Horrific Humor and the Moment of Droll Grimness in Cinema

Horrific Humor and the Moment of Droll Grimness in Cinema PDF

Author: John A. Dowell

Publisher:

Published: 2017

Total Pages: 198

ISBN-13: 9781498564991

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Horrific Humor and the Moment of Droll Grimness in Cinema explores the moment in audience reception where screams and laughter collide. Essays examinine the aesthetics and mechanics of the sLaughter moment, the impact of its frission of humor and horror on the viewer, and sLaughter's implications for the human condition more generally.

Horrific Humor and the Moment of Droll Grimness in Cinema

Horrific Humor and the Moment of Droll Grimness in Cinema PDF

Author: John A. Dowell

Publisher: Lexington Books

Published: 2017-12-06

Total Pages: 201

ISBN-13: 149856500X

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When evil clowns menace the screen, do we scream or laugh? When zombies converge to tear a victim limb from limb, do we cringe and hide our eyes, or shriek “What??! Play that again!!”? What about those instances when these seemingly opposite reactions happen at once? This is the phenomenon known as sLaughter. Horrific Humor and the Moment of Droll Grimness in Cinema: Sidesplitting sLaughter presents the first focused look at the moment in audience reception where screams and laughter collide. John A. Dowell and Cynthia J. Miller bring together twelve essays from an international collection of authors across the disciplines. The volume begins with an examination of the aesthetics and mechanics of the sLaughter moment, then moves closer to look at the impact of its awkward frission of humor and horror on the individual viewer, and finally, broadens its lens to explore sLaughter’s implications for the human condition more generally. The chapters discuss such box office hits such as A Clockwork Orange (1971), Fargo (1996), The Dark Knight (2008), and The Cabin in the Woods (2012), as well as cult classics such as The Toxic Avenger (1984) and Dead Snow (2009). Engaging and thought provoking, Horrific Humor and the Moment of Droll Grimness in Cinema will be of great interest to scholars of both humor and horror, as well as to those working in reception studies and fans of cult cinema.

Dead Funny

Dead Funny PDF

Author: David Gillota

Publisher: Rutgers University Press

Published: 2023-07-14

Total Pages: 296

ISBN-13: 1978834187

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Horror films strive to make audiences scream, but they also garner plenty of laughs. In fact, there is a long tradition of horror directors who are fluent in humor, from James Whale to John Landis to Jordan Peele. So how might horror and humor overlap more than we would expect? Dead Funny locates humor as a key element in the American horror film, one that is not merely used for extraneous “comic relief” moments but often serves to underscore major themes, intensify suspense, and disorient viewers. Each chapter focuses on a different comic style or device, from the use of funny monsters and scary clowns in movies like A Nightmare on Elm Street to the physical humor and slapstick in movies ranging from The Evil Dead to Final Destination. Along the way, humor scholar David Gillota explores how horror films employ parody, satire, and camp to comment on gender, sexuality, and racial politics. Covering everything from the grotesque body in Freaks to the comedy of awkwardness in Midsommar, this book shows how integral humor has been to the development of the American horror film over the past century.

Transnational Zombie Cinema, 2010 to 2020

Transnational Zombie Cinema, 2010 to 2020 PDF

Author: John R. Ziegler

Publisher: Rowman & Littlefield

Published: 2023-10-02

Total Pages: 293

ISBN-13: 1666903418

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Transnational Zombie Cinema, 2010 to 2020: Readings in a Mutating Tradition examines selected films produced outside the United States in the second decade of the millennial zombie renaissance. Ziegler analyzes how the films adapt the zombie myth to localized concerns as it circulates in post-Great Recession transnational zombie cinema.

Attack of the New B Movies

Attack of the New B Movies PDF

Author: Justin Wigard

Publisher: McFarland

Published: 2023-04-14

Total Pages: 285

ISBN-13: 1476648107

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Since its inception in 1992, the Sci-Fi Channel (later rebranded as SYFY) has aired more than 500 network-produced or commissioned films. Campy and prolific, the network churned out one low-budget film after another, finally finding its zenith in the 2013 release of Sharknado. With unpretentious charm and a hearty helping of commodified nostalgia, the Sharknado franchise briefly ruled the cultural consciousness and temporarily transformed SYFY's original films from cult fringe to appointment television. Naturally, the network followed up with a steady stream of sequels and spin-offs, including Lavalantula and its sequel, 2 Lava 2 Lantula! This collection of essays is the first to devote critical attention to SYFY's original film canon, both pre- and post-Sharknado. In addition to unpacking the cultural, historical and critical underpinnings of the monsters at the heart of SYFY's classic creature features, the contributors offer a variety of approaches to understanding and interrogating these films within the broader contexts of ecocriticism, monster theory, post-9/11 criticism, and neocolonialism. Providing a further entry point for future scholarship, an appendix details a thorough filmography of SYFY's original films from 1992 to 2022.

