American Monsters: A History of Monster Lore, Legends, and Sightings in America - Kindle edition by Godfrey, Linda S.. Download it once and read it on your Kindle device, PC, phones or tablets. Conflicting anxieties about race, class, gender, sexuality, religious beliefs, science, and politics manifest as haunting beings among the populace. The Best C.S. In Monster, Walter Dean Myers tells the story of Steve Harmon's trial. However, this book was FABULOUS! Contact us Renew your subscription to regain access to all of our exclusive, ad-free study tools. Study Guides, Friday afternoon, July 17th & December, 5 months later. Excellent study of the machinery of monsters and their meaning Help others learn more about this product by uploading a video! I heard the author on Coast to Coast, and even though he had that dry, flat Midwestern accent (sort of like Margaret Hamilton in "The Wizard of Oz") I knew I had to get the book. 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. Regardless of the gruesome event, whether it's the Salem Witch Trials back in the 1600s or 9/11 just 10 years ago, one thing remains constant: Americans are obsessed with them. For the record, I'm *not* well versed on the horror genre due to my fear of almost every popular culture monster. She explains that some jurors have decided against him just because he is young and Black, so Steve has to make the jury see him as different from the other defendants. This well-written and thought provoking book examines what scares us and what monsters in popular entertainment have to say about our fears and values in society. This book is quite well researched, makes a few interesting connections, and is very accessible. Save over 50% with a SparkNotes PLUS Annual Plan! Steve is about to stand trial for felony homicide. I loved this book. Would that Poole could have written a chapter on one of the liberal American horror shows: 50 million babies slaughtered through this countrys abortion industry. It is not a book on actual monsters but how Americans find monsters in different eras on social constructs. You can find more scary stories from him on Twitter: @monstersamerica. Highly recommended for horror or monster fans with an interest in American history; slightly less so for American history buffs with a hobby in monster entertainments. (Greg Garrett, Faithful Citizenship blogger and author of, One Fine Potion: The Literary Magic of Harry Potter, (John David Smith, Charles H. Stone Distinguished Professor of American History, The University of North Carolina at Charlotte), W. Scott Poole is Professor of History at the College of Charleston. Friedrich Nietzsche believed we are the monsters. 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. I hated this book. 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. does a bang-up job of demonstrating how our culture helps us achieve some sort of understanding about our world and our lives. Steve Harmon, a Black sixteen-year-old, sits in his jail cell and writes in his notebook. If one would like to get into the spirit of monster mania during Halloween, no better place to begin is with the books that generated monster madness: Dracula, Frankenstein, Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde, The Picture of Dorian Gray, and The Island of Dr. Moreau. Insightful and brilliant! Detectives Karyl and Williams describe their arrival at the crime scene. Scholars will argue over interpretation because that is what scholars do. You'll also receive an email with the link. Poole invites us into an important and enlightening, if disturbing, conversation about the very real monsters that inhabit the dark spaces of America's past. March 4, 2023, SNPLUSROCKS20 Petrocelli, the State prosecutor, calls more witnesses to establish the facts of the crime. It is lively and engaging and well researched. Briggs presents his defense of King. 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. SparkNotes Plus subscription is $4.99/month or $24.99/year as selected above. IE- minorities = what we are anxious about / obsessed with = the monstrous = monsters. Get help and learn more about the design. The old newspaper adage still holds true today. C. Christopher Smith is the founding editor of The Englewood Review of Books. He is the author of several books, including a biography of H.P Lovecraft, which became a Bram Stoker award finalist, and Wasteland: The Great War and the Origins of Modern Horror. It's a comprehensive look into ghoulish, weird, and woke world--10/10. Human beings made him declare "war" by treating him like an enemy. Use up and down arrows to review and enter to select. Monsters in America is W. Scott Poole's interpretive history. Salem witches, frontier wilderness beasts, freak show oddities, alien invasions, Freddie Krueger. for a group? Dorothy Moore, a cousin of Kings, testifies that King was with her at the time of the robbery. Well-written and engaging,Monsters in Americais a must-read for anyone fascinated by history or monsters or both. These summaries should not exceed one page in length. Please wait while we process your payment. Monster presents through the obvious things, for example, krakens or werewolves. It's also a great way of introducing the idea that you can use different lenses/ways of writing to introduce and discuss topics. the bell witch, the roanaoke colony, etc.) Poole's connection of the monster to American history is a kind of Creature Features meets American cultural history. . At times in the book a movie director is taken at his word, the reason for his film given authorial intent. Why are we scared of this person? is always a question behind each chapter and Poole is careful to never reduce it purely to matters of sociology or psychology while still using those tools of analysis. The horrible treatment of indigenous peoples and slaverys practice is sin that stains Americas history. Thanks for creating a SparkNotes account! But real monsters collect different trophies; they are no laughing matter. 