Electric Magazine Volume VII (Winter '19) | Page 3
EDITOR'S NOTE
Welcome, old and new readers alike, to the seventh volume of the Electric
Literary Magazine. This volume is sure to enlighten yet challenge readers on
their perspective of fear and how it impacts humankind.
When considering how people choose to react to fear, the phrase “fight or
flight” often comes to mind, but this is actually a simplification of how
creatures react to fear. In reality, there are four main mechanisms animals
use in response to a dangerous situation: fight, freeze, flight, and fright. This
is why the saying “like a deer in headlights” is common - it's an example of
the freeze mechanism. These are all responses to instinctual fears that all
animals have - in humans, however, this only covers one of the five basic
fears. This is the fear of mutilation, or the fear of physical danger.
According to Dr. Karl Albrecht, all humans share five fundamental fears, and
all of these fears can be found in some form in the pieces our team wrote.
The five fundamental fears are Extinction, Mutilation, Loss of Autonomy,
Separation, and Ego-Death. These fears can be put in a hierarchy of sorts, of
how much they can affect a person’s life. All fears can be boiled down to one
of these five.
The stories in this volume all focus on different types of fear. Tyler St.
Amant’s poetry piece, titled, "Solus Beach", leaves the reader questioning what
truly defines humanity, as an extreme form of the fear of separation. Andrew
Hunt’s nonfiction perspective story, “A Schizophrenic Naysayer”, showcases a
personal account of learning how to give grace in the middle of a fearful
situation, while James Gomez’s fiction story, “Not What it Seems”, gives a
chilling view on the fear of mutilation, or lack of safety. Electric invites you to
understand your fears in order to overcome them.
Literacy Love,
Mia Garza
Editor in Chief: Mia Garza
Design Directors: Alexandra Loza, Emilia Ortiz
Publicist: Andrew Hunt
Copy-Editors: Ximena Acosta Gomez, James Gomez, Tyler
ST. Amant (Team Lead)
Business Manager: Matthew Garcia-Ramirez
Social Media Marketing Director: Brenden DeVilla
Marketing: Erika Arellano, Laura Flores, Priscilla Soriano
(Team Lead)
Are you interested in placing an advertisement or sponsoring Electric?
Please contact [email protected] for inquiries.
Media: Gerardo Hernandez, Jocelyn
Incez, Joshua Rodriguez, Michelle Salas
Designers: Martyr Tavares, Alexandra
Loza, Emilia Ortiz, Carolina Herrera,
Bryana Maldonado-Ramirez
Writers: Brenden DeVilla, Matthew
Garicia-Ramirez, Mia Garza, James
Gomez, Andrew Hunt, Jocelyn Incez,
Bryana Maldonado-Ramirez, Priscilla
Soriano, Tyler St. Amant, Martyr Tavares
Front Cover Art: Martyr Tavares