Friday, December 31, 2010
Being Human on SyFy
SyFy premieres the American version of BBC3's Being Human on Monday, 17 January. More deatils at its official website: http://www.syfy.com/beinghuman/index.php.
Monday, December 27, 2010
New from I. B. Tauris
Edited by: Stacey Abbott
Paperback | In Stock | £14.95
Imprint: I.B.Tauris
Publisher: I.B.Tauris & Co Ltd
Series: Investigating Cult TV Series
Paperback
ISBN: 9781848850262
Publication Date: 28 Feb 2010
Number of Pages: 288
Height: 234
Width: 156
Cult TV is a very exciting area of contemporary television. "The Cult TV Book" is the companion reference to this TV phenomenon, whose shows push the boundaries and offer biting commentaries on society today. Cult TV is also changing. Where being cult used to mean being marginal with a small, loyal fan base, cult TV is now key to the television industry, fandom is global and online, cult status for a show is fostered by the networks, and cult series are noted for their spectacular special effects and sumptuous visual style. So, what is cult TV today?
Leading scholars, writers and journalists redefine our understanding of cult TV, with new approaches to and case studies on: Cult TV aesthetics, History of cult TV, Cult TV & new media, The 'sub-cultural celebrity', Jane Espenson on how to write cult TV, Cult TV & the broadcast industry, Music, Innovation, Cult channels, Children's cult TV, Sex, Gender, Race, Cult audiences, Transgressive TV, Cult of cult TV, Nancy Holder on writing tie-ins, TV & Film Guide, Fan fiction, "Battlestar Galactica", "Buffy the Vampire Slayer", "Doctor Who", "The Avengers", "The Prisoner", "Quatermass", "The Sopranos", "Masters of Horror", "The Twilight Zone", "Twin Peaks", "Grey's Anatomy", "Bagpuss", "South Park", "The X Files", "Da Ali G Show", "Trailer Park Boys" and "Angel". Contributors include: Stacey Abbott, Sergio Angelini, Jes Battis, Stan Beeler, Miles Booy, Simon Brown, Bronwen Calvert, Jane Espenson, Dick Fiddy, Lincoln Geraghty, Janet K. Halfyard, Matt Hills, Nancy Holder, Catherine Johnson, Lorna Jowett, Roz Kaveney, Roberta Pearson, Denzell Richards, Hillary Robson, David Simmons, Sharon Sutherland, Paul Sutton, Sarah Swan, Donato Totaro, Rhonda V. Wilcox and Tat Wood.
Contents (from BN.com)
Table of Contents
Acknowledgments x
About the Contributors xii
Introduction: 'Never Give Up-Never Surrender!': The Resilience of Cult Television Stacey Abbott 1
Part 1 Defining Cult TV: History, Aesthetics, Discourses
Chapter 1 Observations on Cult Television Roberta Pearson 7
Chapter 2 Members Only: Cult TV from Margins to Mainstream Sergio Angelini Miles Booy 19
Case Study: Twin Peaks-Miles Booy 28
Chapter 3 The Aesthetics of Cult Television Rhonda V. Wilcox 31
Chapter 4 Babylon 5 Sergio Angelini 41
Chapter 5 Playing Hard to ‘Get’-How to Write Cult TV Jane Espenson 45
Chapter 6 The Twilight Zone Stan Beeler 55
Part 2 Reading Cult TV: Texts and Contexts
Chapter 7 The Avengers/The New Avengers Paul Sutton 61
Chapter 8 Mainstream Cult Matt Hills 67
Case Study: Grey's Anatomy Hillary Robson 74
Chapter 9 Transgressive TV Jes Battis 77
Case Study: Trailer Park Boys Sharon Sutherland Sarah Swan 84
Case Study: Masters of Horror Donato Totaro 87
Chapter 10 Innovative TV Stacey Abbott 91
Case Study: Buffy the Vampire Slayer Stacey Abbott 100
Case Study: The Prisoner Sergio Angelini 103
Chapter 11 Representation: Exploring Issuses of Sex, Gender, and Race in Cult Television Lorna Jowett 107
Case Study: Angel Lorna Jowett 114
Case Study: Battlestar Galactica Bronwen Calvert 117
Chapter 12 Boldly Going: Music and Cult TV Jenet K. Halfyard 121
Part 3 Constructing Cult TV: The Broadcast Industry and Cult Television
Chapter 13 The Star Trek Franchise Lincoln Geraghty 131
Chapter 14 Cult TV and the Television Industry Catherine Johnson 135
Case Study: HBO and the Sopranos Catherine Johnson 148
Case Study: The Quatermass Serials Catherine Johnson 150
Chapter 15 Cult Channels: Showtime, FX, and Cult TV Simon Brown 155
Case Study: The X-Files Simon Brown 163
Chapter 16 Through the Oblong Window: The Regulated Duopoly and the Creation of a Cult Children's 'Canon' in Britain Tat Wood 167
Case Study: Bagpuss Tat Wood 175
Chapter 17 Cult TV and New Media Denzell Richards 179
Chapter 18 Doctor Who Miles Booy 189
Chapter 19 Writing Tie-ins Nancy Holder 191
Chapter 20 South Park David Simmons 199
Part 4 The Cult in Cult TV: Audiences, Fans, and Fandom
Chapter 21 Dark Shadows Stacey Abbott 205
Chapter 22 Television and the Cult Audience: A Primer Hillary Robson 209
Case Study: Da Ali G Show Hillary Robson 221
Chapter 23 The Cult of Cult TV? Dick Fiddy 225
Chapter 24 Subcultural Celebrity Matt Hills 233
Chapter 25 Sapphire & Steel Sergio Angelini 239
Chapter 26 Gen, Slash, OT3s, and Crossover-The Varieties of Fan Fiction Roz Kaveney 243
Works Cited 248
Television and Film Guide 260
Index 268
Author:
Senior Lecturer in Film and Television Studies, Roehampton University. She is the editor of 'Reading Angel' (Tauris, 2005), co-editor of 'Investigating Alias' (Tauris, 2007), and author of 'Celluloid Vampires' (2007). She is also Series Editor of Tauris' 'Investigating Cult TV Series'.
Edited by: Roz Kaveney, Jennifer Stoy
Paperback | In Stock | £14.99
Imprint: I.B.Tauris
Publisher: I.B.Tauris & Co Ltd
Series: Investigating Cult TV Series
Paperback
ISBN: 9781848853737
Publication Date: 02 Jul 2010
Number of Pages: 288
Height: 216
Width: 134
"The West Wing" or "Generation Kill" in Space? A show about God-fearing sex-obsessed robots? Or a complex meditation on fate, dreaming and eternal recurrence? Of all recent television science fiction series, the reimagined "Battlestar Galactica" is the most highly praised and consistently inventive and intelligent. Where the original show was a straightforward space opera, the new one is rich, strange and above all unpredictable. This book covers the new "Battlestar Galactica" from beginning to end, covering all of the show's principal themes from the depiction of sexuality in an era of artificial people and downloaded memories to what it means to be a member of a military organization when the stakes are not victory or defeat but survival. Like all the best shows about the future or the past - we are never sure when all this is supposed to be happening - "Battlestar Galactica" is a series about the present; chapters here cover its depiction of the post-9.11 world and such issues as abortion and worker's rights.
This definitive book on the full new "Battlestar Galactica" also includes an interview with Jane Espenson, co-executive producer of the show's last seasons and writer/director of the "Battlestar Galactica" prequel film "The Plan", with a complete episode guide.
Contents (from WorldCAT):
Of great zeitgeist and bad faith: an introduction to Battlestar Galactica / Jennifer Stoy --
Adama and (Mitochondial) Eve: a foundation myth for White folks / Geoff Ryman --
Frak Me: reproduction, gender, sexuality / Lorna Jowett --
Disco Galactica: futures past and present / Benjamin Halligan --
The military organism: rank, family and obedience in Battlestar Galactica / Roz Kaveney --
Real-imagining terror in Battlestar Galactica: negotiating real and fantasy in Battlestar Galactica's political metaphor / Steven Rawle --
Butch girls, brittle boys and sexy, sexless cylons: some gender problems in Battlestar Galactica / Matthew Jones --
Sci Fi ghettos: Battlestar Galactica and genre aesthetics / Sergio Dias Branco --
The luxury of being simply human: unwritten and rewritten queer histories in Battlestar Galactica / Karen K. Burrows --
Interrogating Galactica; an interview with Jane Espenson Jennifer Stoy and Roz Kaveney --
On the end, decline and fall of television shows / Roz Kaveney --
Appendix: Battlestar Galactica episode guide
Authors:
Roz Kaveney is editor of 'Reading the Vampire Slayer' and author of books 'Superheroes!', Teen Dreams and From Alien to The Matrix, all I.B.Tauris. Jennifer Stoy is a writer and editor on popular culture, based in the USA.
New from Baylor UP
By Douglas E. Cowan
Paperback, 326 pages $24.95
Published: 15th August 2010
ISBN: 9781602582385
Format: 9in x 6in
Subjects: All Cultural Studies, All Literature, Media Studies, Religion & Literature, Religion & Popular Culture
As humans, it is our trust in something larger than ourselves that invests our lives with meaning and value. We hope that outside the boundaries of everyday living there lies something greater. As Doug Cowan argues, science fiction is the genre of possibility and hope, a principal canvas on which writers, artists, and filmmakers have sketched their visions of this transcendent potential for generations. In Sacred Space, he leads readers in a compelling exploration of how this transcendence is manifested in science-fiction cinema and television of today.
From the millennial dreams of a future bright with potential to the promise of evolution from some as-yet-undreamed engine of creation, science fiction’s visions of transcendence animate the pages of Sacred Space. Drawing on the most popular examples—Star Wars, Star Trek, Battlestar Galactica, Babylon 5, and Stargate SG-1—as well as the lesser known but no less important, Cowan reveals the multivalent religious ideas present in this media. Why do these themes that consistently appear in science fiction matter? What do they reveal about the often ambivalent relationship between outer space and our spirits? Cowan insightfully shows how these films and shows express and reinforce culturally constructed conceptions of transcendent hope, and along the way provides a provocative reflection on what this ultimately says about our culture’s worldviews, hopes, and fears.
CONTENTS
Preface
Part I. Science Fiction and the Quest for Transcendence
1. The Brightness against the Black
2. Pinocchio’s Galaxy
Science Fiction and the Question of Transcendence
3. First Contact
Human Exceptionalism in the Calculus of Hope
4. “Intellects Vast and Cool and Unsympathetic”
The War of the Worlds and the Transcendence of Modernity
Part II: Science Fiction and the Modes of Transcendence
5. Heeding the Prophet’s Call
Star Trek: Deep Space Nine
6. The von Däniken Paradox
Stargate SG-1
7. All Alone in the Night
Babylon 5
8. So Say We All
Battlestar Galactica
9. The Truth is Out There
Transcendence and the Neverending Quest
Filmography
Bibliography
Index
Douglas E. Cowan is Professor of Religious Studies at Renison University College, University of Waterloo. His most recent publications include Sacred Terror: Religion and Horror on the Silver Screen; Cyberhenge: Modern Pagans on the Internet; and Religion Online: Finding Faith on the Internet. He lives in Waterloo, Ontario.
