation to an assessment I am doing for my third year at University based on cult media. Basically my task is to start a conversation within a forum (I chose this because I am a huge fan of the games) in order to see and get an idea of discussions that can ensue in relation to cultural texts.

Obviously there have been a variety of different incarnations of Silent Hill now, and I was just wanting to ask people’s opinions on these; why do you think that the game, now developed into a movie franchise, has now obtained such a cult following? Is it even cult in your opinion?

Any posts or assistance would really be gratefully received, as you will be helping out a student who is in her last few months of University, and also because I’d really love to hear people’s thoughts on a personal level as well.

Many thanks!

We're up to our eighth primary game, our second major studio Hollywood film, more than a half-dozen comics, albums, etc. The series is highly visible. It's a mass-media franchise which has long since penetrated these various formats. There is absolutely nothing cult about Silent Hill's following. Resident Evil has always overshadowed it and always will, but Silent Hill is definitely the second-largest survival horror franchise by a large margin, and has been firmly entrenched in mainstream awareness ever since the second game.

Regarding this snipit:
I think the reason that Silent Hill "stuck" is because of the story. (Btw, that's really cliche, and you're going to hear it a lot.)
Even now, there are many video games that wouldn't touch the themes in the second game, for example. Movies were one thing, but video games never really delved into the human condition in this way before SH. The first four games were epic novels set in an interactive medium as far as I'm concerned--you cared about the characters, you had detailed back story, and you were emotionally invested. And this is coming from a gal who dislikes most video games.

Cult status? Shouldn't you define that a little more? It's definitely got a cult-like following if you mean it as in cult fanaticism, as evidenced by the vast number of debate threads on this site and the constant throwing around of the word "canon." If you mean it in terms of cult classic, no. Particularly the part about [quote]Often the term "cult (media)" is (perhaps) inaccurately applied to anything that is both old and has a devoted fan following, even if it was popular at the time. If the devoted fan following is rooted in it being both old and critically-acclaimed, and thus popular with fans of classic works in general (e.g. The Marx Brothers), it probably doesn't count.[/url] Maybe you can provide a better, more scholarly definition?

Like aitt says, it's got all kinds of different media based upon it, a full 8 games, a growing fanbase, and critical acclaim (at least for 3 of the games). It's not obscure, and the games have sold very well. It just doesn't seem to fit the definition.