Friedrich Nietzsche believed we are the monsters. I seem to be having bad luck with books lately, but the writing style just didnt connect with me. Victor sees the monster's point of view and agrees to create a mate for the monster. Petrocelli also calls an eyewitness, Mrs. Lorelle Henry, to the stand. Thanks to Poole's insights we see the ubiquity of the monster lurking in and around us. Consulting newspaper accounts, archival materials, personal papers, comic books, films, and oral histories, Poole adroitly illustrates how the creation of the monstrous "other" not only reflects society's fears but shapes actual historical behavior and becomes a cultural reminder of inhuman acts. It's also a great way of introducing the idea that you can use different lenses/ways of writing to introduce and discuss topics. Unless specifically stated in the review, I have purchased all books reviewed. In 2016, he wrote the Bram Stoker Finalist _In the Mountains of Madness: The Life and Extraordinary Afterlife of H.P. From Victorian-era mad scientists to modern-day serial killers. An excellent study for any student of history or media but also fun and accessible for any fan of monsters and the movies. But a third interpretive option exists. In some ways, this felt more like a book about racism and sexism on celluloid and in politics than a book about "Monsters." From Victorian-era mad scientists to modern-day serial killers , new monsters appear as American society evolves, paralleling fluctuating challenges to the cultural status quo. C. Christopher Smith is the founding editor of The Englewood Review of Books. He argues that our myth of conquering the monster has made us particularly inclined to turn other groups of human beings into monsters and to justify their oppression or domination. Howard Thurman Books An Introductory Reading Guide. They are manifestations of our society. Fall 2021 Most Anticipated Books for Christian Readers! Another problem for Steve is that James King, a young Black hood, is Steves co-defendant. Consulting newspaper accounts, archival materials, personal papers, comic books, films, and oral histories, Poole adroitly illustrates how the creation of the monstrous"other"not only reflects society's fears but shapes actual historical behavior and becomes a cultural reminder of inhuman acts.Monsters in America is now online at www.monstersinamerica.com. SparkNotes PLUS "The American past reads like something of a horror movie, maybe even a low-budget slasher. $18.74/subscription + tax, Save 25% Monsters in America is lively and entertaining throughout. It looks like WhatsApp is not installed on your phone. Michelangelo Biographies Best Books on the Renaissance Artist! Monsters In America challenges, enlightens, and, quite honestly, frightens in its prescient view of American history, . That's What She Read by From early American ghost stories to Jordan Peeles Get Out (2017), Scott Poole expertly tracks the importance of monsters and monstrosity in American culture. It is lively and engaging and well researched. In Virginia's sectional differences, what natural boundary marked the dividing line between the traditional thinkers and those desiring reforms to have greater representation? Produced by Johns Hopkins University Press in collaboration with The Sheridan Libraries. Marilynne Robinson 10 Freely Available Essays! He decides to make a movie about his experience. This book is quite well researched, makes a few interesting connections, and is very accessible. (Christopher James Blythe, Florida State University, (John W. Morehead, editor, www.TheoFantastique.com). Dorothy Moore, a cousin of Kings, testifies that King was with her at the time of the robbery. All affiliate income is used to support the blog. The scary tales found in the classic texts remind usno matter our nationality, ethnicity, or political persuasionthe monster is us. Steve is about to stand trial for felony homicide. I also think this could've used a second editor before being published as there are many typos and grammatical errors, as well as a few points that could've used some fact-checking. I often use this in my Freshman Writing courses to show that writing doesn't have to be boring. At times in the book a movie director is taken at his word, the reason for his film given authorial intent. W. Scott Poole. I had to read this for a class (one I wasn't too stoked about, if I'm being honest) and went into it with a pretty closed mind. You can find more scary stories from him on Twitter: @monstersamerica. 