News Article: https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1987-01-11-mn-3961-story.html
Film: A Nightmare on Elm Street
The film A Nightmare on Elm Street was inspired by mysterious sleep death, as reported by Los Angeles Times Newspaper. The Asian Death Syndrome, as primarily known, wiped out Southeast Asian refugees since April 1983. The film features a refugee child from a Cambodian genocide who feared to sleep for fear that he would be attacked and die. It was based on shockingly accurate accounts of people reporting bad dreams before their deaths.
Nancy Thompson is the protagonist in the fictional film created by Wes Craven. She is tricked by Freddy Krueger, a child murderer and antagonist in the film who assumes to be her father but later stabs her in the ribs and stomach. Furthermore, she is hunted in her sleep and later dies. Freddy presents as a sadistic person for his entire lifetime. The villain is a terrifying spirit that haunts every child’s dreams. While the victims had a lot in common, there was nothing wrong with them before their sudden death.
According to Doyle (1987), the men victims had no single symptom of any condition; hence, they died healthily. Besides, the condition only manifested in men aged 33 years on average and only in their sleep. Furthermore, it was thought that the heart stopped on its own, probably due to nightmares, making inspiration to the film. The featured teenagers in the film also assumed the 1980s personalities. There was no medical explanation for the deaths of the teenagers. Similarly, Hmogs refugees in America were not the only people suffering from mysterious conditions. Still, other American refugees were susceptible, making it more challenging to come clear about the underlying disease.
References
Doyle, L (1987, January 11). Medical Experts Seek Clues to ‘Nightmare Deaths’ That Strike Male Asian Refugees. Los Angeles Times. https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1987-01-11-mn-3961-story.html
