Pop Culture Criticism
Thanks to Anthony Bourdain's A Krampus Carol, and appearances on the smash television series The Supernatural, GRIMM, and NCIS, Europe's hairy, horned folklore figure is fast becoming an American pop culture phenomenon. Last Gasp and Monte Beauchamp's Creepy Krampus Coloring Book delivers a diverse collection of rare, century-old artwork from Krampus' very own vault, offering you the opportunity to apply an array of coloring mediums-crayons, pencils, markers, and gel pens for the line drawings, and watercolor for those shaded in gray. Both beginner and skilled colorist alike will have hours of CRAZY FUN imbuing these long-lost Krampus images with many combinations of hues.
This timely book, Timothy Leary's "cyberpunk manifesto," is his future-vision of the emergence of a new humanism with an emphasis on questioning authority, independent thinking, individual creativity, and empowerment via computers and brain technologies. Cyberpunks brings together some of Leary's most provocative writings, along with selections from interviews and conversations with a variety of writers and thinkers. Individual chapters include "How I Became an Amphibian," "Personal Computers; Personal Freedom," and "Navigational Game Plane." "How to Boot Up Your Bio-Computer" typifies Leary's outrageous yet surprisingly grounded ideas, linking pagan, nature-based rituals with a "collective boot-up" of the brain through stimulation from certain natural plants. Together, these pieces describe a new breed of human being who embraces technology, uses it to revolutionize communication and evade and annoy Big Brother, while at the same time achieving personal success, attaining political power, and above all, having fun.
From his debut in a six-page comic in 1939 and to his most recent portrayal by Christian Bale in the blockbuster The Dark Knight Rises, Batman is perhaps the world's most popular superhero. The continued relevance of the caped crusader could be attributed to his complex character, his dual identity, or his commitment to revenge and justice. But, as the contributors to this collection argue, it is the fans who, with the patience of Alfred, the loyalty of Commissioner Gordon, and the unbridled enthusiasm of Robin, have kept Batman at the forefront of popular culture for more than seven decades.
Fan Phenomena: Batman explores the unlikely devotion to the Dark Knight, from his inauspicious beginnings on the comic book page to the cult television series of the 1960s and on to critically-acclaimed films and video games of today. Considering everything from convention cosplay to fan fiction that imagines the Joker as a romantic lead, the essays here acknowledge and celebrate fan responses that go far beyond the scope of the source material. And, the contributors contend, despite occasional dips in popularity, Batman's sustained presence in popular culture for more than seventy years is thanks in no small part to his fans' ardor.
Packed with revealing interviews from all corners of the fan spectrum--including Paul Levitz, who rose through the ranks of fan culture to become the president of DC Comics, and Michael Uslan, who has executive produced every Batman adaptation since Tim Burton's blockbuster in 1989, as well as film reviewers, academics, movie buffs, comic store clerks, and costume-clad convention attendees--this book is sure to be a bestseller in Gotham City, as well as everywhere Bruce Wayne's alter ego continues to intrigue and inspire.
Fan Phenomena: Batman explores the unlikely devotion to the Dark Knight, from his inauspicious beginnings on the comic book page to the cult television series of the 1960s and on to critically-acclaimed films and video games of today. Considering everything from convention cosplay to fan fiction that imagines the Joker as a romantic lead, the essays here acknowledge and celebrate fan responses that go far beyond the scope of the source material. And, the contributors contend, despite occasional dips in popularity, Batman's sustained presence in popular culture for more than seventy years is thanks in no small part to his fans' ardor.
Packed with revealing interviews from all corners of the fan spectrum--including Paul Levitz, who rose through the ranks of fan culture to become the president of DC Comics, and Michael Uslan, who has executive produced every Batman adaptation since Tim Burton's blockbuster in 1989, as well as film reviewers, academics, movie buffs, comic store clerks, and costume-clad convention attendees--this book is sure to be a bestseller in Gotham City, as well as everywhere Bruce Wayne's alter ego continues to intrigue and inspire.
Since its premiere in November 1963, the classic British television program Doctor Who has been a cornerstone of popular culture for half a century. From the earliest "Exterminate!" to the recent "Allons-y!," from the white-haired grandfather to the wide-grinned youth, the show has depicted the adventures of a time-traveling, dual-hearted, quick-witted, and multi-faced hero as he battles Daleks, Cybermen, Sontarans, and all manner of nasties. And, like its main character, who can regenerate his body and change his appearance, Doctor Who fandom has developed and changed significantly in the fifty years since its inception.
In this engaging and insightful collection, fans and scholars from around the globe explore fan fiction, fan videos, and fan knitting, as well as the creation of new languages. As multifaceted as the character himself, Doctor Who fans come in many forms, and this book investigates thoroughly the multitude of fandoms, fan works, and fan discussions about this always-surprising and energetic program.