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. Marilynne Robinson 10 Freely Available Essays! Poole presents his findings methodically through well-documented facts and similar studies. For me, there are intertwined. Thoughts: What makes a monster a monster? Steves parents are glad he is home, but the distance between Steve and his father is growing. If you're looking for an introductory book to the subject, it's a great resource. Visit the new website for more about the book, upcoming events, and to keep up with Scott Poole's blog. The author radically departs from the notion that monsters are a metaphor for our fears through the ages. A well informed, thoughtful, and indeed frightening angle of vision to a persistent and compelling American desire to be entertained by the grotesque and the horrific. This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. You'll be billed after your free trial ends. Monsters and American History W. Scott Poole offers many unique explanations for the creation and story telling of monsters in his essayMonsters in America.Poole examines the cultural history of the monster and how it intersects with American history. But he also shows that the monstrous can be sympathetic, that it can also be used by the oppressed to speak back to the mainstream. Simplistic and not incredibly thoughtful, but useful for my purposes, Reviewed in the United States on November 25, 2012. From our colonial past to the present, the monster in all its various forms has been a staple of American culture. It is not just about film and fiction, but the cultural events that mirrored the works on the screen and in our nightmares. Your subscription will continue automatically once the free trial period is over. If you will, a shining city on hill built on the bodies of natives, blacks, women, and anyone else we dont like very much. While Poole is an academic his book is anything but dry. Wright Books An Introductory Reading Guide to The Theologians Work, Joy Harjo Poems Five of the Best Poems by the US Poet Laureate, John ODonohue Poems Four of our Favorites. A must read for fans of horror and monsters! In Virginia's sectional differences, what natural boundary marked the dividing line between the traditional thinkers and those desiring reforms to have greater representation? In the follow-up to his first book. Continue to start your free trial. The Monster feels completely alienated: "none among the myriads of men" will take pity on him. By the end of the book, Poole cautions that Americas monsters arent going away anytime soon. These monsters are created by multiple aspects of society and give meaning to the culture as well. It looks like WhatsApp is not installed on your phone. Friedrich Nietzsche believed we are the monsters. Poole has set the bar ridiculously high for any future research exploring the locus of historical and cultural studies, particularly as it pertains to the horrific. challenges, enlightens, and, quite honestly, frightens in its prescient view of American history, as well as the seeming ubiquity of the monsters of our past and probable future. The two defense counsels, OBrien and Briggs, establish that the witnesses are testifying for the State in return for reduced sentences. 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. Solely focused on the horrors, readers would think that no Christian or church stood against the aberration of Scriptural teaching; but such was the case with missionaries and abolitionists. Use up and down arrows to review and enter to select. is an important contribution, and it will be enjoyed by literary and cultural historians alike. W. Scott Poole is Professor of History at the College of Charleston, where he teaches courses on monsters, pop culture, and American history. Did you know you can highlight text to take a note? Conflicting anxieties about race, class, gender, sexuality, religious beliefs, science, and politics manifest as haunting beings among the populace. ", Customer Reviews, including Product Star Ratings help customers to learn more about the product and decide whether it is the right product for them.Learn more how customers reviews work on Amazon. Reading this for research for a paper I am writing for a creative nonfiction class for college, but what an interesting book regardless! Discount, Discount Code Academic, yet very accessible, I was fascinated by this book, and it holds a very special distinction as the only book I was required to buy for a college class that has earned a permanent place on my bookshelf now that the class is over. Eastern Orthodoxy Essential Books [A Reading List]. Freedman, Jonathan. Poole agrees telling us early and often You are the main character in this terror-filled little tale (xviii). Monster is a 1999 young adult novel by Walter Dean Myers. Indeed, the reader may struggle as I did with the leaps Poole makes between monster movies and American social ills. I seem to be having bad luck with books lately, but the writing style just didnt connect with me. He decides to make a movie about his experience. Synopsis: From our colonial past to the present, the monster in all its various forms has been a staple of American culture. (And as someone who lives with a history PhD and who briefly pursued graduate studies in history myself, I like to believe that I know from whence I speak.) 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. We are sorry. 