Diana Walsh Pasulka
- Published in print:
- 2008
- Published Online:
- January 2009
- ISBN:
- 9780195335224
- eISBN:
- 9780199868810
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780195335224.003.0011
- Subject:
- Religion, Religion and Society
This chapter explores contemporary representations of death in American popular culture, and elaborates on their meaning for today's youth. Death appeals to the young for several reasons. The heroes ...
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This chapter explores contemporary representations of death in American popular culture, and elaborates on their meaning for today's youth. Death appeals to the young for several reasons. The heroes of television shows and movies present a way to negotiate the finality of death. Such characters can be interpreted as modern versions of the psychopomp. Current representations of death, particularly those that target youth, avoid a traditional interpretation of death characterized as final. Instead, death in popular culture is an extension of life—one where good and evil are more clearly defined, and where the fantastic lives. Although the apparent whimsical aspects of these representations seem to indicate that today's youth are denying death, the experiences of the classes the author of this chapter has taught suggests otherwise. The students in those classes maintained a healthy “suspension of belief” while consuming these images. These representations allow students to reflect upon death without the emotional involvement associated with more realistic portrayals of death.Less
This chapter explores contemporary representations of death in American popular culture, and elaborates on their meaning for today's youth. Death appeals to the young for several reasons. The heroes of television shows and movies present a way to negotiate the finality of death. Such characters can be interpreted as modern versions of the psychopomp. Current representations of death, particularly those that target youth, avoid a traditional interpretation of death characterized as final. Instead, death in popular culture is an extension of life—one where good and evil are more clearly defined, and where the fantastic lives. Although the apparent whimsical aspects of these representations seem to indicate that today's youth are denying death, the experiences of the classes the author of this chapter has taught suggests otherwise. The students in those classes maintained a healthy “suspension of belief” while consuming these images. These representations allow students to reflect upon death without the emotional involvement associated with more realistic portrayals of death.
P. J. McKenna, E. Lorente-Rovira, and G. E. Berrios
- Published in print:
- 2009
- Published Online:
- February 2010
- ISBN:
- 9780199208913
- eISBN:
- 9780191723759
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199208913.003.07
- Subject:
- Psychology, Cognitive Neuroscience
This chapter argues that the phenomenon of confabulation can be seen in schizophrenia. It is clear that it is very uncommon in a spontaneous form, and when it does occur it always seems to take the ...
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This chapter argues that the phenomenon of confabulation can be seen in schizophrenia. It is clear that it is very uncommon in a spontaneous form, and when it does occur it always seems to take the form of so-called fantastic confabulation. With the possible exception of general paralysis of the insane, this schizophrenic form of confabulation appears to go considerably beyond even the most adventurous and illogical forms of spontaneous confabulation encountered in neurological disease.Less
This chapter argues that the phenomenon of confabulation can be seen in schizophrenia. It is clear that it is very uncommon in a spontaneous form, and when it does occur it always seems to take the form of so-called fantastic confabulation. With the possible exception of general paralysis of the insane, this schizophrenic form of confabulation appears to go considerably beyond even the most adventurous and illogical forms of spontaneous confabulation encountered in neurological disease.
Paul Kincaid
- Published in print:
- 2017
- Published Online:
- January 2018
- ISBN:
- 9780252041013
- eISBN:
- 9780252099564
- Item type:
- book
- Publisher:
- University of Illinois Press
- DOI:
- 10.5406/illinois/9780252041013.001.0001
- Subject:
- Literature, 20th-century Literature and Modernism
This is the first book-length study of the entire oeuvre of Scottish novelist Iain Banks. While it concentrates on the science fiction as by Iain M. Banks, in particular his novels of the Culture, it ...
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This is the first book-length study of the entire oeuvre of Scottish novelist Iain Banks. While it concentrates on the science fiction as by Iain M. Banks, in particular his novels of the Culture, it demonstrates stylistic, structural, thematic and political links between these and the supposedly realist novels. It places his work in the context of contemporary Scottish literature, the Scottish fantastic, looks at his deliberate overturning of the usual cultural and political norms associated with space opera, and proposes that the Culture novels contain a counter-narrative to the usual utopian readings.Less
This is the first book-length study of the entire oeuvre of Scottish novelist Iain Banks. While it concentrates on the science fiction as by Iain M. Banks, in particular his novels of the Culture, it demonstrates stylistic, structural, thematic and political links between these and the supposedly realist novels. It places his work in the context of contemporary Scottish literature, the Scottish fantastic, looks at his deliberate overturning of the usual cultural and political norms associated with space opera, and proposes that the Culture novels contain a counter-narrative to the usual utopian readings.