The Simpsons

The Simpsons PDF

Author: Moritz Fink

Publisher: Rowman & Littlefield

Published: 2019-06-19

Total Pages: 262

ISBN-13: 1538116170

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This book looks at The Simpsons place in the pop culture firmament, from inspirations like Mad magazine to its critical role in the renaissance of animated television. The author recounts the birth of the show, discusses its remarkable merchandising success, and examines the show’s popularity as the longest running episodic program in TV history.

The Tar Baby

The Tar Baby PDF

Author: Bryan Wagner

Publisher: Princeton University Press

Published: 2019-11-12

Total Pages: 280

ISBN-13: 0691196915

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Perhaps the best-known version of the tar baby story was published in 1880 by Joel Chandler Harris in Uncle Remus: His Songs and His Sayings, and popularized in Song of the South, the 1946 Disney movie. Other versions of the story, however, have surfaced in many other places throughout the world, including Nigeria, Brazil, Corsica, Jamaica, India, and the Philippines. The Tar Baby offers a fresh analysis of this deceptively simple story about a fox, a rabbit, and a doll made of tar and turpentine, tracing its history and its connections to slavery, colonialism, and global trade.

Comedy-Horror Films

Comedy-Horror Films PDF

Author:

Publisher:

Published: 2009

Total Pages:

ISBN-13:

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Fun and fright have long been partners in the cinema, dating back to the silent film era and progressing to the Scary Movie franchise and other recent releases. This guide takes a comprehensive look at the comedy-horror movie genre, from the earliest s.

I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings

I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings PDF

Author: Maya Angelou

Publisher: Random House

Published: 2010-07-21

Total Pages: 289

ISBN-13: 030747772X

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Here is a book as joyous and painful, as mysterious and memorable, as childhood itself. I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings captures the longing of lonely children, the brute insult of bigotry, and the wonder of words that can make the world right. Maya Angelou’s debut memoir is a modern American classic beloved worldwide. Sent by their mother to live with their devout, self-sufficient grandmother in a small Southern town, Maya and her brother, Bailey, endure the ache of abandonment and the prejudice of the local “powhitetrash.” At eight years old and back at her mother’s side in St. Louis, Maya is attacked by a man many times her age—and has to live with the consequences for a lifetime. Years later, in San Francisco, Maya learns that love for herself, the kindness of others, her own strong spirit, and the ideas of great authors (“I met and fell in love with William Shakespeare”) will allow her to be free instead of imprisoned. Poetic and powerful, I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings will touch hearts and change minds for as long as people read. “I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings liberates the reader into life simply because Maya Angelou confronts her own life with such a moving wonder, such a luminous dignity.”—James Baldwin From the Paperback edition.

The Laughing Dead

The Laughing Dead PDF

Author: Cynthia J. Miller

Publisher: Rowman & Littlefield

Published: 2016-05-20

Total Pages: 297

ISBN-13: 1442268336

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Hybrid films that straddle more than one genre are not unusual. But when seemingly incongruous genres are mashed together, such as horror and comedy, filmmakers often have to tread carefully to produce a cohesive, satisfying work. Though they date as far back as James Whale’s Bride of Frankenstein (1935), horror-comedies have only recently become popular attractions for movie goers. In The Laughing Dead: The Horror-Comedy Film from Bride of Frankenstein to Zombieland, editors Cynthia J. Miller and A. Bowdoin Van Riper have compiled essays on the comic undead that look at the subgenre from a variety of perspectives. Spanning virtually the entire sound era, this collection considers everything from classics like The Canterville Ghost to modern cult favorites like Shaun of the Dead. Other films discussed include Abbott and Costello Meet Frankenstein, Beetlejuice, Ghostbusters, House on Haunted Hill, ParaNorman, Scream, Vampire’s Kiss, and Zombieland. Contributors in this volume consider a wide array of comedic monster films—from heartwarming (The Book of Life) to pitch dark (The Fearless Vampire Killers) and even grotesque (Frankenhooker). The Laughing Dead will be of interest to scholars and fans of both horror and comedy films, as well as those interested in film history and, of course, the proliferation of the undead in popular culture.