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. Thanks to Poole's insights we see the ubiquity of the monster lurking in and around us. By signing up you agree to our terms and privacy policy. The different types of monsters, whether cultural, supernatural, or moral, all contribute to the meaning of American culture. He compares himself with the other prisoners. Its a story that begins with the history of the dark lady of late night horror and branches out into a discussion of the Beats, Bebop Jazz, the birth of rock and roll and the social protest movements of the 1960s. Poole wants to tell a story and take his readers on a journey, and he definitely does so. This book is a wonderful introduction to American history through the lens of monsters. I want to start out by saying that I absolutely love the notion behind this book. Sex and violence are the recurring themes of the book, but Poole always provides context for why they recur so often. Save over 50% with a SparkNotes PLUS Annual Plan! Ten Important Women Theologians To Start Reading. SparkNotes PLUS No historically reflective Christian would disagree with Pooles castigation of wrongdoings by some Americans. Pooles excoriation of one homogenous grouping belies the essence of the problem which is our human nature. Name: Kim Hoan Tran Dr. Che 07/08/2019 Summary Paper Summary of Monstrous Beginning In Monster in America written by W. Scott Poole, especially the chapter called "Monstrous Beginnings". In 2016, he wrote the Bram Stoker Finalist _In the Mountains of Madness: The Life and Extraordinary Afterlife of H.P. 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. Yuckfest. for a group? This website uses cookies to ensure you get the best experience on our website. Brief content visible, double tap to read full content. The scary tales found in the classic texts remind usno matter our nationality, ethnicity, or political persuasionthe monster is us. Salem witches, frontier wilderness beasts, freak show oddities, alien invasions, Freddie Krueger. Monsters in America is lively and entertaining throughout. She tells the jury that James King and Steve Harmon, along with two other criminals, robbed a drugstore. Scott - For All Who Hunger - Feature Review, Mattix & Thomas, Eds - Christian Poetry in America Since, Copyright 2023 The Englewood Review of Books. (one code per order). As W. Scott Poole's text will serve as the conceptual framework for the course, this assignment seeks to promote regular critical engagement with the text. 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. Based on new findings and bursting with new interpretations, it offers newcomers and old fans of the America's great horror writer new insight into his life, work, and continuing influence. Spring 2021 Most Anticipated Books for Christian Readers! What could we extrapolate on the ways we lived and what we believed during each era? BUY . What is it that rumbles in the American unconscious that relates to the figures we see on the screen. Anne Bradstreet Poems Five of our Favorites by the Puritan Poet! Please use a different way to share. I took copious notes in the margins, and will be using this book frequently as I continue to work on my own YA horror fiction (e.g. 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. Its cohesive, cursory, and has a smattering of typos. Steves lawyer, Kathy OBrien, urges Steve to take his situation seriously because this crime could put him in jail for twenty years or more. Salem witches, frontier wilderness beasts, freak show oddities, alien invasions, Freddie Krueger. Monsters in America instead should acknowledge monsters exist in every culture, every tribe, every era. Excerpt. Indians, the physically disabled, African-Americans, deep-sea animals or mammals, science is a powerful motivator and caused society to vilify those that do not fit the acceptable mold. Pallas Athena Roman name: Minerva. Usually just called Athena, this goddess emerges from Zeus's head fully-grown and armed. Here's where you'll find analysis of the main themes, motifs, and symbols in Monster. The Theology of the Early Christians 10 Free Classics! 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. If you, like me, are both a person that loves old monster movies and cares about history, you'll find this book to be a fun read. Trick-or-treat! can only mean one thingHalloween. Author: W. Scott Poole Synopsis (Courtesy of Powell's Books ): "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. FREE Shipping on orders over $25.00 shipped by Amazon. I was pretty fascinated through this whole book. 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. Steve is about to stand trial for felony homicide. Amazon has encountered an error. Poole stays far away from polemic and sticks to the facts. I am fiercely passionate about two things: History and Monsters. She continues to assert that Steve served as the lookout for the robbery and is as guilty as the others. While some may believe that there was no conflict between the settlers and the natives, and that, they just coexisted peacefully. 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. session with vampires and zombies, Poole plots America's past through its fears in this intriguing sociocultural history. You'll be billed after your free trial ends. Michelle Shannon is licensed under a 20% Sawicki states that he believes in Steves honesty as a filmmaker and as a person. It is a frightening world we live in, yet the horrific things in our literature and culture play a vital part in helping us reach some understanding, and even some peace about them. The jury returns verdicts of guilty for James King and not guilty for Steve Harmon. to start your free trial of SparkNotes Plus. You may cancel your subscription on your Subscription and Billing page or contact Customer Support at custserv@bn.com. She asks the jury to recall how Steve conducted himself on the witness stand and to compare Steve with Sal Zinzi, Bobo Evans, and Osvaldo Cruz before they decide who is believable. Wendell Berry Poems Seven of Our Favorites! OBrien tells Steve that her job is to make him a human being in the eyes of the jury. Hes never less than canny on the pop culture angle: Dracula and Frankenstein are almost everywhere in the book, his insights into the fear of zombies are sharp, the comparison of Patrick Bateman and Dexter Morgan is inspired, and the analysis of fifties icons like Vampira and the Addams family are very good. Instead of representing the "us vs them" mentality, monsters are much closer so home: they are us. Our Historical Obsession with the Hideous and the Haunting. Pooles bibliography is an