Simon J. James
- Published in print:
- 2012
- Published Online:
- May 2012
- ISBN:
- 9780199606597
- eISBN:
- 9780191738517
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199606597.003.0002
- Subject:
- Literature, 20th-century Literature and Modernism, 19th-century and Victorian Literature
The scientific discoveries of the Victorian era enlarged the scope of fantastic fiction. Wells extrapolates from evolutionary theory, geology, temporal physics, and optics to imagine alternate forms ...
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The scientific discoveries of the Victorian era enlarged the scope of fantastic fiction. Wells extrapolates from evolutionary theory, geology, temporal physics, and optics to imagine alternate forms of cultural production. Wells’s use of the fantastic does not constitute escapism, however. The irruption of the fantastic into an otherwise realistically narrated fictional world is a reminder that the indefinite passing of history will repeatedly threaten or displace humanity’s misplaced faith in its imagined superior position in the hierarchy of nature. Darwin’s formulation of the theory of evolution, and Wells’s imagining of fictional possibilities, constitute both an opportunity and a warning for humankind: Wells repeatedly insists on the impermanence of the status quo. This chapter also notes the frequency of images of reading and writing in Wells’s fiction: numerous texts include images of defaced or ineffective books and other artworks.Less
The scientific discoveries of the Victorian era enlarged the scope of fantastic fiction. Wells extrapolates from evolutionary theory, geology, temporal physics, and optics to imagine alternate forms of cultural production. Wells’s use of the fantastic does not constitute escapism, however. The irruption of the fantastic into an otherwise realistically narrated fictional world is a reminder that the indefinite passing of history will repeatedly threaten or displace humanity’s misplaced faith in its imagined superior position in the hierarchy of nature. Darwin’s formulation of the theory of evolution, and Wells’s imagining of fictional possibilities, constitute both an opportunity and a warning for humankind: Wells repeatedly insists on the impermanence of the status quo. This chapter also notes the frequency of images of reading and writing in Wells’s fiction: numerous texts include images of defaced or ineffective books and other artworks.
Derek J. Thiess
- Published in print:
- 2019
- Published Online:
- January 2020
- ISBN:
- 9781786942227
- eISBN:
- 9781789623789
- Item type:
- book
- Publisher:
- Liverpool University Press
- DOI:
- 10.3828/liverpool/9781786942227.001.0001
- Subject:
- Literature, 20th-century and Contemporary Literature
Sport and Monstrosity in Science Fiction examines fantastic representations of sport in science fiction, both cataloguing this almost entirely unexamined literary tradition and arguing that the ...
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Sport and Monstrosity in Science Fiction examines fantastic representations of sport in science fiction, both cataloguing this almost entirely unexamined literary tradition and arguing that the reason for its neglect reflects a more widespread social suspicion of the athletic body as monstrous. Combining scholarship of monstrosity with a biopolitically focused philosophy of embodiment, this work plumbs the depths of our abjection of the athletic body and challenges us to reconsider sport as an intersectional space. In this latter endeavour it contradicts the image presented by both the most dystopian films such as Deathrace and Rollerball as well as social criticism of sport that limits its focus to an essentially violent masculinity. The book traces an alternative tradition of sport sf through authors as diverse as Arthur C. Clarke, Steven Barnes, and Joan Slonczewski, exploring the way the intersectional categories of gender, race, and age in these works are negotiated in, for example, a solar wind sailing race or futuristic anti-gravity boxing. These complex athletic bodies display the social mobility that sport allows and challenge us to acknowledge our own monstrously animal bodies and our place in a “cycle of living and dying.”Less
Sport and Monstrosity in Science Fiction examines fantastic representations of sport in science fiction, both cataloguing this almost entirely unexamined literary tradition and arguing that the reason for its neglect reflects a more widespread social suspicion of the athletic body as monstrous. Combining scholarship of monstrosity with a biopolitically focused philosophy of embodiment, this work plumbs the depths of our abjection of the athletic body and challenges us to reconsider sport as an intersectional space. In this latter endeavour it contradicts the image presented by both the most dystopian films such as Deathrace and Rollerball as well as social criticism of sport that limits its focus to an essentially violent masculinity. The book traces an alternative tradition of sport sf through authors as diverse as Arthur C. Clarke, Steven Barnes, and Joan Slonczewski, exploring the way the intersectional categories of gender, race, and age in these works are negotiated in, for example, a solar wind sailing race or futuristic anti-gravity boxing. These complex athletic bodies display the social mobility that sport allows and challenge us to acknowledge our own monstrously animal bodies and our place in a “cycle of living and dying.”
