Horrific Humor and the Moment of Droll Grimness in Cinema

2017-12-06 Social Science

Author : John A. Dowell
Release : 2017-12-06
Genre : Social Science
Kind : eBook
Book Rating : 00X/5 ( reviews)

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Book Synopsis Horrific Humor and the Moment of Droll Grimness in Cinema by : John A. Dowell

Download or read book Horrific Humor and the Moment of Droll Grimness in Cinema written by John A. Dowell. This book was released on 2017-12-06. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: 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.

Horrific Humor and the Moment of Droll Grimness in Cinema

2017 Horror films

Author : John A. Dowell
Release : 2017
Genre : Horror films
Kind : eBook
Book Rating : 991/5 ( reviews)

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Book Synopsis Horrific Humor and the Moment of Droll Grimness in Cinema by : John A. Dowell

Download or read book Horrific Humor and the Moment of Droll Grimness in Cinema written by John A. Dowell. This book was released on 2017. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: 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.

Dead Funny

2023-07-14 Performing Arts

Author : David Gillota
Release : 2023-07-14
Genre : Performing Arts
Kind : eBook
Book Rating : 187/5 ( reviews)

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Book Synopsis Dead Funny by : David Gillota

Download or read book Dead Funny written by David Gillota. This book was released on 2023-07-14. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: 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

2023-10-02 Literary Criticism

Author : John R. Ziegler
Release : 2023-10-02
Genre : Literary Criticism
Kind : eBook
Book Rating : 418/5 ( reviews)

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Book Synopsis Transnational Zombie Cinema, 2010 to 2020 by : John R. Ziegler

Download or read book Transnational Zombie Cinema, 2010 to 2020 written by John R. Ziegler. This book was released on 2023-10-02. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: 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

2023-04-14 Performing Arts

Author : Justin Wigard
Release : 2023-04-14
Genre : Performing Arts
Kind : eBook
Book Rating : 107/5 ( reviews)

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Book Synopsis Attack of the New B Movies by : Justin Wigard

Download or read book Attack of the New B Movies written by Justin Wigard. This book was released on 2023-04-14. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: 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.

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