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Memes, Monsters, and the Digital Grotesque
Memes, Monsters, and the Digital Grotesque looks at the emerging and thriving new genre of digital horror from an innovative perspective. Examining digital cultural production during the period that has been referred to as the 'Arab Winter', Moreno-Almeida delves into the memes, animated cartoons, music videos, and expressive cultures — like fashion and urban subcultures — that emerged between 2016 and 2020. In revealing concealed narratives underlying the digital lives of artists, as well as ordinary people, Moreno-Almeida explores how memes, horror, and the grotesque capture a moment infused with political and affective significance, characterized by despair, alienation, and anomie, alongside opportunities for creative experimentation made possible in the postdigital era.
304 pages, Hardcover
Published May 15, 2024
6 people want to read
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May 22, 2024
This book is a genre-bending exploration of digital horror in between the periods of the Arab Spring and COVID, but it is so much more. In academic, but accessible, prose, Moreno details the digital artefacts circulating online in North Africa, particularly in Morocco, including cartoons, memes, music videos, fashion influencers, female digital creators, movies, and urban subcultures and ties all of this together with politics, sexism, power dynamics, global influences, and then situates all of these things within the horror genre frame. It is a riveting, entertaining, and enlightening read and excellently researched and analyzed; I'd not read a scholarly work on digital artefacts before and have not perceived them the same way since.
Not only did I greatly enjoy the book, but my life is all the better for being introduced to Beldi Cool, Moroccan rap, and so much more. Particular favorite chapters include the desirability of monsters/the grotesque; explorations of horror in a post-colonial age; the chapters about sexism and female creators; resurrections of memes as they relate to power struggles, and all things Beldi Cool.
I think folks who enjoyed "It Came From the Closet" will find much to appreciate here.
Not only did I greatly enjoy the book, but my life is all the better for being introduced to Beldi Cool, Moroccan rap, and so much more. Particular favorite chapters include the desirability of monsters/the grotesque; explorations of horror in a post-colonial age; the chapters about sexism and female creators; resurrections of memes as they relate to power struggles, and all things Beldi Cool.
I think folks who enjoyed "It Came From the Closet" will find much to appreciate here.
Displaying 1 of 1 review