Monica Germanà
- Published in print:
- 2010
- Published Online:
- March 2012
- ISBN:
- 9780748637645
- eISBN:
- 9780748652259
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Edinburgh University Press
- DOI:
- 10.3366/edinburgh/9780748637645.003.0001
- Subject:
- Literature, Women's Literature
This introductory chapter explains the theme of this book, which is about the gothic and fantastic writing of Scottish women. The book proposes an earlier date for the fantastic revival and begins ...
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This introductory chapter explains the theme of this book, which is about the gothic and fantastic writing of Scottish women. The book proposes an earlier date for the fantastic revival and begins its investigation in 1978, the publication date of Emma Tennant's The Bad Sister. It pioneers in-depth investigation of largely neglected contemporary texts including Alice Thompson's Pandora's Box and Ali Smith's Hotel World, and offers new readings of A. L. Kennedy's So I Am Glad and Kate Atkinson's Behind the Scenes at the Museum.Less
This introductory chapter explains the theme of this book, which is about the gothic and fantastic writing of Scottish women. The book proposes an earlier date for the fantastic revival and begins its investigation in 1978, the publication date of Emma Tennant's The Bad Sister. It pioneers in-depth investigation of largely neglected contemporary texts including Alice Thompson's Pandora's Box and Ali Smith's Hotel World, and offers new readings of A. L. Kennedy's So I Am Glad and Kate Atkinson's Behind the Scenes at the Museum.
Ivy G. Wilson
- Published in print:
- 2011
- Published Online:
- September 2011
- ISBN:
- 9780195337372
- eISBN:
- 9780199896929
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780195337372.003.0009
- Subject:
- Literature, African-American Literature, American, 19th Century Literature
This concluding chapter extends the book's readings of aurality and visuality over a wide-range of late 20th-century African American cultural production including works by hip hop artists Common and ...
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This concluding chapter extends the book's readings of aurality and visuality over a wide-range of late 20th-century African American cultural production including works by hip hop artists Common and OutKast, political figure Malcolm X, artist Robert Colescott, and musicians Parliament/Funkadelic. Intimating the applicability of the book's critical currency of “the remix,” the chapter illustrates the continued salience of art to political discourse.Less
This concluding chapter extends the book's readings of aurality and visuality over a wide-range of late 20th-century African American cultural production including works by hip hop artists Common and OutKast, political figure Malcolm X, artist Robert Colescott, and musicians Parliament/Funkadelic. Intimating the applicability of the book's critical currency of “the remix,” the chapter illustrates the continued salience of art to political discourse.
Julia Pine
- Published in print:
- 2015
- Published Online:
- May 2016
- ISBN:
- 9781781381434
- eISBN:
- 9781781382387
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Liverpool University Press
- DOI:
- 10.5949/liverpool/9781781381434.003.0010
- Subject:
- Literature, 20th-century and Contemporary Literature
This chapter maps a journey into the history and nature of Salvador Dalí’s involvement with science fiction and ‘futurism’ (the pseudo-science, not the avant-garde movement). It proposes that Dalí ...
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This chapter maps a journey into the history and nature of Salvador Dalí’s involvement with science fiction and ‘futurism’ (the pseudo-science, not the avant-garde movement). It proposes that Dalí used these as a locus for engaging with, and critiquing, mass culture, as well as encouraging an interdisciplinary approach to art, SF and popular culture. Beginning with Dalí’s introduction to America’s fascination with things futuristic and the so-called Atomic and Space Ages, this exploration traces his most notable pseudo-scientific activities and fictive projects throughout his later career, and positions Dali as an agent for mobilizing cultural satire and broadening the boundaries of then-contemporary art. The period in question begins in the late 1930s, when he left the Surrealist movement, and culminates in what was perhaps his most satirical and revealing project in this vein, as well as the least known and most poorly documented; that is, his flamboyant promotional program for the 1966 Twentieth Century Fox SF film Fantastic Voyage, recorded by New York documentarians David and Albert Maysles.Less
This chapter maps a journey into the history and nature of Salvador Dalí’s involvement with science fiction and ‘futurism’ (the pseudo-science, not the avant-garde movement). It proposes that Dalí used these as a locus for engaging with, and critiquing, mass culture, as well as encouraging an interdisciplinary approach to art, SF and popular culture. Beginning with Dalí’s introduction to America’s fascination with things futuristic and the so-called Atomic and Space Ages, this exploration traces his most notable pseudo-scientific activities and fictive projects throughout his later career, and positions Dali as an agent for mobilizing cultural satire and broadening the boundaries of then-contemporary art. The period in question begins in the late 1930s, when he left the Surrealist movement, and culminates in what was perhaps his most satirical and revealing project in this vein, as well as the least known and most poorly documented; that is, his flamboyant promotional program for the 1966 Twentieth Century Fox SF film Fantastic Voyage, recorded by New York documentarians David and Albert Maysles.
