Science Fiction Film and Television CFP: The Battlestar Galactica Phenomenon
Science Fiction Film and Television is seeking submissions for a special issue on the Battlestar Galactica phenomenon. Although the rebooted series has received much critical attention, significantly less has been written on other BSG texts. This issue seeks to redress that imbalance. We are interested in articles that consider topics such as * The original […]
TheoFantastique Podcast: Erik Davis on Modern Esoterica in Popular Culture
TheoFantastique Podcast 2.3 is available, an interview with Erik Davis, author of Nomad Codes: Adventures in Modern Esoterica (YETI/Verse Chorus Press, 2010). Davis defines “modern esoterica” in his preface as “a no-man’s land located somewhere between anthropology and mystical pulp, between the zendo and the metal club, between cultural criticism and extraordinary experience, whether psychedelic, […]
Screened: Spock as Space Wizard, and Magus
Screened recently featured an interesting and insightful article by Andrew Gray titled “Mr. Spock, Space Wizard.” The piece begins with an often ignored or overlooked function of technology in science fiction that is akin to magic. Gray then takes this a step further: Science-fiction films and television have an odd relationship with magic. They dance […]
DIABOLIQUE: Quality Magazine from Horror Unlimited
Growing up as a fan of horror in the 1970s there was little by way of exploration of this genre in magazines. Of course there was FAMOUS MONSTERS OF FILMLAND, but that was largely written for the kid monster fan. I was surely that, but even as a child, and later as a teen fan, […]
The Undead and Theology Essay Collection Selected
An idea that brewed in the fertile brains of Kim Paffenroth, Matt Cardin, and myself, has taken a major step toward becoming reality. Working with Kim Paffenroth as co-editor, and having sifted through a number of submissions after a call for papers, we have chosen the lineup for an upcoming essay collection on THE UNDEAD […]
French Fear of Apocalypse, and 2012 Mayan “Prophecy”
A recent news item discussed serious pessimism in France leading to fears of mass suicide in the country, perhaps in connection with fears over the Mayan “prophecy of doomsday” in 2012. CNN reported: Paris (CNN) — The specter of a mass suicide tied to the widely predicted end of the world in December 2012 has […]
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 […]
Creativity, Evolution, Psychedelics: Richard Doyle and Altered States
Through a Facebook post by Christopher Knowles, previously interviewed here at TheoFantastique, I was made aware of a piece titled “Creativity, evolution of mind and the ‘vertigo of freedom.’” This is a “A DIALOGUE BETWEEN JASON SILVA AND TECHNO-ECOLOGIC SCHOLAR RICHARD DOYLE.” The exchange is interesting as the topics of evolution and psychedelics are brought […]
Exploring the Extraordinary 3rd Conference
Since its inception in 2007, members of Exploring the Extraordinary have organised two very successful academic conferences that have brought together researchers from a variety of different disciplines and backgrounds. The purpose of these events has been to encourage a wider dissemination of knowledge and research, and an interdisciplinary discussion of extraordinary phenomena and experience. […]
David Hartwell and the Wonder of Science Fiction
One of my readers posted a comment on a previous post of mine on Ray Bradbury which made me aware of the book Age of Wonders: Exploring the World of Science Fiction (Tor Books, 1996), by David Hartwell. I was able to pick up the 1984 version published by Walker and Company through Amazon (which […]
