Keith A. Spencer writes: ‘In both neoliberalism and superhero movies, politics and big political decisions happen because the elite (politicians or superpeople or supervillains) make them happen. Society is ruled over by benevolent philosopher-kings (plutocrats or superheroes both) who watch over us and aid only when needed’.¹ He furthers this conflation of individualism and neoliberalism in the superhero movie by claiming that ‘there will never be a superhero who originates from a robust democracy or an anarchist commune, because those societies don’t create individual

Conference: The Fates of Frankenstein 23-24 November 2018, Edinburgh Napier University, Edinburgh 2018 sees a flourishing crop of events commemorating, one way or another, the bicentenary of Frankenstein’s publication. The Fates of Frankenstein is a two-day conference about adaptations and appropriations of Shelley’s novel. The fate of Frankenstein and his monstrous creation has been to outlive their original context. Indeed, Frankenstein almost immediately escaped its book covers into Richard Brinsley Peake’s 1823 stage adaptation, Presumption; or, the Fate of Frankenstein. Two hund

It was a great pleasure to introduce James Whale's Frankenstein at the Bo'ness Hippodrome on Saturday 15th October as part of their Universal Monsters series, which is running in the weeks up to Halloween, and which is curated by Falkirk Community Trust's Arts Development Officer Alison Strauss. The Hippodrome is a wonderful cinema. It was restored only seven years ago to all its 1910's glory. Full of character, it's an intimate venue in which to watch both golden oldies and current blockbusters -- a building and a meeting place that the people of Bo'ness can be very proud of. A parti

In the run up to Halloween the Hippodrome will present three classic horror films directed by the legendary British director James Whale, each one introduced by a special guest from the Gothic studies staff at the University of Stirling.  The original and best ‘Frankenstein’ (1931), featuring a chilling Boris Karloff as the Monster kicks off the season on Saturday 15th October at 2.30pm.  Next up is ‘The Invisible Man’ (1933) Sunday 23rd October 2.30pm – the film that made Claude Rains a star despite only being visible at the end (spoiler alert!).  The season concludes with the fr

2018 marks the 200th anniversary of Mary Shelley’s novel Frankenstein. This edited volume is timed to celebrate its momentous impact throughout the world. The global reach of her “hideous progeny” has penetrated many disciplines including film, science, technology, the visual arts, and dance. The novel has been used to show how science has been culturally framed, even serving as a warning against GM crops with the label “Frankenfood.” Mary Shelley’s creation has been a watershed in the domains of science fiction and Gothic literature, by innovating new departures in genre and bri

‘Monster’ is a jointly allusive and ubiquitous term. For gothic scholars, what constitutes monstrosity is a vast and varied spectrum of physical abnormality, genetic hybridity, moral corruption, and everything in between. Yet for almost 200 years perceptions of the gothic monster in the popular imagination have been dominated by Mary Shelley and her life-creating doctor who has transcended literary boundaries to become a cultural icon in his own right. The task of re-analysing the gothic monster, both in conversation and contrast with Shelley’s creation, was that addressed by the ‘

Montillo, Roseanne. The Lady and Her Monsters: A Tale of Dissections, Real-life Dr. Frankensteins, and the Creation of Mary Shelley’s Masterpiece. New York: William Morrow, 2013. Mary Shelley was, of course, no stranger to death and its effects on the body. From a love affair begun beneath the shadow of her mother’s grave, to a husband who idolized suicide, and a friend who was the youngest physician to graduate from Edinburgh, she was a fitting cornerstone of one of the most infamous circles in English Literature. Her well-loved product of the Shelley circle’s ghost story contest,

“Young Adult Gothic” at Lancaster’s Litfest 17th October, 2012 The Gothic always features prominently at Lancaster’s annual literary festival, Litfest. The week-long festival features a series of workshops, lunchtime talks, lectures, readings and panel discussions, with Gothic titles and concerns often on the agenda. In addition to the usual variety of literary delights on offer, LitFest this year has been particularly interested in children’s fiction and have commissioned the young adult novella, Malkin Child by Livi Michael, to commemorate the four hundred year anniversary of

Bloody Poetry, a play by Howard Brenton, is to be broadcast on BBC Radio 4 on Saturday 20th October 2012, from 2:30-4:00 pm. Brenton’s play has been adapted for radio, directed and produced by Alison Hindell.  The play is set in Switzerland in1816.  By the shores of Lake Geneva, during a thunderstorm, Mary Wollstonecraft Godwin, along with future husband Percy Bysshe Shelley, her stepsister Claire Clairmont and Shelley's friend Lord Byron, come up with an intellectual contest that gives rise to the tale which was to become Mary Shelley's gothic masterpiece Frankenstein. The radio-drama sta

The Blessed Bay of Eleusis and the destination of the Sacred Way, Iera Odos (© Rarignac). Bordeaux, l’Aube, La Fête de l’Ascension, 2012 The Gothic and the Classic: The Road to Eleusis Arlanda, undoubtedly an admirably efficient airport, was overly full of unboarded passengers the day I set out from Stockholm to Eleusis via Milan.  Corralled by retractable belt barriers into an intestinally-inspired queue, I found myself squeezed into a knotted lump of technology-burdened passengers consisting of myself, ‘The Bad Seeds’, their companions, tour manager, and Nick Cave.  Amidst voyaging Swedes and assorted business persons, our little bolus of the indigestible seemed conspicuously tribal.  As we stood there awaiting processing, paperwork in hand, technology piled at our feet, I explained my mission to the manager.  With his concord, I sought out Cave’s: I wanted to interview them on the subject of Gothicity.  The carefully-groomed, authoritarian Mr. Cave was pleasant enough but refused to make any on-camera pronouncements on the subject of ‘Gothic’ or ‘goths’, seeming to view it, no doubt rightly, as a radioactive topic that could only get him into trouble.  Once he had declared Gothicity an out of bounds subject, none of his vassals would broach it, including those that already had.  Cave wished me success with the project and I contented myself with sharing travellers’ bonhomie.  So much for the business of the Gothic.  Arriving at Milan where Cave was to play, we wished ourselves mutual good luck and good-byes. Fellow traveller on my Gothic quest. (more…)