additional treat as it includes many excellent books for further reading or study - "1973 Nervous Breakdown: Watergate, Warhol, and the Birth of Post-Sixties America" and "Sacred Terror: Religion and Horror on the Silver Screen" were two titles that jumped out at me thats so full that one could even write their own treatment on the subject. Sophfronia Scott - The Seeker and the Monk [Review], James Atwood - Collateral Damage - Brief Review, Emily M.D. "Rue Morgue" magazine called it "the best biography of H.P. In a nutshell, monsters for Poole are metaphors / stand-ins for whoever is loathed or feared in a certain historical context. Briggs establishes that the police had shown photos of King to Mrs. Henry before she picked him out of a lineup. He reminds the jury of the witnesses criminal records and contends that their unreliability casts reasonable doubt on Kings guilt. His footnotes have left me with a massive pile of additional books to read. Even fewer scholars do so as adeptly and as entertainingly as W. Scott Poole. Evil brutes exist inside and outside American neighborhoods. By adding new discussions of the American West, Poole focuses intently on the Native American experience. Reprinted by permission. Acknowledgements: Thank you to Kelly Hughes from Dechant-Hughes for my review copy! Free trial is available to new customers only. And I don't have to mention the meaning of all the zombie movies. 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. I highly recommend this for fans of the horror genre and anthropology. Poole states that, in actuality, that the Europeans saw the natives as uncivilized people and even believed them to be monsters. It's rarely happy news being reported. In her closing argument for the State, Petrocelli stresses the importance of the stolen cigarettes in proving who committed the crime. Angels in America: A Gay Fantasia on National Themes. Vampira) to explore the history of American sexuality, gender relations and the rebirth of the horror film in post-WW2 America. religious texts and newspaper accounts of "satanic panics" into a highly readable analysis of the concept of the devil in American cultural history. Hafez Poems Five of Our Favorites from the Divan of Hafez, N.T. It felt more like I was reading a college midterm (not even open book), and less like strong literary criticism. Discount, Discount Code Just watch any local news program and you'll see what I mean. damn good primer on monsters in America. If you don't see it, please check your spam folder. If you view everything that has happened in the last ten thousand years as an atrocity committed by (American) White Anglo-Saxon Protestant men against the wide-eyed, helpless, innocent (and rather stupid) non-male/non-white world in a concerted race (or gender where convenient) war and stolidly ignore all contrary evidence, the world is full of monsters. He also makes notes about his movie and about details he observes in court. The free trial period is the first 7 days of your subscription. Steve also states that he was not at the drugstore on the day of the crime but was walking around thinking about his movie. Now and Always,The Trusted Content Your Research Requires, Now and Always, The Trusted Content Your Research Requires, Built on the Johns Hopkins University Campus. In his new preface and expanded conclusion, Pooles tale connects to the presentillustrating the relationship between current social movements and their historical antecedents. Monsters, he says, are "cultural constructions of the terrible that define what it is we subconsciously fear and what it is we're told to hate or love.". But too often he ascribes American injustices with little more than a metaphorical connection to monster movies. Want 100 or more? From early American ghost stories to Jordan Peeles Get Out (2017), Scott Poole expertly tracks the importance of monsters and monstrosity in American culture. Monster is usually used to reflect an individual's actions; especially, it shows for the wrong act of people. Mrs. Henry testifies to being in the drugstore and seeing two young Black men arguing with the store owner. Insightful and brilliant! Satan in America tells the story of America's complicated relationship with the devil. A monster, in most cases, is something that challenges human morality or customs, or rather, a single group of people's moralities. If you've got an interest in horror, this is definitely worth a read. Steve testifies that he did not take part in the drugstore robbery or discuss it with anyone before it happened. Here we not only meet such monsters but also discover America's cultural monstrosity. He decides to make a movie about his experience. Hardback: Baylor University Press, 2011. "New light" evangelists of the eighteenth century, enslaved African Americans, demagogic politicians, and modern American film-makers have used the devil to damn their enemies, explain the nature of evil and injustice, mount social crusades, construct a national identity, and express anxiety about matters as . Subscribe now. Alien invasions prompt the authors apt comment, The otherness of the monster can embody the sum of all fears but also an escape from fear (131). Salem witches, frontier wilderness beasts, freak show oddities, alien invasions, Freddie Krueger. When social conservatives oppose something, like - say -. Get Annual Plans at a discount when you buy 2 or more! For Professors: Exam Copies. Thoughts on books, family, and life in one impressive package. Want 100 or more? 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. Books About Race in America; Coretta Scott . American history from the past to the present. Your subscription will continue automatically once the free trial period is over. I found it informative, fascinating, thought-provoking and well-written. He wrote in his journal. 1 (1998): 90-102. 335 Pages, 6.00 x 9.00 in. I hoped to expand my interaction in the genre, albeit from an American point of view.
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