Curtis D. Carbonell
- Published in print:
- 2019
- Published Online:
- May 2020
- ISBN:
- 9781789620573
- eISBN:
- 9781789629644
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Liverpool University Press
- DOI:
- 10.3828/liverpool/9781789620573.003.0001
- Subject:
- Society and Culture, Cultural Studies
This chapter introduces key concepts that help theorize the modern fantastic and its relationship to tabletop role-playing games (TRPGs). In particular, it provides a foundation so that the analysis ...
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This chapter introduces key concepts that help theorize the modern fantastic and its relationship to tabletop role-playing games (TRPGs). In particular, it provides a foundation so that the analysis of the individual case studies is clear. It uses literary studies and modern studies to read core TRPG gametexts, such as those of Dungeons and Dragons or Warhammer 40k. It also focuses on how fantastic space emerges during gameplay. Key also is how humanism and posthumanism can be rethought through a focus on what this books considers to be ‘realized worlds’. These are spaces of enchantment that occur at the intersection of the analog and digital, two elements critical in a process of posthumanization, or a way to rethink the discourses of trans-and-posthumanism.Less
This chapter introduces key concepts that help theorize the modern fantastic and its relationship to tabletop role-playing games (TRPGs). In particular, it provides a foundation so that the analysis of the individual case studies is clear. It uses literary studies and modern studies to read core TRPG gametexts, such as those of Dungeons and Dragons or Warhammer 40k. It also focuses on how fantastic space emerges during gameplay. Key also is how humanism and posthumanism can be rethought through a focus on what this books considers to be ‘realized worlds’. These are spaces of enchantment that occur at the intersection of the analog and digital, two elements critical in a process of posthumanization, or a way to rethink the discourses of trans-and-posthumanism.
Michelle Devereaux
- Published in print:
- 2019
- Published Online:
- May 2020
- ISBN:
- 9781474446044
- eISBN:
- 9781474476652
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Edinburgh University Press
- DOI:
- 10.3366/edinburgh/9781474446044.003.0003
- Subject:
- Film, Television and Radio, Film
This chapter argues that Charlie Kaufman’s Synecdoche, New York creates a metatextual relationship between director and protagonist through its use of Romantic irony. The film directly addresses ...
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This chapter argues that Charlie Kaufman’s Synecdoche, New York creates a metatextual relationship between director and protagonist through its use of Romantic irony. The film directly addresses issues of solipsism as it is told from the radically subjective viewpoint of its self-obsessed protagonist, who may or may not be descending into madness. Kaufman conjures sublime feeling in the spectator through aesthetic devices of fantastic world creation. These include the creation of mise en abyme and an engagement with Tzvetan Todorov’s fantastic ‘themes of the self’ and ‘themes of vision’, which are expressed by inexplicable narrative elements such as a continually burning house fire. Drawing on German idealism and Schlegel’s concept of Romantic irony to counteract traditional notions of mimetic realism, Kaufman portrays his film world (and the world itself) as chaotic. But whereas Kaufman’s film embraces the chaos of becoming inherent in Schlegel’s philosophy, its protagonist suffers from a complete inability to engage with life on any authentic level and subsequently fails as an artist and person.Less
This chapter argues that Charlie Kaufman’s Synecdoche, New York creates a metatextual relationship between director and protagonist through its use of Romantic irony. The film directly addresses issues of solipsism as it is told from the radically subjective viewpoint of its self-obsessed protagonist, who may or may not be descending into madness. Kaufman conjures sublime feeling in the spectator through aesthetic devices of fantastic world creation. These include the creation of mise en abyme and an engagement with Tzvetan Todorov’s fantastic ‘themes of the self’ and ‘themes of vision’, which are expressed by inexplicable narrative elements such as a continually burning house fire. Drawing on German idealism and Schlegel’s concept of Romantic irony to counteract traditional notions of mimetic realism, Kaufman portrays his film world (and the world itself) as chaotic. But whereas Kaufman’s film embraces the chaos of becoming inherent in Schlegel’s philosophy, its protagonist suffers from a complete inability to engage with life on any authentic level and subsequently fails as an artist and person.
