The Cabin in the Woods: Appreciation of the Monstrous and the Mythos of the Old Ones
Joss Whedon’s latest film, The Cabin in the Woods, has been out in theaters long enough now for a significant amount of reviews and commentary to be published on it. With few exceptions, the reviews have been positive, if not glowing. In this post I will supplement some of the commentary previously offered, and present […]
New Fan Convention Documentary – Comic-Con Episode IV: A Fan’s Hope
Documentaries on geek culture in connection with fan conventions are a continued item of interest for TheoFantastique. In addition to those explored in previous posts we are pleased to add Comic-Con Episode IV: A Fan’s Hope to the list. The film synopsis from the official website: Have you ever imagined a place where Vulcans and […]
Ghost Images: Cinema of the Afterlife
Some recent research turned up a book title that I found helpful, Ghost Images: Cinema of the Afterlife by Tom Ruffles (McFarland, 2004). The back cover of the book describes Ruffles as a teacher in communication skills and film studies in the United Kingdom, but the promotional materials from the publisher indicate another interesting facet […]
Call for Papers: Fairy Tales
The list for the Popular Culture Association and American Culture Association recently shared a call for papers on fairy tales: The new millennium has born witness to a multitude of reinventions. Various mythological creatures have been reinvented, vampires, werewolves, and zombies to name but a few. Fairy tales also have been recreated in an ever […]
Call for Papers: The Walking Dead and the Problem of Meaning in the New Millennium of the Dead
Dawn Keetley of Lehigh University has issued a call for papers through Popular Culture and American Culture Associations. It is for an anthology volume titled “Dead Inside: The Walking Dead and the Problem of Meaning in the New Millennium of the Dead.” Keetley is seeking essays for a scholarly collection that will explore the complexities […]
Geek Wisdom: The Sacred Teachings of Nerd Culture
In my continuing quest to find interesting material in the area of the fantastic I stumbled across the book Geek Wisdom: The Sacred Teachings of Nerd Culture (Quirk Books, 2011 ), edited by Stephen H. Segal. Segal is the Hugo Award winning senior contributing editor to Weird Tales, the world’s oldest fantasy/sci-fi/horror magazine, and an […]
Cal Cooper: Telephone Calls From the Dead
A friend and colleague recently made me aware of a BBC News report about people allegedly receiving telephone calls and text messages from a deceased friend and family member. I was intrigued by this and my friend suggested I consult the work of Cal Cooper on the phenomenon. I tracked him down via the Internet […]
Open Graves, Open Minds: Bram Stoker Centenary Symposium
Dr. Sam George of the University of Hertfordshire informed me about the following upcoming conference. Open Graves, Open Minds: Bram Stoker Centenary Symposium 20-21 April 2012 This symposium arose from the Open Graves, Opens Minds: Vampires and the Undead in Modern Culture Research Project, led by Dr Sam George at the University of Hertfordshire. Initiated […]
Hellraiser and Popular Esotericism
The Academic Study of Magic list recently included a fascinating scholarly paper abstract that dovetails with the interests of TheoFantastique. Leon Marvell of Deakin University will be presenting at the International Conference on Esotericism, Culture and Religion at UC Davis with a paper titled “Under the Sign of Baphomet: Hellraiser and Popular Esotericism.” Here is […]
