Possessed Women, Haunted States

Possessed Women, Haunted States PDF Author: Christopher J. Olson
Publisher: Lexington Books
ISBN: 1498519091
Category : Social Science
Languages : en
Pages : 217

Get Book Here

Book Description
Since the release of The Exorcist in 1973, there has been a surge of movies depicting young women becoming possessed by a demonic force that only male religious figures can exorcise, thereby saving the women from eventual damnation. This book considers this history of exorcism cinema by analyzing how the traditional exorcism narrative, established in The Exorcist, recurs across the exorcism subgenre to represent the effects of demonic possession and ritual exorcism. This traditional exorcism narrative often functions as the central plot of the exorcism film, with only the rare film deviating from this structure. The analysis presented in this book considers how exorcism films reflect, reinforce or challenge this traditional exorcism narrative. Using various cultural and critical theories, this book examines how representations of possession and exorcism reflect, reinforce or challenge prevailing social, cultural, and historical views of women, minorities, and homosexuals. In particular, exorcism films appear to explore tensions or fears regarding empowered and sexually active women, and frequently reinforce the belief that such individuals need to be subjugated and disempowered so that they no longer pose a threat to those around them. Even more recent films, produced after the emergence of third wave feminism, typically reflect this concern about women. Very rarely do exorcism films present empowered women and feminine sexuality as non-threatening. In examining this subgenre of horror films, this book looks at films that have not received much critical scrutiny regarding the messages they contain and how they relate to and comment upon the historical periods in which they were produced and initially received. Given the results of this analysis, this book concludes on the necessity to examine how possession and exorcism are portrayed in popular culture.

Possessed Women, Haunted States

Possessed Women, Haunted States PDF Author: Christopher J. Olson
Publisher: Lexington Books
ISBN: 1498519091
Category : Social Science
Languages : en
Pages : 217

Get Book Here

Book Description
Since the release of The Exorcist in 1973, there has been a surge of movies depicting young women becoming possessed by a demonic force that only male religious figures can exorcise, thereby saving the women from eventual damnation. This book considers this history of exorcism cinema by analyzing how the traditional exorcism narrative, established in The Exorcist, recurs across the exorcism subgenre to represent the effects of demonic possession and ritual exorcism. This traditional exorcism narrative often functions as the central plot of the exorcism film, with only the rare film deviating from this structure. The analysis presented in this book considers how exorcism films reflect, reinforce or challenge this traditional exorcism narrative. Using various cultural and critical theories, this book examines how representations of possession and exorcism reflect, reinforce or challenge prevailing social, cultural, and historical views of women, minorities, and homosexuals. In particular, exorcism films appear to explore tensions or fears regarding empowered and sexually active women, and frequently reinforce the belief that such individuals need to be subjugated and disempowered so that they no longer pose a threat to those around them. Even more recent films, produced after the emergence of third wave feminism, typically reflect this concern about women. Very rarely do exorcism films present empowered women and feminine sexuality as non-threatening. In examining this subgenre of horror films, this book looks at films that have not received much critical scrutiny regarding the messages they contain and how they relate to and comment upon the historical periods in which they were produced and initially received. Given the results of this analysis, this book concludes on the necessity to examine how possession and exorcism are portrayed in popular culture.

Possessed Women, Haunted States

Possessed Women, Haunted States PDF Author: Christopher J. Olson
Publisher:
ISBN: 9781498519083
Category : Exorcism in motion pictures
Languages : en
Pages : 0

Get Book Here

Book Description
Films depicting demoniacally possessed women who can only be saved by male religious figures through exorcism rituals have been produced and released around the world. This book considers the history of exorcism cinema and how such films reinforce or challenge the traditional exorcism narrative.

The Blaxploitation Horror Film

The Blaxploitation Horror Film PDF Author: Jamil Mustafa
Publisher: University of Wales Press
ISBN: 1786839989
Category : Fiction
Languages : en
Pages : 258

Get Book Here

Book Description
Key Selling Points: · This book is the first to focus upon Blaxploitation horror films, and the first to link these films with both mainstream horror films and classic Gothic novels and stories. · This book provides readers with innovative and thought-provoking analyses of Blaxploitation horror films, conventional horror films, and major works of Gothic fiction. · It considers how Blaxploitation horror films of the 1970s addressed issues of deep concern to their contemporary audiences, including not only racism and the Black Power movement, but also women’s and gay rights, the status of the African American family, the role of religion, and relations between the community and the police.