Michelle Devereaux
- Published in print:
- 2019
- Published Online:
- May 2020
- ISBN:
- 9781474446044
- eISBN:
- 9781474476652
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Edinburgh University Press
- DOI:
- 10.3366/edinburgh/9781474446044.003.0006
- Subject:
- Film, Television and Radio, Film
This chapter analyses the ideological framework of Wes Anderson’s Fantastic Mr. Fox, an adaptation of Roald Dahl’s beloved children’s book. This film addresses various Romantic conceptions of ...
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This chapter analyses the ideological framework of Wes Anderson’s Fantastic Mr. Fox, an adaptation of Roald Dahl’s beloved children’s book. This film addresses various Romantic conceptions of childhood, personal and cultural history, and the natural world in relation to the self and subjectivity. In his reimagining of Dahl’s story, Anderson exhibits a disdain for the mechanization of the societal landscape and the beings inhabiting it, similar to a course charted by Henry David Thoreau in Walden, while also optimistically suggesting that animal/human ‘nature’ can still survive through aesthetic and ideological compromise and creative genius. Anderson creates a brand of ideological pastoralism to match the aesthetic pastoralism/picturesque of many of his film worlds. While the anxiety portrayed in his earlier films remains, it is somewhat defused by an anarchic yet collaborative spirit.Less
This chapter analyses the ideological framework of Wes Anderson’s Fantastic Mr. Fox, an adaptation of Roald Dahl’s beloved children’s book. This film addresses various Romantic conceptions of childhood, personal and cultural history, and the natural world in relation to the self and subjectivity. In his reimagining of Dahl’s story, Anderson exhibits a disdain for the mechanization of the societal landscape and the beings inhabiting it, similar to a course charted by Henry David Thoreau in Walden, while also optimistically suggesting that animal/human ‘nature’ can still survive through aesthetic and ideological compromise and creative genius. Anderson creates a brand of ideological pastoralism to match the aesthetic pastoralism/picturesque of many of his film worlds. While the anxiety portrayed in his earlier films remains, it is somewhat defused by an anarchic yet collaborative spirit.
Brett M. Rogers and Benjamin Eldon Stevens (eds)
- Published in print:
- 2017
- Published Online:
- February 2017
- ISBN:
- 9780190610050
- eISBN:
- 9780190610081
- Item type:
- book
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780190610050.001.0001
- Subject:
- Classical Studies, Literary Studies: Classical, Early, and Medieval, Poetry and Poets: Classical, Early, and Medieval
Classical Traditions in Modern Fantasy is the first collection of essays in English focusing on how fantasy draws deeply on ancient Greek and Roman myth, philosophy, literature, history, art, and ...
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Classical Traditions in Modern Fantasy is the first collection of essays in English focusing on how fantasy draws deeply on ancient Greek and Roman myth, philosophy, literature, history, art, and cult practice. Presenting 15 all-new essays intended for both scholars and other readers of fantasy, this volume explores many of the most significant examples of the modern genre—including the works of H. P. Lovecraft, J. R. R. Tolkien’s The Hobbit, C. S. Lewis’s Chronicles of Narnia, J. K. Rowling’s Harry Potter series, George R. R. Martin’s Game of Thrones series, and more—in relation to important ancient texts such as Aeschylus’ Oresteia, Aristotle’s Poetics, Virgil’s Aeneid, and Apuleius’ The Golden Ass. These varied studies raise fascinating questions about genre, literary and artistic histories, and the suspension of disbelief required not only of readers of fantasy but also of students of antiquity. Ranging from harpies to hobbits, from Cyclopes to Cthulhu, the comparative study of Classics and fantasy reveals deep similarities between ancient and modern ways of imagining the world. Although antiquity and the present day differ in many ways, at its base, ancient literature resonates deeply with modern fantasy's image of worlds in flux and bodies in motion.Less
Classical Traditions in Modern Fantasy is the first collection of essays in English focusing on how fantasy draws deeply on ancient Greek and Roman myth, philosophy, literature, history, art, and cult practice. Presenting 15 all-new essays intended for both scholars and other readers of fantasy, this volume explores many of the most significant examples of the modern genre—including the works of H. P. Lovecraft, J. R. R. Tolkien’s The Hobbit, C. S. Lewis’s Chronicles of Narnia, J. K. Rowling’s Harry Potter series, George R. R. Martin’s Game of Thrones series, and more—in relation to important ancient texts such as Aeschylus’ Oresteia, Aristotle’s Poetics, Virgil’s Aeneid, and Apuleius’ The Golden Ass. These varied studies raise fascinating questions about genre, literary and artistic histories, and the suspension of disbelief required not only of readers of fantasy but also of students of antiquity. Ranging from harpies to hobbits, from Cyclopes to Cthulhu, the comparative study of Classics and fantasy reveals deep similarities between ancient and modern ways of imagining the world. Although antiquity and the present day differ in many ways, at its base, ancient literature resonates deeply with modern fantasy's image of worlds in flux and bodies in motion.
