Interview with Emily McAvan on The Postmodern Sacred
Emily McAvan has been on my radar since I first encountered her research in the sacred aspects of science fiction and fantasy. She teaches cultural, media and gender studies at Murdoch University and Curtin University, both in Perth, Australia. In the interview that follows we discuss aspects of her fine book The Postmodern Sacred: Popular [...]
Para*Doxa: African Science Fiction
Para*Doxa is seeking submissions of previously unpublished essays on subjects related to AFRICAN SCIENCE FICTION In 2010, Pumzi, the first Kenyan science fiction movie, won the best short film award at the Cannes Independent Film Festival, and the South African co-production District 9 was nominated for multiple Oscars. In 2011, Nigerian-American Nnedi Okorafor became the [...]
Interview with Robin R. Means Coleman on Horror Noire: Blacks in American Horror Films from the 1890s to Present
It is a great privilege to read and reflect on horror in its multiple manifestations and layers of meaning. Not all of this is pleasant, but it is nevertheless enjoyable. This is the case with the book Horror Noire: Blacks in American Horror Films from the 1890s to Present (Routledge, 2011) by Robin R. Means [...]
Horror Noire: Blacks in American Horror Films
There is a new book that explores an important facet of horror. The book is Horror Noire: Blacks in American Horror Films from 1890 to the Present (Routledge, 2011), by Robin R. Means Coleman. From King Kong to Candyman, the boundary-pushing genre of the horror film has always been a site for provocative explorations of [...]
Freddy Krueger, Popular Culture, and Cute Monsters Once More
In a previous post I took part in a group effort from the League of Tana Tea Drinkers on the phenomenon of “cute” monsters in horror. In this series of posts the contributors tried to address why we take horrific items and produce less than frightening aspects of them for our enjoyment. I would like [...]
Invisible Universe: A History of Blackness in Speculative Fiction
How have African Americans been represented in, played a part in, and contributed to speculative fiction? How have we come from depictions of African Americans in speculative fiction (defined broadly to include horror) in black exploitation horror like Blacula to more positive representations in the action-horror film Blade? These interesting questions and others are explored [...]
LOTTD Reflections: Cute Monsters and Horror
Recently Curt Percell of the Groovy Age of Horror blog suggested to those of us in the League of Tana Tea Drinkers (LOTTD) that we tackle a question: “What Do Cute Versions of Monsters Tell Us About Horror?” It’s an interesting question to explore, and some of my fellow LOTTD members and I will try [...]
TheoFantastique Podcast 1:1 – Interview with Ian Conrich on “Horror Zone”
It was my privilege to read select chapters from the new book Horror Zone: The Cultural Experience of Contemporary Horror Cinema (I. B. Tauris, 2010), edited by Ian Conrich. It was an enjoyable read, not only because the contributors are well informed about their subject matter, but also because of the refreshingly different perspective contributors [...]
David Skal “Monster Show” Graduate Seminar at Trinity College Dublin
Every once in a while I come across great academic courses related to horror and my latest find is one presented by horror historian David J. Skal. He is presenting a graduate seminar at Trinity College Dublin based upon his book The Monster Show: A Cultural History of Horror (Faber & Faber, 2001). Here is [...]
Culture, Identities and Technology in the Star Wars Films
Star Wars: The Empire Strikes Back recently celebrated its 30th anniversary. With it came a lot of television programming related to the Star Wars series of films, and one included commentary from the editors and contributors to Culture, Identities and Technology in the Star Wars Films: Essays on the Two Trilogies (Critical Explorations in Science [...]