New from BBC America
I'm still catching up on things, but here are some updates from BBC America.
On Christmas Day, BBC America aired this year's Doctor Who Christmas special, "A Christmas Carol," putting the Doctor Who twist on Dickens's story in which a miser living on an alien world discovers the true meaning of the season thanks to the Eleventh Doctor.
And, coming January 1st, BBC America premieres season 4 of Primeval:
On Christmas Day, BBC America aired this year's Doctor Who Christmas special, "A Christmas Carol," putting the Doctor Who twist on Dickens's story in which a miser living on an alien world discovers the true meaning of the season thanks to the Eleventh Doctor.
And, coming January 1st, BBC America premieres season 4 of Primeval:
Tuesday, November 30, 2010
More Books from McFarland
Another batch of new and recent books from McFarland:
Dracula in Visual Media: Film, Television, Comic Book and Electronic Game Appearances, 1921-2010
John Edgar Browning and Caroline Joan (Kay) Picart
Foreword by Dacre Stoker; Afterword by Ian Holt
ISBN 978-0-7864-3365-0
55 photos, appendices, chronology, bibliography, index
312pp. softcover (7 x 10) 2011
Price: $45.00
Description
This is a comprehensive sourcebook on the world’s most famous vampire, with more than 700 citations of domestic and international Dracula films, television programs, documentaries, adult features, animated works, and video games, as well as nearly a thousand comic books and stage adaptations. While they vary in length, significance, quality, genre, moral character, country, and format, each of the cited works adopts some form of Bram Stoker’s original creation, and Dracula himself, or a recognizable vampiric semblance of Dracula, appears in each.
The book includes contributions from Dacre Stoker, David J. Skal, Laura Helen Marks, Dodd Alley, Mitch Frye, Ian Holt, Robert Eighteen-Bisang, and J. Gordon Melton.
Table of Contents
Foreword
DACRE STOKER 1
Preface and Acknowledgments 3
Part I. Dracula in Film, Television, Documentary, and Animation 9
Introduction—Dracula: Undead and Unseen
DAVID J. SKAL 11
Filmography 18
Part II. Dracula in Adult Film 191
Introduction—I Want to Suck Your...: Dracula in Pornographic Film
LAURA HELEN MARKS 193
Filmography 200
Part III. Dracula in Video Games 213
Introduction—Vampire Bytes and Digital Draculas
DODD ALLEY 215
Video Gameography 219
Part IV. Dracula in Comic Books 237
Introduction—The Darker Cape: Dracula, Vampires, and Superheroes in Comics
MITCH FRYE 239
Comics Listing 244
Japanese Manga 261
Afterword IAN HOLT 263
Appendix 1. Dracula in Print: A Checklist
ROBERT EIGHTEEN-BISANG and J. GORDON MELTON 265
Appendix 2. Film, Television, and Video Game Chronology 273
Appendix 3. Notable Dramatizations Featuring Dracula 284
Bibliography 289
About the Authors and Contributors 291
Index 293
About the Author
John Edgar Browning teaches composition and monster theory at Louisiana State University. A lifelong researcher of horror, the Gothic, Dracula and vampires, he lives in New Orleans. Caroline Joan (Kay) Picart is the author (or co-author) of 58 books and essays and 88 popular articles on monstrosity and film, philosophy, and critical theory. She is a J.D. candidate at the University of Florida Levin College of Law.
A Critical History and Filmography of Toho’s Godzilla Series, 2d ed.
David Kalat
ISBN 978-0-7864-4749-7
notes, bibliography, index
286pp. hardcover (7 x 10) 2010
Price: $55.00
Description
This thoroughly updated and revised critical account of the Godzilla movie franchise explores the fascinating story behind Japan’s most famous movie monster and its development from black-and-white arthouse allegory to international commercial juggernaut. Reviled by critics but boasting a dedicated cult following, the films of the Godzilla franchise provide a unique window into the national identities of both Japan and the United States. This work focuses on how differences in American and Japanese culture, as well as differences in their respective film industries, underlie the discrepancies between the American and Japanese versions of the films. It features detailed filmographic data for both the American and Japanese versions of each film, including plot synopses, cast, credits, and detailed production notes.
Table of Contents
Preface to the New Edition 1
Introduction 3
A Note on the Text 9
PART ONE: King Kong vs. Godzilla (1954–1963) 11
1. G for Giant 13
2. Gojira 20
3. Godzilla Conquers America (and America Conquers Godzilla) 25
4. Godzilla, King of the Monsters! 31
5. Godzilla Raids Again 34
6. Rodan 41
7. Varan the Unbelievable 46
8. Mothra 51
9. King Kong vs. Godzilla 55
10. Tsuburaya Enterprises 60
PART TWO: Monsterland (1964–1969) 65
11. Mothra vs. Godzilla 67
12. Ghidrah, The Three- Headed Monster 72
13. Invasion of Astro- Monster 82
14. Monsters Inc. 88
15. Godzilla vs. the Sea Monster 94
16. Son of Godzilla 98
17. Destroy All Monsters 103
18. All Monsters Attack 106
PART THREE: Something Funny’s Going On (1970–1975) 111
19. Survival of the Silliest 113
20. Godzilla vs. Hedorah 117
21. Godzilla vs. Gigan 123
22. Godzilla vs. Ultraman 128
23. Godzilla vs. Megalon 132
24. Godzilla vs. Mechagodzilla 136
25. Terror of Mechagodzilla 140
26. The Crook, the Geek, the Reporter, and His Lover 146
PART FOUR: The Return of Godzilla (1977–1995) 149
27. Waiting for Godzilla 151
28. The Return of Godzilla 156
29. Godzilla 1985 162
30. Godzilla vs. Biollante 169
31. Godzilla vs. King Ghidorah 179
32. Godzilla and Mothra: The Battle for Earth 184
33. Godzilla vs. the Gryphon 191
34. Godzilla vs. Mechagodzilla II 197
35. Godzilla vs. Space Godzilla 202
36. Godzilla vs. Destoroyah 210
PART FIVE: The Godzilla Millennium (1998–2005) 215
37. Godzilla vs. Godzilla 217
38. Godzilla 225
39. Godzilla 2000 230
40. Godzilla x. Megaguirus 235
41. Godzilla, Mothra, and King Ghidorah: Giant Monsters All- Out Attack 238
42. Godzilla Against Mechagodzilla 243
43. Godzilla: Tokyo S.O.S. 247
44. Godzilla Final Wars 249
Epilogue 257
Chapter Notes 259
Bibliography 269
Index 273
About the Author
David Kalat is a film historian and writes for Video Watchdog, Turner Classic Movies Online, and other publications. He lives in La Grange Park, Illinois.
Star Trek as Myth: Essays on Symbol and Archetype at the Final Frontier
Edited by Matthew Wilhelm Kapell
ISBN 978-0-7864-4724-4
notes, bibliographies, index
239pp. softcover 2010
Price: $39.95
Description
In the past, the examination of myth has traditionally been the study of the "Primitive" or the "Other." More recently, myth has been increasingly employed in movies and in television productions. Nowhere is this more apparent than in the Star Trek television and movie franchise. This collection of essays on Star Trek brings together perspectives from scholars in fields including film, anthropology, history, American studies and biblical scholarship. Together the essays examine the symbolism, religious implications, heroic and gender archetypes, and lasting effects of the Star Trek "mythscape."
Table of Contents
Acknowledgments vii
Introduction: The Significance of the Star Trek Mythos
(Matthew Wilhelm Kapell) 1
PART ONE: A PARTIAL CANON OF STAR TREK MYTH CRITICISM
1. Star Trek as Myth and Television as Mythmaker
(Wm. Blake Tyrell) 19
2. A Structuralist Appreciation of Star Trek
(Peter J. Claus) 29
3. Some Implications of the Mythology in Star Trek
(C. Scott Littleton) 44
4. Star Trek: American Dream, Myth and Reality
(Ace G. Pilkington) 54
5. Speakers for the Dead: Star Trek, the Holocaust, and the Representation of Atrocity
(Matthew Wilhelm Kapell) 67
6. “Every Old Trick Is New Again”: Myth in Quotations and the Star Trek Franchise
(Djoymi Baker) 80
PART TWO: BOLDLY GOING FORWARD: NEW FRONTIERS OF MYTHIC STAR TREK ANALYSIS
7. Star Trek as American Monomyth
(John Shelton Lawrence) 93
8. The Sisko, the Christ: A Comparison of Messiah Figures in the Star Trek Universe and the New Testament
(Jeffery S. Lamp) 112
9. Course in Federation Linguistics
(Richard R. Jones) 129
10. Evocations and Evasions of Archetypal Lesbian Love in Star Trek: Voyager
(Roger Kaufman) 144
11. The Protestant Ethic and the Spirit of Surak: Star Trek: Enterprise, Anti-Catholicism and the Vulcan Reformation
(Jennifer E. Porter) 163
12. A Vision of a Time and Place: Spiritual Humanism and the Utopian Impulse
(Bruce Isaacs) 182
13. The Kirk Doctrine: The Care and Repair of Archetypal Heroic Leadership in J.J Abrams’ Star Trek
(Stephen McVeigh) 197
14. Conclusion: The Hero with a Thousand Red Shirts
(Matthew Wilhelm Kapell) 213
About the Contributors 221
Index 225
About the Author
Matthew Wilhelm Kapell works in the Department of Political and Cultural Studies at Swansea University in Wales.
The Anticipation Novelists of 1950s French Science Fiction: Stepchildren of Voltaire
Bradford Lyau
Series Editors Donald E. Palumbo and C.W. Sullivan III
Foreword by George Slusser
ISBN 978-0-7864-5857-8
notes, bibliography, index
248pp. softcover 2011
Price: $55.00
Description
Following World War II, the Fleuve Noir publishing house published popular American genre fiction in translation for a French audience. Their imprint Anticipation specialized in science fiction, but mostly eschewed translations from English, preferring instead French work, thus making the imprint an important outlet for native French postwar ideas and aesthetics. This critical text examines in ideological terms eleven writers who published under the Anticipation imprint, revealing the way these writers criticized midcentury notions of progress while adapting and reworking American genre formats.
Table of Contents
Acknowledgments ix
Foreword by George Slusser 1
Introduction 7
One. Background 11
Two. The Moderates 31
F. Richard-Bessière 31
M.A. Rayjean 59
Kemmel 73
Chapter Summary 75
Three. The Extremist 76
Jimmy Guieu 76
Four. The Conservatives 94
Stefan Wul 94
Maurice Limat 115
Peter Randa 126
Kurt Steiner 132
Chapter Summary 139
Five. The Radicals 140
Jean-Gaston Vandel 140
B.R. Bruss 169
Chapter Summary 182
Six. A Last Word 183
Gilles D’argyre 184
Seven. Conclusion 193
Chapter Notes 199
Bibliography 211
Index 225
About the Author
Bradford Lyau has taught at various universities in California and Europe. He has published several academic articles analyzing science fiction and is a lifelong traveler to historical sites. He lives in Albuquerque, New Mexico. Donald E. Palumbo is a professor of English at East Carolina University in Greenville, North Carolina. He lives in Greenville. C.W. Sullivan III is in the English department at East Carolina University in Greenville, North Carolina.