Stephen Teo
- Published in print:
- 2006
- Published Online:
- September 2011
- ISBN:
- 9789622098152
- eISBN:
- 9789882207110
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Hong Kong University Press
- DOI:
- 10.5790/hongkong/9789622098152.003.0006
- Subject:
- Film, Television and Radio, Film
This chapter focuses on the final Zen climax and its psychic inferences. In the aftermath of the Battle of the Haunted Mansion, the film moves on to its fantastic-marvelous phase. The final section ...
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This chapter focuses on the final Zen climax and its psychic inferences. In the aftermath of the Battle of the Haunted Mansion, the film moves on to its fantastic-marvelous phase. The final section of the film goes on to show Yang Huizhen's fulfillment of her other mission — to continue the Gu family line by giving birth to Gu's baby before she can finally withdraw from the world to achieve transcendence. However, just before the film reaches its Zen finale, she is recalled into action in the final climactic battle scenes, suggesting that her xia nü role, pre-given her by the cosmic spider, is unfinished. The Zen subject is an artistic paradox that befits the Jungian idea of wholeness. The film is a carefully designed work of art. It is a sentient art object that comes from the singular mind of King Hu.Less
This chapter focuses on the final Zen climax and its psychic inferences. In the aftermath of the Battle of the Haunted Mansion, the film moves on to its fantastic-marvelous phase. The final section of the film goes on to show Yang Huizhen's fulfillment of her other mission — to continue the Gu family line by giving birth to Gu's baby before she can finally withdraw from the world to achieve transcendence. However, just before the film reaches its Zen finale, she is recalled into action in the final climactic battle scenes, suggesting that her xia nü role, pre-given her by the cosmic spider, is unfinished. The Zen subject is an artistic paradox that befits the Jungian idea of wholeness. The film is a carefully designed work of art. It is a sentient art object that comes from the singular mind of King Hu.
Enrique Ajuria Ibarra
- Published in print:
- 2019
- Published Online:
- May 2020
- ISBN:
- 9781474440929
- eISBN:
- 9781474477024
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Edinburgh University Press
- DOI:
- 10.3366/edinburgh/9781474440929.003.0019
- Subject:
- Literature, Criticism/Theory
Recently, scholarly criticism has acknowledged the presence of the Gothic in Latin America, which should be distinguished from magic realism and the fantastic. Latin American Gothic evinces regional, ...
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Recently, scholarly criticism has acknowledged the presence of the Gothic in Latin America, which should be distinguished from magic realism and the fantastic. Latin American Gothic evinces regional, tropicalised and hybridised nuances that not only adapt the mode to specific cultural and regional anxieties, but also have helped coin terms such as ‘Tropical Gothic’. On the other hand, Guillermo delToro’s popularity has brought attention to Latin American Gothic horror in twenty-first-century visual media and how it address issues of identity, folklore and haunting. This chapter analyses the appropriation of Gothic motifs in the films Somos lo que hay (We are What We Are, 2010), La casa muda(The Silent House, 2010) and Juan de losmuertos(Juan of the Dead, 2011). It explores Tropical Gothic, medicine and faith in the TV series Niño santo (2011–14) and reviews the #CharlieCharlieChallenge trending topic on social media as an everyday Gothic experience.Less
Recently, scholarly criticism has acknowledged the presence of the Gothic in Latin America, which should be distinguished from magic realism and the fantastic. Latin American Gothic evinces regional, tropicalised and hybridised nuances that not only adapt the mode to specific cultural and regional anxieties, but also have helped coin terms such as ‘Tropical Gothic’. On the other hand, Guillermo delToro’s popularity has brought attention to Latin American Gothic horror in twenty-first-century visual media and how it address issues of identity, folklore and haunting. This chapter analyses the appropriation of Gothic motifs in the films Somos lo que hay (We are What We Are, 2010), La casa muda(The Silent House, 2010) and Juan de losmuertos(Juan of the Dead, 2011). It explores Tropical Gothic, medicine and faith in the TV series Niño santo (2011–14) and reviews the #CharlieCharlieChallenge trending topic on social media as an everyday Gothic experience.
