The Day the Earth Stood Still (2008): Potential and Peril
I was a young child when I first discovered the fantastic through television broadcasts of science fiction films. These became sources that fueled my fears and fed my imagination. My fears took shape through films like Invaders From Mars (1953) with the images of aliens burrowing underground and mind control devices drilled into the base of human […]
Celebrating 50 Years of The Twilight Zone: Rod Serling Conference at Ithica College
The discussion list for the Popular Culture and American Culture Associations included an item recently of interest to TheoFantastique. Ithica College is hosting a Rod Serling conference in October 2009. As the college event’s website describes the event: Picture, if you will, a place where communication students can study the creative work of one of […]
Aliens R Us: Science Fiction and the Other
Sean Cubitt is Director of the Media and Communications Program at The University of Melbourne. With Zaiudin Sardar he is the co-editor of Aliens R Us: The Other in Science Fiction Cinema (Pluto Press, 2002). As the subtitle indicates, this volume looks at various expressions of science fiction and how the genre has served as a […]
Lovecraft: Fear of the Unknown Documentary – Director Frank Woodward Interview
The special Halloween double issue of Rue Morgue magazine included a number of interesting features, as usual, but one which caught my eye was a description of a new documentary on titled Lovecraft: Fear of the Unknown (Wyrdstuff Productions, 2008). This fim was directed and produced by Frank Woodward, and after getting in touch he […]
Van Norris: Surrealism in American Animation
 A number of research sources have provided a variety of things to think about in my exploration of deeper levels to the fantastic. One thought provoking source was David Skal’s book The Monster Show: A Cultural History of Horror (Faber & Faber, 2001) where, among other things, he argued for a connection between horror […]
Stephen King: Horror, Politics, Theology and Other Social Commentary
It is amazing to me how serious social commentary surfaces in films that are often dismissed as mere entertainment. A recent post from the message board for the Popular Culture Association that touched on research resources supporting the idea that popular cultural texts, such as Stephen King’s horror writings, now have become sources for articulating theological […]
Joshua Bellin: Fantasy Film and Social Alienation
I have read many books and academic articles that probe deeply into horror and science fiction film, television, and literature, but rarely can such analysis be found related to fantasy. For those interested in such an exploration seek no more. Joshua Bellin has done us a great service, providing us with both an academic exploration […]
Coming Attractions
Plenty of items will be “screened” here in the near future, and in this post I’ll share a few textual trailers to let readers know what to look forward to. In addition to my own reflections and commentary several interviews will find their way here over the days and weeks to come. These include an […]
Halloween Rewind
Of course, tomorrow is Halloween, one of my favorite holidays and times of the year. Therefore, this website would not be complete without some kind of commentary on the topic. Over the last couple of years I have written on Halloween and related topics on another blog of mine, and I thought I’d use this […]
Susan Tyler Hitchcock: Frankenstein: A Cultural History
Not long ago I came across a book in the Cultural Studies section of Barnes & Noble that caught my eye. It was Susan Tyler Hitchcock’s Frankenstein: A Cultural History (W. W. Norton, 2007). Susan is a nonfiction writer and editor with a PhD in English. She has written a number of works, and after […]