Dracula in Visual Media: Film, Television, Comic Book and Electronic Game Appearances, 1921-2010John Edgar Browning and Caroline Joan (Kay) Picart
Foreword by Dacre Stoker; Afterword by Ian Holt
ISBN 978-0-7864-3365-0
55 photos, appendices, chronology, bibliography, index
312pp. softcover (7 x 10) 2011
Price: $45.00
Description
This is a comprehensive sourcebook on the world’s most famous vampire, with more than 700 citations of domestic and international Dracula films, television programs, documentaries, adult features, animated works, and video games, as well as nearly a thousand comic books and stage adaptations. While they vary in length, significance, quality, genre, moral character, country, and format, each of the cited works adopts some form of Bram Stoker’s original creation, and Dracula himself, or a recognizable vampiric semblance of Dracula, appears in each.
The book includes contributions from Dacre Stoker, David J. Skal, Laura Helen Marks, Dodd Alley, Mitch Frye, Ian Holt, Robert Eighteen-Bisang, and J. Gordon Melton.
Table of Contents
Foreword
DACRE STOKER 1
Preface and Acknowledgments 3
Part I. Dracula in Film, Television, Documentary, and Animation 9
Introduction—Dracula: Undead and Unseen
DAVID J. SKAL 11
Filmography 18
Part II. Dracula in Adult Film 191
Introduction—I Want to Suck Your...: Dracula in Pornographic Film
LAURA HELEN MARKS 193
Filmography 200
Part III. Dracula in Video Games 213
Introduction—Vampire Bytes and Digital Draculas
DODD ALLEY 215
Video Gameography 219
Part IV. Dracula in Comic Books 237
Introduction—The Darker Cape: Dracula, Vampires, and Superheroes in Comics
MITCH FRYE 239
Comics Listing 244
Japanese Manga 261
Afterword IAN HOLT 263
Appendix 1. Dracula in Print: A Checklist
ROBERT EIGHTEEN-BISANG and J. GORDON MELTON 265
Appendix 2. Film, Television, and Video Game Chronology 273
Appendix 3. Notable Dramatizations Featuring Dracula 284
Bibliography 289
About the Authors and Contributors 291
Index 293
About the Author
John Edgar Browning teaches composition and monster theory at Louisiana State University. A lifelong researcher of horror, the Gothic, Dracula and vampires, he lives in New Orleans. Caroline Joan (Kay) Picart is the author (or co-author) of 58 books and essays and 88 popular articles on monstrosity and film, philosophy, and critical theory. She is a J.D. candidate at the University of Florida Levin College of Law.
Edited by Susan Redington Bobby
Foreword by Kate Bernheimer
ISBN 978-0-7864-4115-0
notes, bibliographies, index
270pp. softcover 2009
Price: $35.00
Description
No mere escapist fantasies, the reimagined fairy tales of the late 20th and early 21st centuries reflect the social, political, and cultural truths of our age with insight, intelligence, and complexity. Sixteen essays consider fairy tales recreated through short stories, novels, poetry, and the graphic novel from both best-selling and lesser-known writers, applying a variety of theoretical perspectives, including postmodernism, psychoanalysis, Marxism, feminism, structuralism, queer theory, and gender studies.
Table of Contents
Acknowledgments vii
Foreword: The Affect of Fairy Tales
KATE BERNHEIMER 1
Introduction: Authentic Voices in Contemporary Fairy Tales
SUSAN REDINGTON BOBBY 5
Redefining Gender and Sexuality
Queering the Fairy Tale Canon: Emma Donoghue’s Kissing the Witch
MARTINE HENNARD DUTHEIL DE LA ROCHÈRE 13
Contemporary Women Poets and the Fairy Tale
CHRISTA MASTRANGELO JOYCE 31
Struggling Sisters and Failing Spells: Re-engendering Fairy Tale Heroism in Peg Kerr’s The Wild Swans
BETHANY JOY BEAR 44
Found Girls: J.M. Barrie’s Peter & Wendy and Jane Yolen’s “Lost Girls”
JOANNE CAMPBELL TIDWELL 58
Inventions and Transformations: Imagining New Worlds in the Stories of Neil Gaiman
MATHILDA SLABBERT 68
Rewriting Narrative Forms
“And the Princess, Telling the Story”: A.S. Byatt’s Self-Reflexive Fairy Stories
JEFFREY K. GIBSON 85
Between Wake and Sleep: Robert Coover’s Briar Rose, A Playful Reawakening of The Sleeping Beauty
MARIE C. BOUCHET 98
Winterson’s Wonderland: The PowerBook as a Postmodern Re-Vision of Lewis Carroll’s Alice Books
MAUREEN TORPEY 111
“I Think You Are Not Telling Me All of This Story”: Storytelling, Fate, and Self-Determination in Robin McKinley’s Folktale Revisions
AMIE A. DOUGHTY 122
Remembering Trauma and Dystopia
The Complete Tales of Kate Bernheimer: Postmodern Fairytales in a Dystopian World
HELEN PILINOVSKY 137
The Fairy Tale as Allegory for the Holocaust: Representing the Unrepresentable in Yolen’s Briar Rose and Murphy’s Hansel and Gretel
MARGARETE J. LANDWEHR 153
“This Gospel of My Hell”: The Narration of Violence in Gaétan Soucy’s The Little Girl Who Was Too Fond of Matches
LAUREN CHOPLIN 168
Revolutionizing Culture and Politics
Negotiating Wartime Masculinity in Bill Willingham’s Fables
MARK C. HILL 181
Philip Pullman’s I Was a Rat! and the Fairy-Tale Retelling as Instrument of Social Criticism
VANESSA JOOSEN 196
The Wicked Witch of the West: Terrorist? Rewriting Evil in Gregory Maguire’s Wicked
CHRISTOPHER ROMAN 210
Embracing Equality: Class Reversals and Social Reform in Shannon Hale’s The Goose Girl and Princess Academy
SUSAN REDINGTON BOBBY 221
Comprehensive Bibliography 237
About the Contributors 247
Index 251
About the Author
Susan Redington Bobby, assistant professor of English at Wesley College in Dover, Delaware, teaches classic and contemporary fairy tales and adolescent literature. Bobby chaired the NEMLA panel "Fairy Tale Visions and (Re) Visions."
Sarah Lynne Bowman
ISBN 978-0-7864-4710-7
appendix, notes, bibliography, index
216pp. softcover 2010
Price: $35.00
Description
This study takes an analytical approach to the world of role-playing games, providing a theoretical framework for understanding their psychological and sociological functions. Sometimes dismissed as escapist and potentially dangerous, role-playing actually encourages creativity, self-awareness, group cohesion and "out-of-the-box" thinking. The book also offers a detailed participant-observer ethnography on role-playing games, featuring insightful interviews with 19 participants of table-top, live action and virtual games.
Table of Contents
Acknowledgments v
Preface 1
Introduction 7
1. Historical Evolution and Cultural Permutations 11
2. Role-Playing in Communal Contexts 33
3. Interactional Dynamics in Role-Playing Games 55
4. Role-Playing as Scenario Building and Problem Solving 80
5. Tactical and Social Problem Solving 104
6. Role-Playing as Alteration of Identity 127
7. Character Evolution and Types of Identity Alteration 155
Conclusion 179
Appendix: Interview Questionnaire 183
Chapter Notes 185
Bibliography 197
Index 203
About the Author
Sarah Lynne Bowman is an adjunct professor at the University of Texas at Dallas, Richland College, Ashford University, and Brookhaven College. Her current research focus emphasizes character development and social dynamics in role-playing games.
Jennifer Grouling Cover
ISBN 978-0-7864-4451-9
appendix, notes, bibliography, index
215pp. softcover 2010
Price: $35.00
Description
Despite the rise of computer gaming, millions of adults still play face to face role playing games, which rely in part on social interaction to create stories. This work explores tabletop role playing game (TRPG) as a genre separate from computer role playing games. The relationship of TRPGs to other games is examined, as well as the interaction among the tabletop module, computer game, and novel versions of Dungeons & Dragons. Given particular attention are the narrative and linguistic structures of the gaming session, and the ways that players and gamemasters work together to construct narratives. The text also explores wider cultural influences that surround tabletop gamers.
Table of Contents
Abbreviations, Terms, and Transcription Symbols ix
Preface and Acknowledgments 1
Introduction: Defining the Tabletop Role-Playing Game 5
1. Early Models of Interactive Narrative 21
2. Role-Playing Game Genres 38
3. A Transmedia Tale—The Temple of Elemental Evil 54
4. The Reconciliation of Narrative and Game 72
5. Frames of Narrativity in the TRPG 88
6. Immersion in the TRPG 106
7. Levels of Authorship—How Gamers Interact with Texts and Create Their Own 124
8. The Culture of TRPG Fans 148
9. Conclusions, Definitions, Implications, and Limitations 165
Appendix: The Orc Adventure at Blaze Arrow 179
Chapter Notes 191
References 197
Index 201
About the Author
Jennifer Grouling Cover is a PhD candidate in rhetoric and writing at Virginia Tech. She teaches writing and lives in Christiansburg, Virginia.
David Kalat
ISBN 978-0-7864-4749-7
notes, bibliography, index
286pp. hardcover (7 x 10) 2010
Price: $55.00
Description
This thoroughly updated and revised critical account of the Godzilla movie franchise explores the fascinating story behind Japan’s most famous movie monster and its development from black-and-white arthouse allegory to international commercial juggernaut. Reviled by critics but boasting a dedicated cult following, the films of the Godzilla franchise provide a unique window into the national identities of both Japan and the United States. This work focuses on how differences in American and Japanese culture, as well as differences in their respective film industries, underlie the discrepancies between the American and Japanese versions of the films. It features detailed filmographic data for both the American and Japanese versions of each film, including plot synopses, cast, credits, and detailed production notes.