Neil Cornwell
- Published in print:
- 2006
- Published Online:
- July 2012
- ISBN:
- 9780719074097
- eISBN:
- 9781781700969
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Manchester University Press
- DOI:
- 10.7228/manchester/9780719074097.003.0007
- Subject:
- Literature, European Literature
This chapter explores Franz Kafka, who has been universally considered as a staple of absurdism. It observes that there are a number of absurdists, proto-absurdists and supposed absurdists who seem ...
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This chapter explores Franz Kafka, who has been universally considered as a staple of absurdism. It observes that there are a number of absurdists, proto-absurdists and supposed absurdists who seem to have been at the head of the anticipation, promotion and reinvigoration of the spirit of Kafka. The chapter then studies Kafka's relations with, and influence on, other writers, ending with a section on the concept of ‘bureaucratic fantastic’, as personified in Kafka's works. It notes that Kafka was an exponent not only of stories and novels, but also of fragments, diaries, aphorisms and letters.Less
This chapter explores Franz Kafka, who has been universally considered as a staple of absurdism. It observes that there are a number of absurdists, proto-absurdists and supposed absurdists who seem to have been at the head of the anticipation, promotion and reinvigoration of the spirit of Kafka. The chapter then studies Kafka's relations with, and influence on, other writers, ending with a section on the concept of ‘bureaucratic fantastic’, as personified in Kafka's works. It notes that Kafka was an exponent not only of stories and novels, but also of fragments, diaries, aphorisms and letters.
Monica Germanà
- Published in print:
- 2010
- Published Online:
- March 2012
- ISBN:
- 9780748637645
- eISBN:
- 9780748652259
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Edinburgh University Press
- DOI:
- 10.3366/edinburgh/9780748637645.003.0002
- Subject:
- Literature, Women's Literature
This chapter analyses the issues of quests and other worlds in the contemporary fantastic writings of Scottish women, explaining that magical journeys to other worlds embody the metaphor of border ...
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This chapter analyses the issues of quests and other worlds in the contemporary fantastic writings of Scottish women, explaining that magical journeys to other worlds embody the metaphor of border crossing and the overcoming of familiar thresholds to explore the ‘other’. It describes the deconstructive function the journey and the other world perform in relation to stable notions of identity and ontology. The chapter examines the complex trajectories traced by the most eminently fantastic texts of Margaret Elphinstone's The Incomer and Alison Fell's The Mistress of Lilliput.Less
This chapter analyses the issues of quests and other worlds in the contemporary fantastic writings of Scottish women, explaining that magical journeys to other worlds embody the metaphor of border crossing and the overcoming of familiar thresholds to explore the ‘other’. It describes the deconstructive function the journey and the other world perform in relation to stable notions of identity and ontology. The chapter examines the complex trajectories traced by the most eminently fantastic texts of Margaret Elphinstone's The Incomer and Alison Fell's The Mistress of Lilliput.
Monica Germanà
- Published in print:
- 2010
- Published Online:
- March 2012
- ISBN:
- 9780748637645
- eISBN:
- 9780748652259
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Edinburgh University Press
- DOI:
- 10.3366/edinburgh/9780748637645.003.0003
- Subject:
- Literature, Women's Literature
This chapter focuses on the topic of witches in contemporary fantastic writings of Scottish women. It analyses Ellen Galford's Queendom Come, Alice Thompson's Pandora's Box and Ali Smith's The ...
