| The Monster Show: A Cultural History of Horror Revised Edition Contributor(s): Skal, David J. (Author) |
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ISBN: 0571199968 ISBN-13: 9780571199969 Publisher: Farrar, Straus and Giroux OUR PRICE: $18.90 Product Type: Paperback - Other Formats Published: October 2001 * Not available - Not in print at this time *Annotation: Illuminating the dark side of the American century, "The Monster Show" uncovers the surprising links between horror entertainment and the great social crises of our time, as well as horror's function as a pop analogue to surrealism and other artistic movements. With penetrating analyses and revealing anecdotes, David J. Skal chronicles one of our most popular and pervasive modes of cultural expression. He explores the disguised form in which Hollywood's classic horror movies played out the traumas of two world wars and the Depression; the nightmare visions of invasion and mind control catalyzed by the Cold War; the preoccupation with demon children that took hold as thalidomide, birth control, and abortion changed the reproductive landscape; the vogue in visceral, transformative special effects that paralleled the development of the plastic surgery industry; the link between the AIDS epidemic and the current fascination with vampires; and much more. Now with a new Afterword by the author that looks at horror's popular renaissance in the last decade, "The Monster Show" is a compulsively readable, thought-provoking inquiry into America's obsession with the macabre. |
| Additional Information |
| BISAC Categories: - Performing Arts | Film - History & Criticism - Social Science | Media Studies - Art | Popular Culture |
| Dewey: 791.436 |
| LCCN: 2002278460 |
| Physical Information: 1.2" H x 5.4" W x 8.3" (0.90 lbs) 448 pages |
| Descriptions, Reviews, Etc. |
| Publisher Description: Illuminating the dark side of the American century, The Monster Show uncovers the surprising links between horror entertainment and the great social crises of our time, as well as horror's function as a pop analogue to surrealism and other artistic movements. With penetrating analyses and revealing anecdotes, David J. Skal chronicles one of our most popular and pervasive modes of cultural expression. He explores the disguised form in which Hollywood's classic horror movies played out the traumas of two world wars and the Depression; the nightmare visions of invasion and mind control catalyzed by the Cold War; the preoccupation with demon children that took hold as thalidomide, birth control, and abortion changed the reproductive landscape; the vogue in visceral, transformative special effects that paralleled the development of the plastic surgery industry; the link between the AIDS epidemic and the current fascination with vampires; and much more. Now with a new Afterword by the author that looks at horror's popular renaissance in the last decade, The Monster Show is a compulsively readable, thought-provoking inquiry into America's obsession with the macabre. |
Contributor Bio(s): Skal, David J.: - David J. Skal is the author of numerous books on popular culture, including The Monster Show and Death Makes a Holiday. He is the co-editor of the Norton Critical Edition of Bram Stoker's Dracula. |