Monthly Archives: July 2007

Zombie Walks: An International Pop Culture Phenomenon

July 30th, 2007 | Posted in zombie, zombie walks

I have heard of various zombie walks coordinated in differing geographical locations, but a recent email from my friend Matt Stone recommending a video on YouTube from Sydney Australia’s zombie walk indicates that this merits a blog post. Zombie walks are inspired by the increasing popular of the zombie from horror films as a pop […]

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The Lost Boys as “Bloodsucking Brady Bunch”

July 27th, 2007 | Posted in 1980s, Lost Boys, vampire

One of my favorite vampire films is a “cult” classic, Joel Schumacher’s 1987 film The Lost Boys. I was therefore pleased to find a paper presented by Jeremy Tirrell at the national convention of the Popular Culture Association that deals with the film titled “The Bloodsucking Brady Bunch: Reforming the Family Unit in the The […]

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Angels, Aliens, and the Supernatural Other

July 24th, 2007 | Posted in alien Messiah, aliens, angels, demonology

A short while ago I became aware of the Popular Culture Association and discovered they have an extensive horror panel at their annual convention which involves a number of presenters and papers. I contacted the gentleman who coordinates this track and he kindly provided me with a list of the panels from 2003 through 2006. […]

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A.I.: Artificial Intelligence – Box Office Disappointment But Philosophical Treat

July 23rd, 2007 | Posted in A.I., archetypes, artificial intelligence, fairy tales, myths, postmodernism

Like many people, I am a fan of the work of director Steven Spielberg. Whenever I get the chance I enjoy watching his films, and catching various “behind the scenes” programs and interviews where this talented director speaks about his craft. There are a few of his films that I have never seen, but have […]

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Celebrating Creativity: Ub Iwerks and the Hand Behind the Mouse

July 17th, 2007 | Posted in animation, Disney, Ub Iwerks

This blog is devoted not only to an analysis of various facets of the fantastic, the imagination, and creativity in popular culture, but also to the sheer enjoyment and celebration of these things. With this in mind I highly recommend a documentary that has aired a couple of times now on the Ovation channel titled […]

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J. Gordon Melton Interview on Vampire Mythology

July 8th, 2007 | Posted in J. Gordon Melton, vampire

J. Gordon Melton is a respected scholar, author, and lecturer in the area of new religious movements. He is the director of the Institute for the Study of American Religion in Santa Barbara, California, and is responsible for authoring, editing, or contributing to a number of books including the multi-volume Encyclopedia of American Religions (Gale […]

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Magic and Fairytales: Reassessing the Hermeneutic

July 6th, 2007 | Posted in Disney, fairy tales, Harry Potter

The other day I was waiting in line at the post office and was scanning the walls, bored enough to read the various posters. One of them promoted a new line of stamps that is available. As I looked at the familiar images I was reminded that for some time aspects of the entertainment industry […]

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Darkon: Documentary on Fantasy Role Playing Game

July 3rd, 2007 | Posted in Darkon, fan cultures, fantasy, fantasy role playing games, geek cultures

At the recent Cornerstone Festival I had the opportunity to facilitate a film discussion in the Flickerings area surrounding a documentary Darkon that is based upon the fantasy role playing (FRP) game of the same name. It wasn’t until I viewed this film that I realized that FRP gaming goes beyond board games and the […]

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Dying to Live: a novel of life among the undead

July 3rd, 2007 | Posted in Gospel of the Living Dead, zombie

I recently returned from Cornerstone Festival and one of the seminar series that I enjoyed throug the Imaginarium venue was that presented by Kim Paffenroth on the zombie Films of George Romero. Kim is Associate Professor of Religious Studies at Iona College in New York, and the author of Gospel of the Living Dead (Baylor […]

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