Table of Contents
Preface to the New Edition 1
Introduction 3
A Note on the Text 9
PART ONE: King Kong vs. Godzilla (1954–1963) 11
1. G for Giant 13
2. Gojira 20
3. Godzilla Conquers America (and America Conquers Godzilla) 25
4. Godzilla, King of the Monsters! 31
5. Godzilla Raids Again 34
6. Rodan 41
7. Varan the Unbelievable 46
8. Mothra 51
9. King Kong vs. Godzilla 55
10. Tsuburaya Enterprises 60
PART TWO: Monsterland (1964–1969) 65
11. Mothra vs. Godzilla 67
12. Ghidrah, The Three- Headed Monster 72
13. Invasion of Astro- Monster 82
14. Monsters Inc. 88
15. Godzilla vs. the Sea Monster 94
16. Son of Godzilla 98
17. Destroy All Monsters 103
18. All Monsters Attack 106
PART THREE: Something Funny’s Going On (1970–1975) 111
19. Survival of the Silliest 113
20. Godzilla vs. Hedorah 117
21. Godzilla vs. Gigan 123
22. Godzilla vs. Ultraman 128
23. Godzilla vs. Megalon 132
24. Godzilla vs. Mechagodzilla 136
25. Terror of Mechagodzilla 140
26. The Crook, the Geek, the Reporter, and His Lover 146
PART FOUR: The Return of Godzilla (1977–1995) 149
27. Waiting for Godzilla 151
28. The Return of Godzilla 156
29. Godzilla 1985 162
30. Godzilla vs. Biollante 169
31. Godzilla vs. King Ghidorah 179
32. Godzilla and Mothra: The Battle for Earth 184
33. Godzilla vs. the Gryphon 191
34. Godzilla vs. Mechagodzilla II 197
35. Godzilla vs. Space Godzilla 202
36. Godzilla vs. Destoroyah 210
PART FIVE: The Godzilla Millennium (1998–2005) 215
37. Godzilla vs. Godzilla 217
38. Godzilla 225
39. Godzilla 2000 230
40. Godzilla x. Megaguirus 235
41. Godzilla, Mothra, and King Ghidorah: Giant Monsters All- Out Attack 238
42. Godzilla Against Mechagodzilla 243
43. Godzilla: Tokyo S.O.S. 247
44. Godzilla Final Wars 249
Epilogue 257
Chapter Notes 259
Bibliography 269
Index 273
About the Author
David Kalat is a film historian and writes for Video Watchdog, Turner Classic Movies Online, and other publications. He lives in La Grange Park, Illinois.
Edited by Matthew Wilhelm Kapell
ISBN 978-0-7864-4724-4
notes, bibliographies, index
239pp. softcover 2010
Price: $39.95
Description
In the past, the examination of myth has traditionally been the study of the "Primitive" or the "Other." More recently, myth has been increasingly employed in movies and in television productions. Nowhere is this more apparent than in the Star Trek television and movie franchise. This collection of essays on Star Trek brings together perspectives from scholars in fields including film, anthropology, history, American studies and biblical scholarship. Together the essays examine the symbolism, religious implications, heroic and gender archetypes, and lasting effects of the Star Trek "mythscape."
Table of Contents
Acknowledgments vii
Introduction: The Significance of the Star Trek Mythos
(Matthew Wilhelm Kapell) 1
PART ONE: A PARTIAL CANON OF STAR TREK MYTH CRITICISM
1. Star Trek as Myth and Television as Mythmaker
(Wm. Blake Tyrell) 19
2. A Structuralist Appreciation of Star Trek
(Peter J. Claus) 29
3. Some Implications of the Mythology in Star Trek
(C. Scott Littleton) 44
4. Star Trek: American Dream, Myth and Reality
(Ace G. Pilkington) 54
5. Speakers for the Dead: Star Trek, the Holocaust, and the Representation of Atrocity
(Matthew Wilhelm Kapell) 67
6. “Every Old Trick Is New Again”: Myth in Quotations and the Star Trek Franchise
(Djoymi Baker) 80
PART TWO: BOLDLY GOING FORWARD: NEW FRONTIERS OF MYTHIC STAR TREK ANALYSIS
7. Star Trek as American Monomyth
(John Shelton Lawrence) 93
8. The Sisko, the Christ: A Comparison of Messiah Figures in the Star Trek Universe and the New Testament
(Jeffery S. Lamp) 112
9. Course in Federation Linguistics
(Richard R. Jones) 129
10. Evocations and Evasions of Archetypal Lesbian Love in Star Trek: Voyager
(Roger Kaufman) 144
11. The Protestant Ethic and the Spirit of Surak: Star Trek: Enterprise, Anti-Catholicism and the Vulcan Reformation
(Jennifer E. Porter) 163
12. A Vision of a Time and Place: Spiritual Humanism and the Utopian Impulse
(Bruce Isaacs) 182
13. The Kirk Doctrine: The Care and Repair of Archetypal Heroic Leadership in J.J Abrams’ Star Trek
(Stephen McVeigh) 197
14. Conclusion: The Hero with a Thousand Red Shirts
(Matthew Wilhelm Kapell) 213
About the Contributors 221
Index 225
About the Author
Matthew Wilhelm Kapell works in the Department of Political and Cultural Studies at Swansea University in Wales.
The Anticipation Novelists of 1950s French Science Fiction: Stepchildren of VoltaireBradford Lyau
Series Editors Donald E. Palumbo and C.W. Sullivan III
Foreword by George Slusser
ISBN 978-0-7864-5857-8
notes, bibliography, index
248pp. softcover 2011
Price: $55.00
Description
Following World War II, the Fleuve Noir publishing house published popular American genre fiction in translation for a French audience. Their imprint Anticipation specialized in science fiction, but mostly eschewed translations from English, preferring instead French work, thus making the imprint an important outlet for native French postwar ideas and aesthetics. This critical text examines in ideological terms eleven writers who published under the Anticipation imprint, revealing the way these writers criticized midcentury notions of progress while adapting and reworking American genre formats.
Table of Contents
Acknowledgments ix
Foreword by George Slusser 1
Introduction 7
One. Background 11
Two. The Moderates 31
F. Richard-Bessière 31
M.A. Rayjean 59
Kemmel 73
Chapter Summary 75
Three. The Extremist 76
Jimmy Guieu 76
Four. The Conservatives 94
Stefan Wul 94
Maurice Limat 115
Peter Randa 126
Kurt Steiner 132
Chapter Summary 139
Five. The Radicals 140
Jean-Gaston Vandel 140
B.R. Bruss 169
Chapter Summary 182
Six. A Last Word 183
Gilles D’argyre 184
Seven. Conclusion 193
Chapter Notes 199
Bibliography 211
Index 225
About the Author
Bradford Lyau has taught at various universities in California and Europe. He has published several academic articles analyzing science fiction and is a lifelong traveler to historical sites. He lives in Albuquerque, New Mexico. Donald E. Palumbo is a professor of English at East Carolina University in Greenville, North Carolina. He lives in Greenville. C.W. Sullivan III is in the English department at East Carolina University in Greenville, North Carolina.
Frank McConnell Edited by Gary Westfahl. Series Editors Donald E. Palumbo and C.W. Sullivan III
Foreword by Neil Gaiman
ISBN 978-0-7864-3722-1
notes, bibliographies, index
232pp. softcover 2009
Price: $35.00
Description
A member of the Pulitzer Prize jury, the late Frank McConnell helped science fiction gain standing as serious literature. His 16 essays herein were first presented as papers at the prestigious Eaton Conferences. Initially believing that science fiction is primarily one of many forms of storytelling, McConnell gradually recognized science fiction as a modern expression of Gnosticism, rejecting bodily concerns for an emphasis on spirituality.
Table of Contents
Acknowledgments vii
Foreword by Neil Gaiman 1
Introduction by Gary Westfahl 5
I. Frank McConnell B.C.E. (Before Coming to Eaton) 9
1. Born in Fire: The Ontology of the Monster 11
2. Song of Innocence: The Creature from the Black Lagoon 18
3. H.G. Wells: Utopia and Doomsday 29
4. Realist of the Fantastic: H.G. Wells about/in/on the Movies 37
II. Slouching Toward Bedlam: The Early Eaton Essays 47
5. Sturgeon’s Law: First Corollary 48
6. Boring Dates: Reflections on the Apocalypse Game 57
7. Frames in Search of a Genre 63
8. From Astarte to Barbie and Beyond: The Serious History of Dolls 74
9. The Playing Fields of Eden 82
10. It’s Only a Paper Moon: Fantasy and the Professors 91
11. “Turn That Shit Down!” Or, How to Market an Underground 102
III. Gnostic Lunch: The Later Eaton Essays 111
12. Alimentary, My Dear Watson: Food and Eating in Scientific and Mystery Fiction 112
13. You Bet Your Life: Death and the Storyteller 124
14. Seven Types of Chopped Liver: My Adventures in the Genre Wars 132
15. The Missionary Physician, from Asclepius to Kervorkian 146
16. The Science of Fiction and the Fiction of Science: A Storytelling Animal in an Inhospitable World 155
Epilogue: Memories of Frank 164
Paul Alkon 164
Gregory Benford 166
Harold Bloom 167
Sheila Finch 167
Carl Freedman 168
Howard V. Hendrix 169
Bruce Kawin 172
Joseph D. Miller 173
Eric S. Rabkin 175
Mark Rose 177
George Slusser 178
Chapter Notes 181
A Bibliography of the Works of Frank McConnell 187
A Bibliography of Primary and Secondary Works Cited in the Text 201
Index 213
About the Author
Frank McConnell (1942-1999) was a professor of English at Northwestern University and the University of California, Santa Barbara. He wrote a regular column on the media for Commonweal magazine, and his voluminous body of work included four detective novels and a number of academic books. Gary Westfahl teaches at the University of California, Riverside. A prolific writer and editor, he earned the Science Fiction Research Association’s Pilgrim Award for his lifetime contributions to science fiction and fantasy scholarship. Donald E. Palumbo is a professor of English at East Carolina University in Greenville, North Carolina. He lives in Greenville. C.W. Sullivan III is in the English department at East Carolina University in Greenville, North Carolina.
NOW IN PAPERBACK:
Charles P. Mitchell
ISBN 978-0-7864-4699-5
photos, filmography, appendices, index
344pp. softcover (7 x 10) 2010 [2002]
Price: $45.00
Description
The Devil has been represented in many film genres, including horror, comedy, the musical, fantasy, satire, drama, and the religious epic, and in these works has assumed many shapes and forms. This book begins with a discussion of how the devil has been portrayed on stage, how that portrayal carried over to the big screen, and what are the standard elements of a satanic plot. Each entry in the filmography includes year of production, running time, writer, editor, cinematographer, producer, and director, evaluative rating, annotated cast list, plot synopsis, overall appraisal, and a spotlight on the actor playing Satan.
Table of Contents
Acknowledgments vi
Introduction 1
The Films 7
Appendix One: Lost, Obscure, and Arcane Devil Films 305
Appendix Two: Television Devils 309
Index 313
About the Author
The late Charles P. Mitchell was a librarian in Millinocket, Maine. He wrote on film for numerous periodicals and on music for several more and hosted radio shows about classical music in New York City and Portland, Maine.
Coming Soon from McFarland
Continuing our coverage of new and recent publications from McFarland, here are three due out next year. Further details will be posted as they appear on McFarland's web site:
Picturing Tolkien: Essays on Peter Jackson’s The Lord of the Rings Film Trilogy
Edited by Janice M. Bogstad and Philip E. Kaveny
ISBN 978-0-7864-4636-0
notes, bibliographies, index
softcover 2011
Price: $35.00
Not Yet Published, Available Spring/Summer 2011
Description
This collection of essays offers a positive consensus of director Peter Jackson’s spectacularly successful adaptations of J.R.R. Tolkien’s Lord of the Rings trilogy: The Fellowship of the Ring (2001) ,The Two Towers (2002) and The Return of the King (2003). Part One of the collection, "Techniques of Structure and Story," compares and contrasts the organizational principles of the books and films. Part Two, "Techniques of Character and Culture," focuses on the methods used to transform the characters and settings of Tolkien’s narrative into the personalities and places visualized on screen. Each of the sixteen essays includes extensive notes and a separate bibiliography.