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This chapter focuses on the topic of witches in contemporary fantastic writings of Scottish women. It analyses Ellen Galford's Queendom Come, Alice Thompson's Pandora's Box and Ali Smith's The Accidental. The chapter suggests that the witch in these works is a simultaneous embodiment of female marginalisation and feminist subversion, and that the dangerous woman characters challenge binary oppositions between gender and the established hierarchical order.Less
This chapter focuses on the topic of witches in contemporary fantastic writings of Scottish women. It analyses Ellen Galford's Queendom Come, Alice Thompson's Pandora's Box and Ali Smith's The Accidental. The chapter suggests that the witch in these works is a simultaneous embodiment of female marginalisation and feminist subversion, and that the dangerous woman characters challenge binary oppositions between gender and the established hierarchical order.
Monica Germanà
- Published in print:
- 2010
- Published Online:
- March 2012
- ISBN:
- 9780748637645
- eISBN:
- 9780748652259
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Edinburgh University Press
- DOI:
- 10.3366/edinburgh/9780748637645.003.0004
- Subject:
- Literature, Women's Literature
This chapter explores the double motif, a thematic area deployed to express the self/other dichotomy and the interrogation of binary oppositions in the fantastic writings of Scottish women. It offers ...
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This chapter explores the double motif, a thematic area deployed to express the self/other dichotomy and the interrogation of binary oppositions in the fantastic writings of Scottish women. It offers an interpretation of Alison Fell's The Bad Box, Emma Tennant's The Bad Sister and Sian Hayton's The Governors. The chapter argues that doppelgänger in these works prompted the interrogation of gender categories while exposing the schizoid divisions within the female psyche.Less
This chapter explores the double motif, a thematic area deployed to express the self/other dichotomy and the interrogation of binary oppositions in the fantastic writings of Scottish women. It offers an interpretation of Alison Fell's The Bad Box, Emma Tennant's The Bad Sister and Sian Hayton's The Governors. The chapter argues that doppelgänger in these works prompted the interrogation of gender categories while exposing the schizoid divisions within the female psyche.
Monica Germanà
- Published in print:
- 2010
- Published Online:
- March 2012
- ISBN:
- 9780748637645
- eISBN:
- 9780748652259
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Edinburgh University Press
- DOI:
- 10.3366/edinburgh/9780748637645.003.0005
- Subject:
- Literature, Women's Literature
This chapter considers the revenant motif in fantastic writings of Scottish women. It explains that this motif serves as the paradoxical site of theoretical discourses about corporeality and ...
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This chapter considers the revenant motif in fantastic writings of Scottish women. It explains that this motif serves as the paradoxical site of theoretical discourses about corporeality and ethereality, life and death, and seen and unseen. The chapter offers an interpretation of Elspeth Barker's O Caledonia, A.L. Kennedy's So I Am Glad and Ali Smith's Hotel World, suggesting that the ghost in twentieth-century writings signifies the overcoming of structuralist dualism.Less
This chapter considers the revenant motif in fantastic writings of Scottish women. It explains that this motif serves as the paradoxical site of theoretical discourses about corporeality and ethereality, life and death, and seen and unseen. The chapter offers an interpretation of Elspeth Barker's O Caledonia, A.L. Kennedy's So I Am Glad and Ali Smith's Hotel World, suggesting that the ghost in twentieth-century writings signifies the overcoming of structuralist dualism.
Monica Germanà
- Published in print:
- 2010
- Published Online:
- March 2012
- ISBN:
- 9780748637645
- eISBN:
- 9780748652259
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Edinburgh University Press
- DOI:
- 10.3366/edinburgh/9780748637645.003.0006
- Subject:
- Literature, Women's Literature
This concluding chapter sums up the key findings of this study on the contemporary fantastic writings of Scottish women. The findings reveal the fragility of rigid parameters of thinking and ...
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This concluding chapter sums up the key findings of this study on the contemporary fantastic writings of Scottish women. The findings reveal the fragility of rigid parameters of thinking and highlight the possible shift to the right in politics across Europe. The analysis of the notions of three kinds of otherness explored in the book also raised further questions about the future of the ‘others’ and the aftermath of postmodernism in a post-feminist, globalised twenty-first century.Less
This concluding chapter sums up the key findings of this study on the contemporary fantastic writings of Scottish women. The findings reveal the fragility of rigid parameters of thinking and highlight the possible shift to the right in politics across Europe. The analysis of the notions of three kinds of otherness explored in the book also raised further questions about the future of the ‘others’ and the aftermath of postmodernism in a post-feminist, globalised twenty-first century.