20% In her closing argument for the State, Petrocelli stresses the importance of the stolen cigarettes in proving who committed the crime. It was the first-ever Michael L. Printz Award recipient, an ALA Best Book, a Coretta Scott King Honor selection, and a National Book Award finalist. The fear of anything not considered normal or not well-understood e.g. You can find more scary stories from him on Twitter: @monstersamerica. Salem witches, frontier wilderness beasts, freak show oddities, alien invasions, Freddie Krueger. Mr. Pooles evidence is as intriguing as it is informative. Unfortunately, however, the writing just reads as super amateurish and unnatural--to the point where your brain feels exhausted after slogging through only a couple pages. Pooles excoriation of one homogenous grouping belies the essence of the problem which is our human nature. Eastern Orthodoxy Essential Books [A Reading List]. Free trial is available to new customers only. Thanks for creating a SparkNotes account! $18.74/subscription + tax, Save 25% An excellent history of the American obsession with monsters, Poole analyzes our religious and nationalist beliefs to see how we have dealt with the Other in our long, horrifying existence as a nation. Highly recommended." Jenn's Bookshelves "In Monsters in America, Scott Poole expertly weaves together folklore, media studies, and some of the more disturbing moments in American history to remind us of the vital roles monsters play in our culture. Continue to start your free trial. Monsters in America is an important contribution, and it will be enjoyed by literary and cultural historians alike. This item: Monsters in America: Our Historical Obsession with the Hideous and the Haunting by W. Scott Poole Paperback $34.99 The Monster Theory Reader by Jeffrey Andrew Weinstock Paperback $45.11 On Monsters: An Unnatural History of Our Worst Fears by Stephen T. Asma Paperback $28.95 What other items do customers buy after viewing this item? A.Slavery B.States' rights C.Internal improvements D.Westward expansion. Twelve Important Theology Books of 2021!!! Separated by significant eras in American history, a reader gets a clear picture of how the definition of a monster changes depending on the cultural and political events of an era. Bolden testifies that he bought cigarettes from Bobo Evans and that Evans told him about the robbery. The author explores American History and how people's fears and reactions to changes in society both affected and were affected by monsters in print and film. American history comes at us dripping with gore, victims lying scattered on the ground, eldritch moonlight revealing creeping horrors you never learned from your eighth grade history textbook. Yuckfest. In his comments on the 1931 "Frankenstein" W. Scott Poole, relates that the idea of the "abnormal brain" that Fritz grabs for Henry Frankenstein being the cause of the monster's murderous mentality being a reflection of the "scientific rascism" of the day. Poole's connection of the monster to American history is a kind of Creature Features meets American cultural history. SparkNotes Plus subscription is $4.99/month or $24.99/year as selected above. Fyodor Dostoevsky Download all his Novels as Free Ebooks !!! A lot of people gave it poor reviews, maybe because they didn't like what the author plainly demonstrated, that the real monsters in America are the Americans, mainly the white Americans. American history from the past to the present. Fall 2022 Most Anticipated Books for Christian Readers! In "Monstrous beginnings," the introductory chapter of "Monsters in America: Our Historical, Obsession with the Hideous and the Haunting" by W. Scott Poole, the author makes an argument, about how monsters were not only used as entertainment, but were also used as an excuse to, justify the offenses done to the Native Americans as well as the slaves brought from Africa by, the European settlers. Reprinted by permission. Human beings made him declare "war" by treating him like an enemy. For Professors: Exam Copies. Here's where you'll find important quotesfrom Monsterand explanations of them. Contact us Briggs establishes that the police had shown photos of King to Mrs. Henry before she picked him out of a lineup. Indeed, the reader may struggle as I did with the leaps Poole makes between monster movies and American social ills. In a nutshell, monsters for Poole are metaphors / stand-ins for whoever is loathed or feared in a certain historical context. It's no secret that America is a little messed up. The atheist taught that inflicting suffering while enjoying the process is human nature. I had trouble finding a consistent narrative in a book that talked about sea monsters, Bigfoot, Universal Movie Monsters, Freak-shows, and several other topics, and never spending enough time on any of them to feel like I was more informed after reading. A must read for fans of horror and monsters! Anne Bradstreet Poems Five of our Favorites by the Puritan Poet! Scott - For All Who Hunger - Feature Review, Mattix & Thomas, Eds - Christian Poetry in America Since, Copyright 2023 The Englewood Review of Books. Poole's examples are well-chosen