About the Author
Janice M. Bogstad is a professor and head of collection development at University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire in Eau Claire, Wisconsin.
Picturing Tolkien: Essays on Peter Jackson’s The Lord of the Rings Film Trilogy
Edited by Janice M. Bogstad and Philip E. Kaveny
ISBN 978-0-7864-4636-0
notes, bibliographies, index
softcover 2011
Price: $35.00
Not Yet Published, Available Spring/Summer 2011
Description
This collection of essays offers a positive consensus of director Peter Jackson’s spectacularly successful adaptations of J.R.R. Tolkien’s Lord of the Rings trilogy: The Fellowship of the Ring (2001) ,The Two Towers (2002) and The Return of the King (2003). Part One of the collection, "Techniques of Structure and Story," compares and contrasts the organizational principles of the books and films. Part Two, "Techniques of Character and Culture," focuses on the methods used to transform the characters and settings of Tolkien’s narrative into the personalities and places visualized on screen. Each of the sixteen essays includes extensive notes and a separate bibiliography.
About the Author
Janice M. Bogstad is a professor and head of collection development at University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire in Eau Claire, Wisconsin.
Edited by Jamey Heit
ISBN 978-0-7864-5845-5
notes, bibliography, index
softcover 2011
Price: $35.00
Not Yet Published, Available Spring/Summer 2011
Description
What is evil? How do we understand it in our culture? The thirteen essays in this critical volume explore the different ways in which evil is portrayed in popular culture, particularly through film and novels. Iconic figures of evil are explored, as is the repeated use of classic themes within our intellectual tradition. Topics covered include serial killers in film, the Twilight series, the Harry Potter series, Star Wars, and more. Collectively, these essays suggest how vital the notion of evil is to our culture, which in turn suggest a need to reflect on what it means to value what is good.
British Science Fiction Film and Television: Critical Essays
Edited by Tobias Hochscherf and James Leggott
Series Editors Donald E. Palumbo and C.W. Sullivan III
ISBN 978-0-7864-4621-6
notes, bibliography, index
softcover 2011
Price: $35.00
Not Yet Published, Available Spring/Summer 2011
Description
Written by international experts from a range of disciplines, these essays examine the uniquely British contribution to science fiction film and television. Viewing British SF as a cultural phenomenon that challenges straightforward definitions of genre, nationhood, authorship and media, the editors provide a conceptual introduction placing the essays within their critical context. Essay topics include the Hammer horrors of the 1950s, the various incarnations of Doctor Who, Stanley Kubrick’s A Clockwork Orange, and such 21st-century productions as 28 Days Later and Torchwood.
About the Author
Tobias Hochscherf is a professor of audio-visual media at University of Applied Sciences in Kiel, Germany. His research on European film and television culture has been widely published. James Leggott is a senior lecturer in film and television studies at Northumbria University, Newcastle-upon-Tyne, England. He has published on various aspects of British film and television culture. Donald E. Palumbo is a professor of English at East Carolina University in Greenville, North Carolina. He lives in Greenville. C.W. Sullivan III is in the English department at East Carolina University in Greenville, North Carolina.
British Science Fiction Film and Television: Critical Essays
Edited by Tobias Hochscherf and James Leggott
Series Editors Donald E. Palumbo and C.W. Sullivan III
ISBN 978-0-7864-4621-6
notes, bibliography, index
softcover 2011
Price: $35.00
Not Yet Published, Available Spring/Summer 2011
Description
Written by international experts from a range of disciplines, these essays examine the uniquely British contribution to science fiction film and television. Viewing British SF as a cultural phenomenon that challenges straightforward definitions of genre, nationhood, authorship and media, the editors provide a conceptual introduction placing the essays within their critical context. Essay topics include the Hammer horrors of the 1950s, the various incarnations of Doctor Who, Stanley Kubrick’s A Clockwork Orange, and such 21st-century productions as 28 Days Later and Torchwood.
About the Author
Tobias Hochscherf is a professor of audio-visual media at University of Applied Sciences in Kiel, Germany. His research on European film and television culture has been widely published. James Leggott is a senior lecturer in film and television studies at Northumbria University, Newcastle-upon-Tyne, England. He has published on various aspects of British film and television culture. Donald E. Palumbo is a professor of English at East Carolina University in Greenville, North Carolina. He lives in Greenville. C.W. Sullivan III is in the English department at East Carolina University in Greenville, North Carolina.
Sunday, November 28, 2010
More from McFarland
Two more from McFarland:
A Sci-Fi Swarm and Horror Horde: Interviews with 62 Filmmakers
Tom Weaver
ISBN 978-0-7864-4658-2
214 photos, index
412pp. hardcover (7 x 10) 2010
Price: $45.00
Quantity:
Description
In this jam-packed jamboree of conversations, more than 60 movie veterans describe their experiences on the sets of some of the world’s most beloved sci-fi and horror movies and television series. Including groundbreaking oldies (Flash Gordon, One Million B.C.); 1950s and 1960s milestones (The War of the Worlds, Psycho, House of Usher); classic schlock (Queen of Outer Space, Attack of the Crab Monsters); and cult TV favorites (Lost in Space, Land of the Giants), the discussions offer a frank and fascinating behind-the-scenes look.
Among the interviewees: Roger Corman, Pamela Duncan, Richard and Alex Gordon, Tony "Dr. Lao" Randall, Troy Donahue, Sid Melton, Fess Parker, Nan Peterson, Alan Young, John "Bud" Cardos, and dozens more.
Table of Contents
Acknowledgments viii
Preface 1
1. Jimmy Lydon on Robert Armstrong 5
2. Joanne Fulton on John P. Fulton 15
3. Memories of Serials House Peters, Jr., on Flash Gordon (1936) 33
Frankie Thomas on Tim Tyler’s Luck (1937) 38
4. Jean Porter on One Million B.C. (1940) 44
5. Memories of Boris Karloff Jo Ann Sayers on The Man with Nine Lives (1940) 50
Herbert Rudley on On Borrowed Time (1946) 54
Tommy Ivo on On Borrowed Time (1946) 58
Henry Corden on The Secret Life of Walter Mitty (1947) and The Black Castle (1952) 63
Fintan Meyler on Thriller’s “Well of Doom” (1961) 66
6. Michael A. Hoey on Dennis Hoey 70
7. Memories of Bela Lugosi Earl Bellamy on The Return of the Vampire (1943) 86
Alex Gordon on Bela Lugosi Meets a Brooklyn Gorilla (1952) 88
Herman Cohen on Bela Lugosi Meets a Brooklyn Gorilla (1952) 92
8. Memories of Lon Chaney, Jr. Karolyn Grimes on Albuquerque (1948) 98
Mickey Knox on Of Mice and Men (1948) 100
Irving Brecher on The Life of Riley (1949) 102
Barbara Knudson on Born Yesterday (1950) 103
9. Richard Kline on Sam Katzman 108
10. Sid Melton on Lost Continent (1951) 118
11. Memories of Five (1951) William Phipps 123
Arthur L. Swerdloff 131
12. Marilyn Nash on Unknown World (1951) 136
13. Diana Gemora on The War of the Worlds (1953) 140
14. Fess Parker on Them! (1954) 148
15. Rosemarie Bowe on The Golden Mistress (1954) 152
16. Memories of Bel-Air Productions Paul Wurtzel 159
John G. Stephens 172
17. Pamela Duncan on The Undead (1957) and Attack of the Crab Monsters (1957) 178
18. Marsha Hunt on Back from the Dead (1957) 184
19. Herbert L. Strock on Blood of Dracula (1957) 189
20. Peggy Webber on The Screaming Skull (1958) 191
21. Lisa Davis on Queen of Outer Space (1958) 196
22. Troy Donahue on Monster on the Campus (1958) 209
23. Nan Peterson on The Hideous Sun Demon (1959) 212
24. Richard Erdman on Face of Fire (1959) 222
25. The Calvin Beck–“Norman Bates” Connection 226
26. Roger Corman on House of Usher (1960) 235
27. Alan Young on Jack P. Pierce 240
28. David Whorf on Thriller’s “Pigeons from Hell” (1961) 243
29. Alex Gordon on The Underwater City (1962) 248
30. Arch Hall, Jr., on Ray Dennis Steckler 259
31. Arnold Drake on 50,000 B.C. (Before Clothing) (1963) 264
32. Tony Randall on 7 Faces of Dr. Lao (1964) 268
33. Frederick E. Smith on Devil Doll (1964) 272
34. Memories of Tickle Me (1965) Edward Bernds 276
Merry Anders 278
35. Ib Melchior on Lost in Space (1965–1968) and Lost in Space (1998) 282
36. Memories of The Wild Wild West (1965–1969) Whitey Hughes 290
Richard Kiel 307
Kenneth Chase 314
37. Burt Topper on Space Monster (1965) 318
38. Peter Marshall on Edgar G. Ulmer 325
39. Tom Reese on Murderers’ Row (1966) 331
40. Richard Gordon on Protelco Productions 335
41. Nick Webster on Mission Mars (1968) 347
42. Gary Conway on Land of the Giants (1968–1970) 350
43. Memories of Nightmare in Wax (1969) John “Bud” Cardos 366
Martin Varno 369
44. Jan Merlin on The Twilight People (1973) 373
45. Robert Pine on Empire of the Ants (1977) 382
46. Ken Kolb on Sinbad Goes to Mars 386
Index 395
About the Author
Tom Weaver lives in Sleepy Hollow, New York, and has been interviewing moviemakers since the early 1980s. The New York Times called him one of the leading scholars in the horror field and USA Today has described him as the king of the monster hunters. Classic Images called him "the best interviewer we have today." He is a frequent contributor to numerous film magazines including Starlog, Fangoria, Monsters from the Vault and Video Watchdog, and he has been featured in the prestigious Best American Movie Writing. A frequent DVD audio commentator, he is the author of numerous reference and other nonfiction books about American popular culture, including Universal Horrors: The Studio’s Classic Fims, 1931-1946.
Tom Weaver
ISBN 978-0-7864-4658-2
214 photos, index
412pp. hardcover (7 x 10) 2010
Price: $45.00
Quantity:
Description
In this jam-packed jamboree of conversations, more than 60 movie veterans describe their experiences on the sets of some of the world’s most beloved sci-fi and horror movies and television series. Including groundbreaking oldies (Flash Gordon, One Million B.C.); 1950s and 1960s milestones (The War of the Worlds, Psycho, House of Usher); classic schlock (Queen of Outer Space, Attack of the Crab Monsters); and cult TV favorites (Lost in Space, Land of the Giants), the discussions offer a frank and fascinating behind-the-scenes look.
Among the interviewees: Roger Corman, Pamela Duncan, Richard and Alex Gordon, Tony "Dr. Lao" Randall, Troy Donahue, Sid Melton, Fess Parker, Nan Peterson, Alan Young, John "Bud" Cardos, and dozens more.