Featuring full color images of fan work and discussions of both classic and New Who fandom, this book takes reader on a journey of discovery into one of the largest worldwide fan audiences that has ever existed. Thoughtful, insightful, and readable, this is one of only a few--and certainly one of the best--guides to Doctor Who fan culture and is certain to appeal to the show's many ardent fans across the globe.
In this engaging and insightful collection, fans and scholars from around the globe explore fan fiction, fan videos, and fan knitting, as well as the creation of new languages. As multifaceted as the character himself, Doctor Who fans come in many forms, and this book investigates thoroughly the multitude of fandoms, fan works, and fan discussions about this always-surprising and energetic program.
Featuring full color images of fan work and discussions of both classic and New Who fandom, this book takes reader on a journey of discovery into one of the largest worldwide fan audiences that has ever existed. Thoughtful, insightful, and readable, this is one of only a few--and certainly one of the best--guides to Doctor Who fan culture and is certain to appeal to the show's many ardent fans across the globe.
Nearly two hundred years after her death, Jane Austen is one of the most widely read and beloved English novelists of any era. Writing and publishing anonymously during her lifetime, the woman responsible for some of the most enduring characters (and couples) of modern romantic literature--including Elizabeth Bennett and Mr. Darcy, Emma Woodhouse and George Knightley--was credited only as "A Lady" on the title pages of her novels.
It was not until her nephew published a memoir of his "dear Aunt Jane" more than five decades after her death that she became widely known. From then on, her fame only grew, and fans and devotees, so-called Janeites, soon obsessed over and idolized her. Austen soon found an appreciative audience not only of readers but also of academics, whose scholarship legitimated and secured her place in the canon of Western literature. Today, Austen's work is still assigned in courses, obsessed over by readers young and old, parodied and parroted, and adapted for films.
Were she alive today, Austen might not recognize some of the work her novels have inspired, such as a retelling of Sense and Sensibility featuring sea monsters, Internet fan fiction, or a twelve-foot statue of a wet-shirted Colin Firth as Mr. Darcy depicting a scene that doesn't even appear in her novel. But like any great art that endures and excites long after it is made, Austen's novels are inextricable from the culture they have created. Essential reading for Austen's legions of admirers, Fan Phenomena: Jane Austen collects essays from writers and critics that consider the culture surrounding Austen's novels.
It was not until her nephew published a memoir of his "dear Aunt Jane" more than five decades after her death that she became widely known. From then on, her fame only grew, and fans and devotees, so-called Janeites, soon obsessed over and idolized her. Austen soon found an appreciative audience not only of readers but also of academics, whose scholarship legitimated and secured her place in the canon of Western literature. Today, Austen's work is still assigned in courses, obsessed over by readers young and old, parodied and parroted, and adapted for films.
Were she alive today, Austen might not recognize some of the work her novels have inspired, such as a retelling of Sense and Sensibility featuring sea monsters, Internet fan fiction, or a twelve-foot statue of a wet-shirted Colin Firth as Mr. Darcy depicting a scene that doesn't even appear in her novel. But like any great art that endures and excites long after it is made, Austen's novels are inextricable from the culture they have created. Essential reading for Austen's legions of admirers, Fan Phenomena: Jane Austen collects essays from writers and critics that consider the culture surrounding Austen's novels.
In October 2012, the Walt Disney Company paid more than $4 billion to acquire Lucasfilms, the film and production company responsible for Howard the Duck. But Disney, despite its history and success with duck characters, wasn't after Howard; in buying Lucasfilms, it also bought the rights to the Star Wars franchise. Soon after the purchase, Disney announced a new Star Wars film was in the works and would be released in 2015, nearly four decades after the first movie hit big screens around the world and changed popular culture forever.
The continued relevance of Star Wars owes much to the passion of its fans. For millions of people around the world, the films are more than diversions--they are a way of life. Through costumed role-playing, incessant quoting, Yoda-like grammatical inversions, and scholarly debates about the Force, fans keep the films alive in a variety of ways, and in so doing, add to the saga's cultural relevance. The first book to address the films holistically and from a variety of cultural perspectives, Fan Phenomena: Star Wars explores numerous aspects of Star Wars fandom, from its characters to its philosophy. As one contributor notes, "the saga that George Lucas created affects our lives almost daily, whether we ourselves are fans of the saga or not." Anyone who is struggling to forget Jar Jar Binks can certainly agree to that.
Academically informed but written for a general audience, this book will appeal to every fan and critic of the films. That is, all of us.