and well-explicated. Monster presents through the obvious things, for example, krakens or werewolves. From our colonial past to the present, the monster in all its various forms has been a staple of American culture. He rightly frets over our technology which ineffectively obscures the divine and so Americans create vampire stories which take Gods place (59): Americans are still attempting to apprehend mystery in the midst of supernatural confusion (11). And I don't have to mention the meaning of all the zombie movies. By signing up you agree to our terms and privacy policy. The Theology of the Early Christians 10 Free Classics! Steve spends his time making movies about himself, often with Jerrys help. Monsters in America: Our Historical Obsession with the Hideous and the Haunting, Review, Title Page, Copyright, Dedication, Epigraph, Preface: With a Warning to the Unsuspecting Reader, Introduction: The Bloody Chords of Memory. If you don't see it, please check your spam folder. Stamped on American culture, the phrase brings to mind images of costumes, plastic masks, and parents holding the hands of little monsters as they collect candy calories. This was a great concept, but I struggled to even make it through the introduction. St. Augustine Best Books on His Life and Work, Holy Sonnets John Donne Complete Text. is available now and can be read on any device with the free Kindle app. Date. BUY . does a bang-up job of demonstrating how our culture helps us achieve some sort of understanding about our world and our lives. Poole's examples are well-chosen and well-explicated. as uncivilized people and even believed them to be monsters. Monsters in America (2nd ed.) Learn more how customers reviews work on Amazon, Baylor University Press (January 15, 2014). by Michelle | Nov 30, 2011 | Books Read in 2011, P Author | 0 comments, Title: Monsters in America: Our Historical Obsession with the Hideous and the Haunting, Monsters are not just fears of the individual psyche, historian Scott Poole explains, but are concoctions of the public imagination, reactions to cultural influences, social change, and historical events. Evil brutes exist inside and outside American neighborhoods. An interesting and accessible overview of the link between American history and the monsters that fascinate them. Thanks for exploring this SuperSummary Study Guide of "Monster" by Walter Dean Myers. (254) 710-3164. Filmmakers create celluloid illusions with that in mind. Your subscription will continue automatically once the free trial period is over. I hoped to expand my interaction in the genre, albeit from an American point of view. Honoring authors by not reading other reviews ahead of time, I anticipated simple engagement with monstrous intrigue of the horrendous and hideous. Please try again. OBrien gathers her papers and moves away, leaving Steve standing with outstretched arms. Project MUSE promotes the creation and dissemination of essential humanities and social science resources through collaboration with libraries, publishers, and scholars worldwide. "Rue Morgue" magazine called it "the best biography of H.P. These monsters are created by multiple aspects of society and give meaning to the culture as well. Petrocelli refers to the defendants as monsters in the community. She then calls two witnesses. Save over 50% with a SparkNotes PLUS Annual Plan! that Poole have used to describe the events of . Purchasing Bram Stoker Award finalist W. Scott Poole is the author of numerous books and articles on monsters and mayhem in popular culture. Poole seeks to undermine myths of American exceptionalism by locating monsters that he believes exist outside our psyche, in history. Picked up on a whim, I certainly got the expected analysis of horror movies as a way for Americans to understand and react to their culture, but the author also makes the (very strong and well supported) argument that far from being a way to understand the world around us, monsters are also used by those in power to crush those without under their heel while also ignoring and excusing the fact that they're doing so. It is not just about film and fiction, but the cultural events that mirrored the works on the screen and in our nightmares. Monsters in America. That being said, however, if you are a teacher who needs to get a class full of barely literate college freshmen to understand what it means to read / think about things in historical context, Poole's introduction, "The Bloody chords of Memory," is readable and accessible even for a group of resistant and vaguely engaged (at best) 18 year olds. Friday afternoon, July 17th & December, 5 months later. TO CANCEL YOUR SUBSCRIPTION AND AVOID BEING CHARGED, YOU MUST CANCEL BEFORE THE END OF THE FREE TRIAL PERIOD. for a customized plan. The book's unusual range is one of its contributions; its freshness