Table of Contents
Acknowledgments viii
Preface 1
1. Jimmy Lydon on Robert Armstrong 5
2. Joanne Fulton on John P. Fulton 15
3. Memories of Serials House Peters, Jr., on Flash Gordon (1936) 33
Frankie Thomas on Tim Tyler’s Luck (1937) 38
4. Jean Porter on One Million B.C. (1940) 44
5. Memories of Boris Karloff Jo Ann Sayers on The Man with Nine Lives (1940) 50
Herbert Rudley on On Borrowed Time (1946) 54
Tommy Ivo on On Borrowed Time (1946) 58
Henry Corden on The Secret Life of Walter Mitty (1947) and The Black Castle (1952) 63
Fintan Meyler on Thriller’s “Well of Doom” (1961) 66
6. Michael A. Hoey on Dennis Hoey 70
7. Memories of Bela Lugosi Earl Bellamy on The Return of the Vampire (1943) 86
Alex Gordon on Bela Lugosi Meets a Brooklyn Gorilla (1952) 88
Herman Cohen on Bela Lugosi Meets a Brooklyn Gorilla (1952) 92
8. Memories of Lon Chaney, Jr. Karolyn Grimes on Albuquerque (1948) 98
Mickey Knox on Of Mice and Men (1948) 100
Irving Brecher on The Life of Riley (1949) 102
Barbara Knudson on Born Yesterday (1950) 103
9. Richard Kline on Sam Katzman 108
10. Sid Melton on Lost Continent (1951) 118
11. Memories of Five (1951) William Phipps 123
Arthur L. Swerdloff 131
12. Marilyn Nash on Unknown World (1951) 136
13. Diana Gemora on The War of the Worlds (1953) 140
14. Fess Parker on Them! (1954) 148
15. Rosemarie Bowe on The Golden Mistress (1954) 152
16. Memories of Bel-Air Productions Paul Wurtzel 159
John G. Stephens 172
17. Pamela Duncan on The Undead (1957) and Attack of the Crab Monsters (1957) 178
18. Marsha Hunt on Back from the Dead (1957) 184
19. Herbert L. Strock on Blood of Dracula (1957) 189
20. Peggy Webber on The Screaming Skull (1958) 191
21. Lisa Davis on Queen of Outer Space (1958) 196
22. Troy Donahue on Monster on the Campus (1958) 209
23. Nan Peterson on The Hideous Sun Demon (1959) 212
24. Richard Erdman on Face of Fire (1959) 222
25. The Calvin Beck–“Norman Bates” Connection 226
26. Roger Corman on House of Usher (1960) 235
27. Alan Young on Jack P. Pierce 240
28. David Whorf on Thriller’s “Pigeons from Hell” (1961) 243
29. Alex Gordon on The Underwater City (1962) 248
30. Arch Hall, Jr., on Ray Dennis Steckler 259
31. Arnold Drake on 50,000 B.C. (Before Clothing) (1963) 264
32. Tony Randall on 7 Faces of Dr. Lao (1964) 268
33. Frederick E. Smith on Devil Doll (1964) 272
34. Memories of Tickle Me (1965) Edward Bernds 276
Merry Anders 278
35. Ib Melchior on Lost in Space (1965–1968) and Lost in Space (1998) 282
36. Memories of The Wild Wild West (1965–1969) Whitey Hughes 290
Richard Kiel 307
Kenneth Chase 314
37. Burt Topper on Space Monster (1965) 318
38. Peter Marshall on Edgar G. Ulmer 325
39. Tom Reese on Murderers’ Row (1966) 331
40. Richard Gordon on Protelco Productions 335
41. Nick Webster on Mission Mars (1968) 347
42. Gary Conway on Land of the Giants (1968–1970) 350
43. Memories of Nightmare in Wax (1969) John “Bud” Cardos 366
Martin Varno 369
44. Jan Merlin on The Twilight People (1973) 373
45. Robert Pine on Empire of the Ants (1977) 382
46. Ken Kolb on Sinbad Goes to Mars 386
Index 395
About the Author
Tom Weaver lives in Sleepy Hollow, New York, and has been interviewing moviemakers since the early 1980s. The New York Times called him one of the leading scholars in the horror field and USA Today has described him as the king of the monster hunters. Classic Images called him "the best interviewer we have today." He is a frequent contributor to numerous film magazines including Starlog, Fangoria, Monsters from the Vault and Video Watchdog, and he has been featured in the prestigious Best American Movie Writing. A frequent DVD audio commentator, he is the author of numerous reference and other nonfiction books about American popular culture, including Universal Horrors: The Studio’s Classic Fims, 1931-1946.
Edited by David C. Wright and Allan W. Austin
ISBN 978-0-7864-3664-4
bibliography, index
231pp. softcover 2010
Buy Now!
Price: $38.00
Quantity:
Available for immediate shipment
Description
Essays in this work examine treatments of history in science fiction and fantasy television programs from a variety of disciplinary and methodological perspectives. Some essays approach science fiction and fantasy television as primary evidence, demonstrating how such programs consciously or unconsciously elucidate persistent concerns and enduring ideals of a past era and place. Other essays study television as secondary evidence, investigating how popular media construct and communicate narratives about past events.
Table of Contents
Introduction: Viewing the Past through Science Fiction and Fantasy Television
DAVID C. WRIGHT, JR., AND ALLAN W. AUSTIN 1
1. Reflections of a Nation’s Angst; or, How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love The Twilight Zone
NOVOTNY LAWRENCE 9
2. Beneath the Surface: Voyage to the Bottom of the Sea as Cold War Science Fiction
RANDALL CLARK 29
3. Looking Glass War: The Topsy-Turvy World of The Prisoner
BRYAN E. VIZZINI 43
4. The Limits of Star Trek’s Final Frontier: “The Omega Glory” and 1960s American Liberalism
ALLAN W. AUSTIN 61
5. Lost in Translation: Autonomy, Agency, and Cybernetic Anxiety from Apollo to The Six Million Dollar Man
DARYL LEE 82
6. It’s About Tempus: Greece and Rome in “Classic” Doctor Who
ANTONY KEEN 100
7. Constructing a Grand Historical Narrative: Struggles through Time on Highlander: The Series
DAVID C. WRIGHT, JR. 116
8. The Future as Past Perfect: Appropriation of History in the Star Trek Series
JUDITH LANCIONI 131
9. Too Close for Comfort? Exploring the Construction of Near Future Historical Narratives in Science Fiction Television
KORCAIGHE P. HALE 156
10. “The Future Is the Past”: Music and History in Firefly
KENDRA PRESTON LEONARD 174
11. The Battle for History in Battlestar Galactica
JANICE LIEDL 189
Suggested Readings in Science Fiction and Fantasy Television
DAVID C. WRIGHT, JR. 209
Contributors 215
Index 219
About the Author
David C. Wright, Jr., is an associate professor and chair of the Department of History and Government at Misericordia University in Dallas, Pennsylvania. Allan W. Austin is an associate professor of history at Misericordia University. He is also a book review editor for Journal of American Ethnic History.
New/Recent from McFarland
Here is another update on new and recent publications from McFarland:
The Worlds of Back to the Future: Critical Essays on the Films
Edited by Sorcha Ni Fhlainn
ISBN 978-0-7864-4400-7
filmography, notes, bibliography, index
272pp. softcover 2010
Price: $38.00
Description
A critical examination of the cultural, cinematic, and historical contexts of the Back to the Future trilogy, this book provides a multi-focal representation of the trilogy from several interdisciplinary fields, including philosophy, literature, music, pop culture, and media and gender studies. Topics include sexual symbolism in the trilogy and the oedipal plotting of the first film; nostalgia and the suburban dream in the cultural climate of the 1980s; generic play and performance throughout the trilogy; the emotional and narrative force provided by the films’ renowned musical scores; the trilogy’s post-modern references and allusions to the Western genre; female representations across the trilogy; and the Lacanian philosophical constructs in the characterizations of Doc Brown and George and Marty McFly.
Table of Contents
Acknowledgments vi
Introduction: It’s About Time
SORCHA NÍ FHLAINN 1
1. Back to the Future: Edipus as Time Traveler
ANDREW GORDON 29
2. “You Space Bastard! You killed my pines!”: Back to the Future, Nostalgia and the Suburban Dream
BERNICE M. MURPHY 49
3. “Don’t you think it’s about time?”: Back to the Future in Black and White
STEPHEN MATTERSON 62
4. “There’s something very familiar about all this”: Generic Play and Performance in the Back to the Future Trilogy
LUCY FIFE DONALDSON 73
5. Bury My Heart in Hill Valley, or, The Kid Who KO’d Liberty Valance
JOHN EXSHAW 91
6. Music in Flux: Musical Transformation and Time Travel in Back to the Future
CHRISTINE LEE GENGARO 112
7. Back to the Fifties! Fixing the Future
ELIZABETH MCCARTHY 133
8. “Mom! You look so thin!”: Constructions of Femininity Across the Space-Time Continuum
KATHERINE FARRIMOND 157
9. Ronald Reagan and the Rhetoric of Traveling Back to the Future: The Zemeckis Aesthetic as Revisionist History and Conservative Fantasy
CHRISTOPHER JUSTICE 174
10. “This is what makes time travel possible”: The Generation(s) of Revolutionary Master Signifiers in Back to the Future
MICHAEL WILLIAMS 195
11. Showdown at the Café ’80’s: The Back to the Future Trilogy as Baudrillardian Parable
RANDY LAIST 216
12. “Doing it in style”: The Narrative Rules of Time Travel in the Back to the Future Trilogy
JENNIFER HARWOOD-SMITH and FRANCIS LUDLOW 232
About the Contributors 255
Index 259
About the Author
Sorcha Ni Fhlainn teaches courses on American literature, cinema and the gothic at Trinity College Dublin, where she was awarded her Ph.D.
The Twilight Mystique: Critical Essays on the Novels and Films
Edited by Amy M. Clarke and Marijane Osborn Series Editors Donald E. Palumbo and C.W. Sullivan III
ISBN 978-0-7864-4998-9
notes, bibliography, index
247pp. softcover 2010
Price: $29.95
Description
The 13 essays in this volume explore Stephenie Meyer’s wildly popular Twilight series in the contexts of literature, religion, fairy tales, film, and the gothic. Several examine Meyer’s emphasis on abstinence, considering how, why, and if the author’s Mormon faith has influenced the series’ worldview. Others look at fan involvement in the Twilight world, focusing on how the series’ avid following has led to an economic transformation in Forks, Washington, the real town where the fictional series is set. Other topics include Meyer’s use of Quileute shape-shifting legends, Twilight’s literary heritage and its frequent references to classic works of literature, and the series’ controversial depictions of femininity.