The continued relevance of Star Wars owes much to the passion of its fans. For millions of people around the world, the films are more than diversions--they are a way of life. Through costumed role-playing, incessant quoting, Yoda-like grammatical inversions, and scholarly debates about the Force, fans keep the films alive in a variety of ways, and in so doing, add to the saga's cultural relevance. The first book to address the films holistically and from a variety of cultural perspectives, Fan Phenomena: Star Wars explores numerous aspects of Star Wars fandom, from its characters to its philosophy. As one contributor notes, "the saga that George Lucas created affects our lives almost daily, whether we ourselves are fans of the saga or not." Anyone who is struggling to forget Jar Jar Binks can certainly agree to that.
Academically informed but written for a general audience, this book will appeal to every fan and critic of the films. That is, all of us.
From box office flop to one of the most successful cult films of all time, The Big Lebowski has spawned a multicity festival, college-level courses, and its own religion. Fans of the Coen brothers' masterful dark comedy (collectively calling themselves "Achievers"--and proud we are of all of them) gather in movie theaters and bowling alleys across the county to quote along with the film, imbibe white russians, and admire the Dude's rug (which really tied the room together). Fan Phenomena: The Big Lebowski examines how this quirky movie evolved from its underwhelming debut to attract a mass following on par with that of The Rocky Horror Picture Show. Contributors take a close look at the film's phenomenal impact on popular culture and language and examine the script's rich philosophical implications, whether it is the nihilism within the film itself or the Dudeism that Jeff Bridges's God-like character has bred (the "Church of the Latter-Day Dude" has attracted more than 70,000 official adherents through its online ordination process). Covering issues concerning gender and sexuality within the film, such as Maude's feminist art and Jackie Treehorn's Malibu garden party, the essays here also explore the gender divides the film has created in today's society, such as male versus female fandom rivalry at festivals. These gatherings--part costume contest, part bowling tournament, part trivia contest, part fan meet-up--have, since their debut in Louisville, KY, in 2002, sprung up all around America and have even expanded globally, and the book takes an inside look at these events and includes interviews with Lebowski festival organizers and authors of other fan books and academic treatises. In all, these essays are an essential companion for one of the greatest films ever made, in the parlance of our times.
Few if any books come close to being as beloved--or as ubiquitous--as J. R. R. Tolkien's The Lord of the Rings trilogy. Best-sellers for decades, they became even more popular on the heels of Peter Jackson's Oscar-winning film adaptations. And throughout, fans have not only read the books, they've engaged with them, building one of the most active and creative fan communities in the world. This entry in the Fan Phenomena series offers the best look we've had yet at the fan culture surrounding The Lord of the Rings. Academically informed, but written for the general reader, the book delves into such topics as the philosophy of the series and its fans, the distinctions between the films' fans and the books' fans, the process of adaptation, the role of New Zealand in the translation of words to images (and the resulting Lord of the Rings tourism), and much, much more. Lavishly illustrated, it is guaranteed to appeal to anyone who has ever closed the last page of The Return of the King and wished the journey didn't have to end.
David Lynch and Mark Frost's television series Twin Peaks debuted in April 1990 and by June of 1991 had been cancelled. Yet the impact of this surreal, unsettling show--ostensibly about the search for homecoming queen Laura Palmer's killer--is far larger than its short run might indicate. A forerunner of the moody, disjointed, cinematic television shows that are commonplace today, Twin Peaks left a lasting impression, and nowhere is that more clear than in the devotion of its legions of loyal fans. Fan Phenomena: Twin Peaks is the first book of its kind to revisit Lynch and Frost's groundbreaking series and explore how the show's cult status continues to thrive in the digital era. In ten essays, the contributors take a deeper look at Twin Peaks' rich cast of characters, iconic locations, and its profound impact on television programming, as well as the impact of new media and fan culture on the show's continued relevance. Written by fans for fans, Fan Phenomena: Twin Peaks is an intelligent yet accessible guide to the various aspects of the show and its subsequent film. Featuring commentary from both first generation and more recent followers, these essays capture the endlessly fascinating universe of Twin Peaks, from Audrey Horne's keen sense of style to Agent Cooper's dream psychology. The first non-academic collection that speaks to the show's fan base rather than a scholarly audience, this book is more approachable than previous Twin Peaks critical studies volumes and features color images of the series, film, and fan media. It will be welcomed by anyone seduced by the strangeness and camp of Lynch's seminal series.
The second full-color large-format sticker book of creepy and compelling Krampus scenes culled from early 20th-century postcards. Seventy-two striking, removable stickers that will delight good boys and girls and frighten the bad. In the early Christmas folklore of Europe, Krampus was St. Nikolaus' dark servant-a hairy, horned, supernatural beast whose pointed ears and long, slithering tongue gave misbehavers the creeps! Whereas St. Nickolaus would reward children who'd been good all year with small gifts and treats, those who had behaved badly were reprimanded by Krampus! A perfect stocking stuffer.