of juxtaposition is another. Numerous scholars explore the cultural and political implications of monster and horror films for the times from which they emerge. Few scholars connect such implications across broader expanses of time to reveal how intrinsically monsters and the horrific have been bound up in the history of America. While I appreciate and agree with his argument that monsters are "real" because their effects on history / on people's lives have been real, I dislike his assumption that people in the past were the obvious victims of prejudice and misplaced fear and that they were not insightful or intelligent enough to realize what they were truly afraid of. We use cookies to ensure that we give you the best experience on our website. What is it that rumbles in the American unconscious that relates to the figures we see on the screen. Even fewer scholars do so as adeptly and as entertainingly as W. Scott Poole. After Steve testifies, OBrien puts Mr. Sawicki, his film teacher, on the stand. on 50-99 accounts. During the robbery, Aguinaldo Nesbitt, the fifty-five-year-old owner of the store, was killed. 62 reviews Salem witches, frontier wilderness beasts, freak show oddities, alien invasions, Freddie Krueger. Other times Poole relies too heavily on social interpreters for his connections. Click to share on Twitter (Opens in new window), Click to share on Facebook (Opens in new window), Click to share on Pinterest (Opens in new window), Click to share on Tumblr (Opens in new window), Click to share on Reddit (Opens in new window), Click to share on LinkedIn (Opens in new window), Click to share on Pocket (Opens in new window), Click to share on Skype (Opens in new window), Click to share on Telegram (Opens in new window), Click to share on WhatsApp (Opens in new window), Click to email a link to a friend (Opens in new window), When you get the opportunity to see your daughter, @muse and their #willofthepeopleworldtour was by f, @evanescenceofficial has been around for twenty ye, When you havent seen your favorite band live in, When your partner is obsessed with the Alex Murdau, Monsters in America: Our Historical Obsession with the Hideous and the Haunting, https://bookshop.org/shop/thatswhatsheread, Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 3.0 Unported License. Salem witches, frontier wilderness beasts, freak show oddities, alien invasions, Freddie Krueger. Monsters in America does a bang-up job of demonstrating how our culture helps us achieve some sort of understanding about our world and our lives. From our colonial past to the present, the monster in all its various forms has been a staple of American culture. Sophfronia Scott - The Seeker and the Monk [Review], James Atwood - Collateral Damage - Brief Review, Emily M.D. It was just way too "all over the place" for me. Poole does justice to judgment; the focus of some horror films. Finally, in the new section "American Carnage," Poole challenges readers to assess what their own monster tales might be and how our sordid past horrors express themselves in our present cultural anxieties. Judging from the verbiage, Pooles sub-text for the American monster is conservative-Christian-white-heterosexual-Republican. Instead it's more about the social function of the monsterous and why people believe what they believe and how different folkloric monsters became popular at different times in history. Excerpt. Use features like bookmarks, note taking and highlighting while reading American Monsters: A History of Monster Lore, Legends, and Sightings in America. Course Hero is not sponsored or endorsed by any college or university. It is lively and engaging and well researched. The old newspaper adage still holds true today. I feel like the author did a great job at deconstructing America's social issues and how they connect to the monsters/fears/entertainment of the time. SparkNotes PLUS Consulting newspaper accounts, archival materials, personal papers, comic books, films, and oral histories, Poole adroitly illustrates how the creation of the monstrous "other" not only reflects society's fears but shapes actual historical behavior and becomes a cultural reminder of inhuman acts. But Africans were still human and had their morals, yet the Europeans saw them as a type of monster during the slave trade era. The new edition extends this analysis to shed light on some of the darker developments in recent American political culture. He decides to make a movie about his experience. Insightful and brilliant! I would love something like this for the UK. The author radically departs from the notion that monsters are a metaphor for our fears through the ages. It is not a book on actual monsters but how Americans find monsters in different eras on social constructs. His footnotes have left me with a massive pile of additional books to read.