Table of Contents
Preface and Acknowledgments 1
Introduction: Approaching Twilight
AMY M. CLARKE 3
Luminous and Liminal: Why Edward Shines
MARIJANE OSBORN 15
Narrative Layering and “High-culture” Romance
YVETTE KISOR 35
Carlisle’s Cross: Locating the Post-Secular Gothic
LORI BRANCH 60
Eco-Gothics for the Twenty-First Century
JAMES MC ELROY AND EMMA CATHERINE MC ELROY 80
Noble Werewolves or Native Shape-Shifters?
KRISTIAN JENSEN 92
Abstinence, American-Style
ANN V. BLISS 107
Is Twilight Mormon?
SARAH SCHWARTZMAN 121
Bella and the Choice Made in Eden
SUSAN JEFFERS 137
Bella and Boundaries, Crossed and Redeployed
KERI WOLF 152
Sleeping Beauty and the Idealized Undead: Avoiding Adolescence
JANICE HAWES 163
Why We Like Our Vampires Sexy
STEPHANIE L. DOWDLE 179
Forks, Washington: From Farms to Forests to Fans
CHRISTINE M. MITCHELL 189
The Pleasures of Adapting: Reading, Viewing, Logging On
PAMELA H. DEMORY 202
About the Contributors 217
Bibliography 221
Index 227
About the Author
Amy M. Clarke is a continuing lecturer in the University Writing Program at the University of California, Davis. She teaches courses in science fiction and fantasy, including seminars on both the Harry Potter and Twilight series, and has recently published a study of Ursula Le Guin. Marijane Osborn is professor emeritus of English at the University of California, Davis. She has written or been a major contributor to several books on Beowulf and has published three books on Middle English topics. Donald E. Palumbo is a professor of English at East Carolina University in Greenville, North Carolina. He lives in Greenville. C.W. Sullivan III is in the English department at East Carolina University in Greenville, North Carolina.
Edited by Sorcha Ni Fhlainn
ISBN 978-0-7864-4400-7
filmography, notes, bibliography, index
272pp. softcover 2010
Price: $38.00
Description
A critical examination of the cultural, cinematic, and historical contexts of the Back to the Future trilogy, this book provides a multi-focal representation of the trilogy from several interdisciplinary fields, including philosophy, literature, music, pop culture, and media and gender studies. Topics include sexual symbolism in the trilogy and the oedipal plotting of the first film; nostalgia and the suburban dream in the cultural climate of the 1980s; generic play and performance throughout the trilogy; the emotional and narrative force provided by the films’ renowned musical scores; the trilogy’s post-modern references and allusions to the Western genre; female representations across the trilogy; and the Lacanian philosophical constructs in the characterizations of Doc Brown and George and Marty McFly.
Table of Contents
Acknowledgments vi
Introduction: It’s About Time
SORCHA NÍ FHLAINN 1
1. Back to the Future: Edipus as Time Traveler
ANDREW GORDON 29
2. “You Space Bastard! You killed my pines!”: Back to the Future, Nostalgia and the Suburban Dream
BERNICE M. MURPHY 49
3. “Don’t you think it’s about time?”: Back to the Future in Black and White
STEPHEN MATTERSON 62
4. “There’s something very familiar about all this”: Generic Play and Performance in the Back to the Future Trilogy
LUCY FIFE DONALDSON 73
5. Bury My Heart in Hill Valley, or, The Kid Who KO’d Liberty Valance
JOHN EXSHAW 91
6. Music in Flux: Musical Transformation and Time Travel in Back to the Future
CHRISTINE LEE GENGARO 112
7. Back to the Fifties! Fixing the Future
ELIZABETH MCCARTHY 133
8. “Mom! You look so thin!”: Constructions of Femininity Across the Space-Time Continuum
KATHERINE FARRIMOND 157
9. Ronald Reagan and the Rhetoric of Traveling Back to the Future: The Zemeckis Aesthetic as Revisionist History and Conservative Fantasy
CHRISTOPHER JUSTICE 174
10. “This is what makes time travel possible”: The Generation(s) of Revolutionary Master Signifiers in Back to the Future
MICHAEL WILLIAMS 195
11. Showdown at the Café ’80’s: The Back to the Future Trilogy as Baudrillardian Parable
RANDY LAIST 216
12. “Doing it in style”: The Narrative Rules of Time Travel in the Back to the Future Trilogy
JENNIFER HARWOOD-SMITH and FRANCIS LUDLOW 232
About the Contributors 255
Index 259
About the Author
Sorcha Ni Fhlainn teaches courses on American literature, cinema and the gothic at Trinity College Dublin, where she was awarded her Ph.D.
Edited by Amy M. Clarke and Marijane Osborn Series Editors Donald E. Palumbo and C.W. Sullivan III
ISBN 978-0-7864-4998-9
notes, bibliography, index
247pp. softcover 2010
Price: $29.95
Description
The 13 essays in this volume explore Stephenie Meyer’s wildly popular Twilight series in the contexts of literature, religion, fairy tales, film, and the gothic. Several examine Meyer’s emphasis on abstinence, considering how, why, and if the author’s Mormon faith has influenced the series’ worldview. Others look at fan involvement in the Twilight world, focusing on how the series’ avid following has led to an economic transformation in Forks, Washington, the real town where the fictional series is set. Other topics include Meyer’s use of Quileute shape-shifting legends, Twilight’s literary heritage and its frequent references to classic works of literature, and the series’ controversial depictions of femininity.
Table of Contents
Preface and Acknowledgments 1
Introduction: Approaching Twilight
AMY M. CLARKE 3
Luminous and Liminal: Why Edward Shines
MARIJANE OSBORN 15
Narrative Layering and “High-culture” Romance
YVETTE KISOR 35
Carlisle’s Cross: Locating the Post-Secular Gothic
LORI BRANCH 60
Eco-Gothics for the Twenty-First Century
JAMES MC ELROY AND EMMA CATHERINE MC ELROY 80
Noble Werewolves or Native Shape-Shifters?
KRISTIAN JENSEN 92
Abstinence, American-Style
ANN V. BLISS 107
Is Twilight Mormon?
SARAH SCHWARTZMAN 121
Bella and the Choice Made in Eden
SUSAN JEFFERS 137
Bella and Boundaries, Crossed and Redeployed
KERI WOLF 152
Sleeping Beauty and the Idealized Undead: Avoiding Adolescence
JANICE HAWES 163
Why We Like Our Vampires Sexy
STEPHANIE L. DOWDLE 179
Forks, Washington: From Farms to Forests to Fans
CHRISTINE M. MITCHELL 189
The Pleasures of Adapting: Reading, Viewing, Logging On
PAMELA H. DEMORY 202
About the Contributors 217
Bibliography 221
Index 227
About the Author
Amy M. Clarke is a continuing lecturer in the University Writing Program at the University of California, Davis. She teaches courses in science fiction and fantasy, including seminars on both the Harry Potter and Twilight series, and has recently published a study of Ursula Le Guin. Marijane Osborn is professor emeritus of English at the University of California, Davis. She has written or been a major contributor to several books on Beowulf and has published three books on Middle English topics. Donald E. Palumbo is a professor of English at East Carolina University in Greenville, North Carolina. He lives in Greenville. C.W. Sullivan III is in the English department at East Carolina University in Greenville, North Carolina.
Lori M. Campbell Series Editors Donald E. Palumbo and C.W. Sullivan III
ISBN 978-0-7864-4645-2
notes, bibliography, index
226pp. softcover 2010
Price: $35.00
Description
Fantasy writing, like literature in general, provides a powerful vehicle for challenging the status quo. Via symbolism, imagery and supernaturalism, fantasy constructs secondary-world narratives that both mirror and critique the political paradigms of our own world. This critical work explores the role of the portal in fantasy, investigating the ways in which magical nexus points and movement between worlds are used to illustrate real-world power dynamics, especially those impacting women and children. Through an examination of high and low fantasy, fairy tales, children’s literature, the Gothic, and science fiction, the portal is identified as a living being, place or magical object of profound metaphorical and cultural significance.
Table of Contents
Acknowledgments vi
Preface 1
Introduction 5
PART I
Women and Other Magical Creatures: Portals in Romance and Fairy Tale
1. Who “Wears the Pants” in Faërie? The Woman Question in William Morris’s The Wood Beyond the World 23
2. “For I am but a girl”: The Problem of Female Power in Ford Madox Ford’s The Brown Owl 44
PART II
Charms, Places, and Little Girls: Portals in Children’s Literature
3. E. Nesbit and the Magic Word: Empowering Child and Woman in Real-World Fantasy 63
4. Lost Boys to Men: Romanticism and the Magic of the Female Imagination in J.M. Barrie’s Peter Pan and Frances Hodgson Burnett’s The Secret Garden 82
PART III
Haunted Houses and the Hidden Self: Portals in the Gothic, Low Fantasy, and Science Fiction
5. Confronting Chaos at the In-Between: William Hope Hodgson’s The House on the Borderland 103
6. The Society Insider/Outsider and the Sympathetic Supernatural in Fantastic Tales by Edith Wharton and Oscar Wilde 120
PART IV
Haunting History: The Portal in Modern/Postmodern Fantasy
7. One World to Rule Them All: The Un-Making and Re-Making of the Symbolic Portal in J.R.R. Tolkien’s The Lord of the Rings 143
8. Harry Potter and the Ultimate In-Between: J.K. Rowling’s Portals of Power 163
9. Portals Between Then and Now: Susan Cooper, Alan Garner, Diana Wynne Jones, Neil Gaiman, and Jonathan Stroud 183
Chaper Notes 203
Bibliography 205
Index 213
About the Author
Lori M. Campbell is a lecturer in the Department of English at the University of Pittsburgh, where she teaches courses on nineteenth- and twentieth-century literature. Donald E. Palumbo is a professor of English at East Carolina University in Greenville, North Carolina. He lives in Greenville. C.W. Sullivan III is in the English department at East Carolina University in Greenville, North Carolina.
L. Andrew Cooper
ISBN 978-0-7864-4835-7
21 photos, notes, bibliography, index
248pp. softcover 2010
Price: $35.00
Description
Eighteenth-century critics believed Gothic fiction would inspire deviant sexuality, instill heretical beliefs, and encourage antisocial violence--this book puts these beliefs to the test. After examining the assumptions behind critics’ fears, it considers nineteenth-century concerns about sexual deviance, showing how Frankenstein, Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde, Dorian Gray, and other works helped construct homosexuality as a pathological, dangerous phenomenon. It then turns to television and film, particularly Buffy the Vampire Slayer and David DeCoteau’s direct-to-video movies, to trace Gothicized sexuality’s lasting impact. Moving to heretical beliefs, Gothic Realities surveys ghost stories from Dickens’s A Christmas Carol to Poltergeist, articulating the relationships between fiction and the "real" supernatural. Finally, it considers connections between Gothic horror and real-world violence, especially the tragedies at Columbine and Virginia Tech.