Normalizing Mental Illness and Neurodiversity in Entertainment Media

Normalizing Mental Illness and Neurodiversity in Entertainment Media PDF Author: Malynnda Johnson
Publisher: Taylor & Francis
ISBN: 1000377350
Category : Social Science
Languages : en
Pages : 216

Get Book Here

Book Description
This volume examines the shift toward positive and more accurate portrayals of mental illness in entertainment media, asking where these succeed and considering where more needs to be done. With studies that identify and analyze the characters, viewpoints, and experiences of mental illness across film and television, it considers the messages conveyed about mental illness and reflects on how the different texts reflect, reinforce, or challenge sociocultural notions regarding mental illness. Presenting chapters that explore a range of texts from film and television, covering a variety of mental health conditions, including autism, post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), depression, and more, this book will appeal to scholars of sociology, cultural and media studies, and mental health.

Blumhouse Productions

Blumhouse Productions PDF Author: Todd K. Platts
Publisher: University of Wales Press
ISBN: 1786838648
Category : Fiction
Languages : en
Pages : 302

Get Book Here

Book Description
Blumhouse Productions is the first book that systematically examines the corpus of Blumhouse’s cinematic output. Individual chapters written by emerging and established scholars consider thematic trends across Blumhouse films, such as the use of found footage, haunted bodies/haunted houses, and toxic masculinity. Blumhouse’s business strategies and funding model are considered – including the company’s high-profile franchises Paranormal Activity, Insidious, The Purge, Happy Death Day, and Halloween – alongside such key standalone films as Get Out and Black Christmas, and nonhorror films like BlackKklansman. Taken together, the chapters provide a thorough primer for one of the most significant drivers behind the contemporary resurgence of horror cinema.

Convergent Wrestling

Convergent Wrestling PDF Author: CarrieLynn Reinhard
Publisher: Routledge
ISBN: 1351233963
Category : Social Science
Languages : en
Pages : 303

Get Book Here

Book Description
This book examines how the current era of "convergence" has affected, and is reflected in, the world of professional wrestling, which combines several different genres, including drama, action, comedy, horror, science fiction, and even romance. Professional wrestling’s business practices exist at the intersection of bottom-up fan-centric strategies and strict top-down corporate control. Meanwhile, the wrestlers themselves combine aspects of carnival hucksters, actors/actresses, comedians, superheroes, martial artists, or stuntmen, and the narratives consist of everything from social critique to geopolitical allegories, and from soap opera melodramas to stereotyped exploitation. Bringing together the latest scholarship in the field, Convergent Wrestling analyzes various texts, business practices, and fan activities to explore the commonalities that define professional wrestling and consider how it exists in today’s new media ecology. In addition, the book considers the professional wrestling industry from several different angles, from massive multinational conglomerate World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE) to local indie federations. As such, it will appeal to scholars with interests in popular culture, media and cultural studies, and fan practices.

100 Greatest Cult Films

100 Greatest Cult Films PDF Author: Christopher J. Olson
Publisher: Rowman & Littlefield
ISBN: 1442211040
Category : Performing Arts
Languages : en
Pages : 351

Get Book Here

Book Description
The term “cult film” may be difficult to define, but one thing is certain: A cult film is any movie that has developed a rabid following for one reason or another. From highly influential works of pop art like Eraserhead and Faster, Pussycat! Kill! Kill! to trash masterpieces such as Miami Connection and Fateful Findings, thousands of movies have earned recognition as cult classics over the years, and new movies rise to cult status every year. So how do viewers searching for the best or most important cult films decide where to start? In 100 Greatest Cult Films, Christopher J. Olson highlights the most provocative, intriguing, entertaining, and controversial films produced over the last century. The movies included here have either earned reputations as bona fide cult classics or have in some way impacted our understanding of cult cinema, often transcending traditional notions of “good” and “bad” while featuring memorable characters, unforgettably shocking scenes, and exceptionally quotable dialogue. With detailed arguments for why these films deserve to be considered among the greatest of all time, Olson provides readers fodder for debate and a jumping-off point for future watching. A thought-provoking and accessible look at dozens of cinematic “treasures,” this resource includes valuable information on the films, creators, and institutions that have shaped cult cinema. Ultimately, The 100 Greatest Cult Films offers readers—from casual cinephiles, film scholars, and avid fans alike—a chance to discover or re-discover some of the most memorable films of all time.

