Regina Hansen: Roman Catholicism in Fantastic Film
Some recent research for new sources of material led me to the volume Roman Catholicism in Fantastic Film: Essays on Belief, Spectacle, Ritual and Imagery (McFarland, 2011), edited by Regina Hansen. Hansen is is a senior lecturer at Boston University College of General Studies. This volume provides a helpful consideration of the important influences and [...]
International Academic Conference on Cultural Influence of Harry Potter
A call for papers from the Academic Study Magic list. ‘Magic is Might 2012′ : 23-24 July 2012, University of Limerick, Ireland An International Academic Conference Exploring the Cultural Influence of the Harry Potter Books and Films Hosted by the University of Limerick Department of Sociology in collaboration with the UL Interaction Design Centre, Dept. [...]
Avril Hannah-Jones on Faith and Fantasy: Behind the Scenes in the Church of Latter-Day Geeks
In a recent post I commented on an Australian news item that went global, along with a certain level of controversy, as Pastor Avril Hannah-Jones combined her love for science fiction and fantasy with a service in her local church. Now that the controversy has died down, and her busy Easter service is behind her, [...]
Fan Culture Documentaries: Back to Space-Con, and Four Days at Dragon*Con
This weekend I had the opportunity to watch two documentaries, Back to Space-Con, produced and directed by Tom Wyrsch of Garfield Lane Productions, and Four Days at Dragon*Con, produced and directed by Jack Walsh of Public Broadcasting in Atlanta. Taken together, these films tell the story of the development of science fiction and fantasy conventions, [...]
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 [...]
Elf Ears: New Trend in Body Modification
Today I became aware of a new trend in body modification, the creation of pointed ears reminiscent of those on Elves from Lord of the Rings, Avatar‘s Na’vi, and Star Trek‘s Vulcans. There is a lot of discussion and examples of it on the Internet, but an ABC News/Health online video provides an interesting, and [...]
Church of the Latter-Day Geek Stirs Controversy Down Under
I recently came across an interesting couple of news items related to a church in Australia that has scheduled a fantasy and science fiction service. The idea is the brainchild of the Uniting Church’s pastor, Avril Hannah-Jones, who is a fan of the fantastic in popular culture. From the Unsettled Christianity website: What started as [...]
Leslie Dale Feldman: Rod Serling’s Twilight Zone and Politics
I am always on the lookout for good books that probe various aspects of the fantastic in popular culture in depth. Not long ago I came across such a book that looked at the political views of Rod Serling as expressed in his television show The Twilight Zone. The book is Spaceships and Politics: The [...]
PBS Documentary: Four Days at Dragon*Con
Thanks to the email list for the International Association for the Fantastic in the Arts I learned about a documentary that will be broadcast courtesy of American Public Television. The documentary is titled Four Days at Dragon*Con. From The APT website: Every Labor Day weekend, tens of thousands descend upon Atlanta for the largest convention [...]
LOTTD Favorite Villainess – My Choice: Clash’s Medusa
That group of horror bloggers, the League of Tana Tea Drinkers (LOTTD), of which I am a part, has come up with the theme for their latest roundtable group of posts. By early April those participants will have posted on their favorite villainess. It’s been a while since I’ve done something on the lighter side, [...]