Table of Contents
Acknowledgments ix
Introduction: Bad Influences and Gothic Realities 1 (pdf)
Part One: Gothic Threats 23
1. The Threat in the Gothic’s Foundation: From John Locke to Horace Walpole 25 (pdf)
2. Gothic Threats and Cultural Hierarchy: The Critical Evaluation of The Monk and The Mysteries of Udolpho 39 (pdf)
Part Two: Gothic Sexualities 57
3. Pathological Reproduction: The Emergence of Homosexuality through Nineteenth Century Gothic Fiction 59
4. Romps in the Closet: The Persistence of Nineteenth Century Notions in Contemporary Pop Culture 81
Part Three: Gothic Ghosts 115
5. Ghost Stories and Ghostly Belief: Conventional Horrors That Make Good Truths 117
6. Ghost Epistemology: Five or Six Ways to Haunt the Senses 144
Part Four: Gothic Violence 159
7. Fictions That Kill: Columbine, Virginia Tech, and Stephen King’s Only Out-of-Print Novel 161
8. Violent Self-Reflection: Natural Born Killers, Wes Craven’s Nightmares, and Torture Porn 184
Chapter Notes 209
Selected Bibliography 223
Index 233
About the Author
L. Andrew Cooper is assistant director of the Writing and Communication Program at Georgia Tech. His work has appeared in The Quarterly Review of Film and Video and Gothic Studies.
Thomas M. Sipos
ISBN 978-0-7864-4972-9
99 photos, notes, bibliography, index
288pp. softcover (7 x 10) 2010
Price: $35.00
Description
This richly informed study analyzes how various cinematic tools and techniques have been used to create horror on screen--the aesthetic elements, sometimes not consciously noticed, that help to unnerve, frighten, shock or entertain an audience. The first two chapters define the genre and describe the use of pragmatic aesthetics (when filmmakers put technical and budgetary compromises to artistic effect). Subsequent chapters cover mise-en-scene, framing, photography, lighting, editing and sound, and a final chapter is devoted to the aesthetic appeals of horror cinema.
Table of Contents
Acknowledgments v
Preface 1
1. Defining the Genre 5
2. Pragmatic Aesthetics 29
3. Mise- en- Scène 31
4. Framing the Image 71
5. Photographing the Image 97
6. Lighting the Image 140
7. Editing the Image 176
8. Putting Sound to the Image 216
9. The Appeals of Horror 247
Chapter Notes 259
Bibliography 267
Index 271
About the Author
Thomas M. Sipos has worked as a script reader, actor or extra on more than 70 productions and has contributed to Filmfax, Midnight Marquee and other magazines.
Zach Waggoner
ISBN 978-0-7864-4109-9
15 photos, appendix, notes, bibliography, index
207pp. softcover 2009
Price: $35.00
Description
With videogames now one of the world’s most popular diversions, the virtual world has increasing psychological influence on real-world players. This book examines the relationships between virtual and non-virtual identity in visual role-playing games. Utilizing James Gee’s theoretical constructs of real-world identity, virtual-world identity, and projective identity, this research shows dynamic, varying and complex relationships between the virtual avatar and the player’s sense of self and makes recommendations of terminology for future identity researchers.
Table of Contents
Preface 1
1. Videogames, Avatars, and Identity: A Brief History 3
2. Locating Identity in New Media Theory 21
3. Morrowind: Identity and the Hardcore Gamer 48
4. Oblivion: Identity and the Casual Gamer 98
5. Fallout 3: Identity and the Non-Gamer 128
6. Virtual and Non-Virtual Identities: Connections and Terminological Implications 158
Appendix: Transcription of Vishnu’s First Two Hours of Morrowind Gameplay 175
Chapter Notes 185
Bibliography 193
Index 199
About the Author
Zach Waggoner has a Ph.D. in Rhetoric and Composition from Arizona State University, where he currently teaches professional writing, videogame theory and Teaching Assistant training.
Theresa Bane
ISBN 978-0-7864-4452-6
bibliography, index
207pp. hardcover (7 x 10) 2010
Price: $75.00
Description
From the earliest days of oral history to the present, the vampire myth persists among mankind’s deeply-rooted fears. This encyclopedia, with entries ranging from "Abchanchu" to "Zmeus," includes nearly 600 different species of historical and mythological vampires, fully described and detailed.
Table of Contents
Preface 1
Introduction 7
THE ENCYCLOPEDIA 13
Bibliography 155
Index 183
About the Author
Theresa Bane was featured on Discovery Channel’s "Twisted History: Vampires." She is also the author of other books on unusual phenomena and lives in Asheboro, North Carolina.
Kyle William Bishop
Foreword by Jerrold E. Hogle
ISBN 978-0-7864-4806-7
33 photos, filmography, notes, bibliography, index
247pp. softcover 2010
Price: $35.00
Description
Zombie stories are peculiarly American, as the creature was born in the New World and functions as a reminder of the atrocities of colonialism and slavery. The voodoo-based zombie films of the 1930s and ’40s reveal deep-seated racist attitudes and imperialist paranoia, but the contagious, cannibalistic zombie horde invasion narrative established by George A. Romero has even greater singularity.
This book provides a cultural and critical analysis of the cinematic zombie tradition, starting with its origins in Haitian folklore and tracking the development of the subgenre into the twenty-first century. Closely examining such influential works as Victor Halperin’s White Zombie, Jacques Tourneur’s I Walked with a Zombie, Lucio Fulci’s Zombi 2, Dan O’Bannon’s The Return of the Living Dead, Danny Boyle’s 28 Days Later, and, of course, Romero’s entire "Dead" series, it establishes the place of zombies in the Gothic tradition.
Table of Contents
Acknowledgments vi
Foreword by Jerrold E. Hogle 1
Preface 5
Introduction—The Zombie Film and Its Cycles 9
1—RAISING THE LIVING DEAD
The Folkloric and Ideological Origins of the Voodoo Zombie 37
2—THE RETURN OF THE NATIVE
Imperialist Hegemony and the Cinematic Voodoo Zombie 64
3—THE RISE OF THE NEW PARADIGM
Night of the Living Dead and the Zombie Invasion Narrative 94
4—THE DEAD WALK THE EARTH
The Triumph of the Zombie Social Metaphor in Dawn of the Dead 129
5—HUMANIZING THE LIVING DEAD
The Evolution of the Zombie Protagonist 158
Conclusion—The Future Shock of Zombie Cinema 197
Filmography 209
Chapter Notes 213
Bibliography 225
Index 231
About the Author
Kyle William Bishop is an assistant professor at Southern Utah University, where he teaches American literature and culture, film studies, fantasy literature, and English composition. He has presented and published a variety of papers on popular culture and cinematic adaptation.
Michael J. Tresca
ISBN 978-0-7864-5895-0
10 photos, glossary, bibliography, index
238pp. softcover 2011
Buy Now!
Price: $35.00
Book Launch March 2011
Description
Tracing the evolution of fantasy gaming from its origins in tabletop war and collectible card games to contemporary web-based live action and massive multi-player games, this book examines the archetypes and concepts within the fantasy gaming genre alongside the roles and functions of the game players themselves. Other topics include: how The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings helped shape fantasy gaming through Tolkien’s obsessive attention to detail and virtual world building; the community-based fellowship embraced by players of both play-by-post and persistent browser-based games, despite the fact that these games are fundamentally solo experiences; the origins of gamebooks and interactive fiction; and the evolution of online gaming in terms of technological capabilities, media richness, narrative structure, coding authority, and participant roles.
Table of Contents
Acknowledgments ix
Preface 1
Introduction 5
1. The Lord of the Rings 23
2. Collectible Card Games and Miniature Wargames 47
3. Tabletop Role-Playing Games 59
4. Play-By-Post and Browser-Based Games 92
5. Gamebooks and Interactive Fiction 100
6. Multi-User Dungeons 111
7. Computer Role-Playing Games 134
8. Massive Multiplayer Online Role-Playing Games 162
9. Live Action Role-Playing Games 181
Conclusion 200
Glossary 203
Sources 207
Index 217
About the Author
Game designer, author, and artist Michael J. Tresca has authored numerous supplements and adventures for publishers of fantasy role-playing games. An administrator at RetroMUD, he lives in Connecticut.
Edited by Kevin K. Durand and Mary K. Leigh
ISBN 978-0-7864-4628-5
notes, bibliographies, index
258pp. softcover 2010
Price: $35.00
Description
The Wizard of Oz has captured the imagination of the public since publication of L. Frank Baum’s first book of the series in 1900. Oz has shaped the way we read children’s literature, view motion pictures and experience musicals. Oz has captured the scholarly imagination as well. The seventeen essays in this book address numerous questions of the boundaries between literature, film, and stage--and these have become essential to Oz scholarship. Together the essays explore the ways in which Oz tells us much about ourselves, our society, and our journeys.
Table of Contents
Preface; or, Scholars Walk the Yellow Brick Road 1
PART ONE: OZ AND LITERARY CRITICISM
1. The Emerald Canon: Where the Yellow Brick Road Forks
(Kevin K. Durand) 11
2. Dorothy and Cinderella: The Case of the Missing Prince and the Despair of the Fairy Tale
(Agnes B. Curry and Josef Velazquez) 24
3. Psychospiritual Wizdom: Dorothy’s Monomyth in The Wizard of Oz
( Jené Gutierrez) 54
4. “Come out, come out, wherever you are”: How Tina Landau’s 1969 Stages a Queer Reading of The Wizard of Oz
(Ronald Zank) 61
5. “Something between higgledy-piggledy and the eternal sphere”: Queering Age/Sex in Shelley Jackson’s Patchwork Girl
(Emily A. Mattingly) 77
6. No Place Like the O.Z.: Heroes and Hybridity in Sci-Fi’s Tin Man
(Kristin Noone) 94
7. The Wizard of Oz as a Modernist Work
(Charity Gibson) 107
PART TWO: OZ AND PHILOSOPHY
8. Ask the Clock of the Time Dragon: Oz in the Past and the Future
(Randall Auxier) 121
9. Down the Yellow Brick Road: Good and Evil, Freewill, and Generosity in The Wizard of Oz
(Gail Linsenbard) 136
10. The “Wonderful” Wizard of Oz and Other Lies: A Study of Inauthenticity in Wicked: A New Musical
(Mary K. Leigh) 147
11. Memories Cloaked in Magic: Memory and Identity in Tin Man
(Anne Collins Smith) 158
12. The Wicked Wizard of Oz
(Kevin K. Durand) 172
13. A Feminist Stroll Down the Yellow Brick Road: Dorothy’s Heroine’s Adventure
(Paula Kent) 179
PART THREE: OZ AND SOCIAL CRITIQUE
14. The Wiz: American Culture at Its Best
(Rhonda Williams) 191
15. The Wiz as the Seventies’ Version of The Wizard of Oz: An Analysis
(Claudia A. Beach) 200
16. The Wonderful Wizard of Oz: Religious Populism and Spiritual Capitalism
(Kevin Tanner) 204
17. The Ethics and Epistemology of Emancipation in Oz
( Jason M. Bell and Jessica Bell) 225
About the Contributors 247
Index 251
About the Author
Kevin K. Durand is an associate professor of philosophy at Henderson State University in Arkadelphia, Arkansas. He has published broadly in philosophy, religion, and ethics, and this is his third book. Mary K. Leigh is an adjunct instructor of philosophy and English at Henderson State University. She lives in Arkadelphia, Arkansas.
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