Mystery Science Theater 3000

Mystery Science Theater 3000 PDF Author: Matt Foy
Publisher: Rowman & Littlefield
ISBN: 1538173492
Category : Performing Arts
Languages : en
Pages : 183

Get Book Here

Book Description
A fun and fascinating deep dive for "devoted and loyal MST3K fans" (Library Journal) that reveals the impact and creation of the cult-hit television series Mystery Science Theater 3000. Few television shows can boast the long-term cult popularity and cultural influence of Mystery Science Theater 3000—or MST3K to its legions of devoted fans, known collectively as MSTies. Created by quirky standup comic Joel Hodgson and producer Jim Mallon, Mystery Science Theater 3000 was a low-budget and altogether unconventional comedy series about a man trapped in space and forced to watch the worst movies ever made alongside a pair of homemade, wisecracking robots named Tom Servo and Crow T. Robot. In Mystery Science Theater 3000: A Cultural History, Matt Foy and Christopher J. Olson explore the vast cultural influence of the cult television series, charting how the show’s aesthetics, style of humor, and distribution innovations heralded shifts in popular culture and media production and criticism. The show also engaged viewers in the do-it-yourself media subculture of the 1980s that blurred the lines between media producers and consumers and introduced the art of media “riffing” into popular culture. Beginning with the humble origins of MST3K, Foy and Olson dig into everything from the show’s journey across networks to the must-watch episodes. Also discussed are the endeavors of cast members after the show’s cancellation, including RiffTrax, Cinematic Titanic, and the Mads Are Back, as well as the show’s second life through a Kickstarter campaign and a Netflix revival. This is an essential guide to all things MST3K for fans both new and old.

Demons in the USA

Demons in the USA PDF Author: Michael E. Heyes
Publisher: Taylor & Francis
ISBN: 1040135226
Category : Religion
Languages : en
Pages : 263

Get Book Here

Book Description
Demons in the USA argues that the discourse on the demonic that developed in the nineteenth century continues to exert a powerful hold over the American spiritual imagination. The book begins by tracing the conservative Christian encounter with Spiritualism in the nineteenth century and the mode of thinking about the demonic which developed. As Spiritualism’s core principles reappeared in the New Age, Christian interlocutors once more drew on this "anti-Spiritualist" paradigm to condemn the movement. This condemnation is absorbed by and amplified through the film The Exorcist. The author considers how the success of the film disseminates the anti-Spiritualist paradigm in surprising ways, entangling it with entertainment, science, and politics such that it influences psychology, the Satanic Panic of the 1980s, and the contemporary QAnon movement. This entanglement points to the broader argument of the work: While we may wish to think of a film as "entertainment" (and thus, having no bearing on "reality") or demonic material as "religious" (and thus exempt from categories like "politics" or "science"), the truth is that categories are not so easily separated. The author contends that the need to enforce the boundaries of such categories (and the failure to do so) is a hallmark of the intellectual construct of modernity, and that those who believe in demons in the contemporary United States are surprisingly modern in their views. The book grounds the importance of media to the twentieth-and twenty-first- century religious experience, arguing that the United States of today would not be possible without The Exorcist and its products. Demons in the USA will be of particular interest to scholars dealing with religion in America, those with a focus on religion and film, or those involved with contemporary demonology.

Theology and Horror

Theology and Horror PDF Author: Brandon R. Grafius
Publisher: Lexington Books
ISBN: 1978707991
Category : Religion
Languages : en
Pages : 252

Get Book Here

Book Description
Scholars of religion have begun to explore horror and the monstrous, not only within the confines of the biblical text or the traditions of religion, but also as they proliferate into popular culture. This exploration emerges from what has long been present in horror: an engagement with the same questions that animate religious thought – questions about the nature of the divine, humanity's place in the universe, the distribution of justice, and what it means to live a good life, among many others. Such exploration often involves a theological conversation. Theology and Horror: Explorations of the Dark Religious Imagination pursues questions regarding non-physical realities, spaces where both divinity and horror dwell. Through an exploration of theology and horror, the contributors explore how questions of spirituality, divinity, and religious structures are raised, complicated, and even sometimes answered (at least partially) by works of horror.