Wonder and the World of Pure Imagination
This commercial brings together several aspects of appeal that fit in perfectly with TheoFantastique. The overall theme is the idea of wonder, and that of a child, and this is expressed through the crayon drawings of children as various monsters, a robot, and a flying saucer weave their way through a city and adult life. […]
Paul Meehan: Alien Abductions and Sleep Paralysis
Paul Meehan is a contributor here at TheoFantastique as regular readers will recall. He is the author of a number of books including Saucer Movies: A UFOlogical History of the Cinema (The Scarecrow Press, 1998), Cinema of the Psychic Realm (McFarland, 2009), and Tech-Noir: The Fusion of Science Fiction and Film Noir (McFarland, 2008). He has […]
Avatar: Psychedelics and Shamanism
In our age of re-enchantment in response to decades of secularization it is common for elements of ancient religion and spirituality to surface in pop culture, many times shaped into new forms. Erik Davis comments of this in his book Techgnosis: myth, magic + mysticism in the age of information (Three Rivers Press, 1998): The […]
Stephen Hawking: Aliens May Pose Risk
Over the decades science fiction and horror have alternated in their depiction of alien visitation between concepts of invasion and attack on the one hand, and the benign or loving, at times divine sage on the other hand. Some filmmakers have even wrestled with both treatments, such as Steven Spielberg, who for many years presented […]
Sleep Paralysis, Neurotheology, and Spirits
An article was recently brought to my attention that appeared in Reality Sandwich which touches on “Sleep Paralysis Visions: Demons, Succubi, and the Archetypal Mind.” As the title indicates, the article probes the subject of sleep paralysis covered on this blog in several previous installments. Of particular interest to me was the discussion of “Neurotheology […]
Douglas Cowan – Sacred Space: The Quest for Transcendence in Science Fiction Film and Television
Hopefully those who want to explore horror in more depth have read Douglas Cowan’s fine book Sacred Terror: Religion and Horror on the Silver Screen (Baylor University Press, 2008). Now, Cowan has turned his attention to science fiction with Sacred Space: The Quest for Transcendence in Science Fiction Film and Television (Baylor University Press, scheduled […]
Jewish Monstrosity
For those who may have come to this post via a search engine or link on a website or blog expecting to find something anti-Semitic you’ll be disappointed. Instead, I want to draw the reader’s attention to the recent discussion of various monsters from Jewish folklore, religion, and myth. In the West we tend to […]
Horror in the News: Human Sacrifice in Indian Temple?
Various media outlets are reporting the discovery of the body of a beheaded male in a temple in West Bengal in India. Reporting on the grisly discovery, THAINDIAN NEWS states: The detached head which was lying beside the body appeared severely injured. Police Superintendent Rabindranath Mukherjee speaking on behalf of the police authorities of the district […]
Kotaku and “Infection vs. Resurrection: The New Science of the Zombie”
Kotaku has an article of interest titled “Infection vs. Resurrection: The New Science of the Zombie.” The article contrasts the changing explanation for the reasons why these undead creatures come back from the dead as it chronicles a shift from supernatural to more “natural” and scientific explanations. Where once they shuffled, now they run. Initially […]
Paul Meehan on Tech-Noir: The Fusion of Science Fiction and Film Noir
Paul Meehan is a friend and frequent source for interesting explorations of the fantastic at this blog. In the past he has visited here to discuss his books Saucer Movies: A UFOlogical History of the Cinema (The Scarecrow Press, 1998), and Cinema of the Psychic Realm (McFarland, 2009). He has also been a guest contributor […]
