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Loading... The Monster Show: A Cultural History of Horror; Revised Edition with a New Afterword (original 1993; edition 2001)by David J. Skal
Work InformationThe Monster Show: A Cultural History of Horror; Revised Edition with a New Afterword by David J. Skal (1993)
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Sign up for LibraryThing to find out whether you'll like this book. No current Talk conversations about this book. If you love the horror genre , whether in literature or cinema, you got to read this book. ( ) I purchased this book many years ago. As with many in my library, it sat on my shelf just waiting for the right mood to strike. I wish I'd read it sooner. It provided a wealth of entertainment; the kind that more likely than not, wouldn't have entered your mind on its own. Now, it all seems so logical. David J. Skal examines the horror genre, not only through the connections of stage performances and video, but the history made through the complicated eras they grew and passed through. If you're a fan of horror on any level, you owe it to yourself to approach the genre from a cultural point of view. It won't dissappoint. My 2 Cents: I really got into this book while I was doing research for a film list that a friend of mine and I we watching. The thing I liked about it was that a) it took the genre seriously, but not too seriously (unlike most other genre critisisms that either repeat the terms "Kicked Ass" or "Sucked Nuts" or go way to indepth, past the point of being an enjoyable read.) Skal covers a nice range of films and topics that should make anyone interested in the genre happy. no reviews | add a review
Illuminating the dark side of the American century, this book 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.--From publisher description. No library descriptions found. |
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Google Books — Loading... GenresMelvil Decimal System (DDC)791The arts Recreational and performing arts Public performancesLC ClassificationRatingAverage:
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