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Knowing Fear
Tracing the development of horror entertainment since the late 18th century, this study argues that scientific discovery, technological progress, and knowledge in general have played an unparalleled role in influencing the evolution of horror. Throughout its many subgenres (biological horror, cosmic horror and others) and formats (film, literature, comics), horror records humanity's uneasy relationship with its own ability to reason, understand, and learn. The text first outlines a loose framework defining several distinct periods in horror development, then explores each period sequentially by looking at the scientific and cultural background of the period, its expression in horror literature, and its expression in horror visual and performing arts.
- GenresHorrorNonfictionHistory
465 pages, ebook
First published January 1, 2007
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Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews
October 13, 2010
As with his previous book _The Cult of the Alien Gods: H. P. Lovecraft and Extraterrestrial Pop Culture_, Colavito has an interesting point to make, and makes it in a far too strenuous and at times blunt way. Here, he argues that knowledge is the key to horror literature, film, and other media. He makes an interesting point, and isn't the first person to at least somewhat tackle the concept. The mad scientist and Frankenstein immediately come to mind, as does Lovecraft's piecing together of horrible truths. Given Colavito's fixation with Lovecraft, this makes sense. And indeed, a major basic plot form for horror even removed from these themes is the "discovery" plot, where the protagonists struggle to tell the world/authorities/populace about a supernatural or superscience menace that is initially scoffed at or covered up.
Fair enough. But Colavito feels almost prescriptive, getting close to arguing that this is how horror _should_ be, and that when it is not, it is because of external forces impinging upon the genre. As he would tell it, at several points from the turn of the 20th century into the 1960s, there is a strong cultural pressure in the West to demean stories involving the supernatural or superscientific, and that instead all terrors should be of a psychological nature. There is some truth to this. But this becomes combined with the blunt element of the argument, that academic and other commentary and critique has been far too Freudian, far too focused on sexual and gender issues in interpreting horror. Again, by using not so much strawmen but extreme examples, Colavito makes the point that yes, there probably has been too much Freudian interpretation. Again, the affinity for Lovecraft is at work here, as his writings were first roundly rejected with flip dismissals, then with flip Freudian explanations, and only really in the 1990s did elements in the academic and literary world begin to take Lovecraft seriously, with an increasing consensus that while there are a number of themes, his issues with rapid change and the modern age were important (there's a lot more there, and its easy to drill into with Lovecraft's published letters, but it's a good central place to start). But in a number of places, the insistent angry attacks on other interpretations threaten to derail some interesting research. On the plus side, while some of the writing is a bit pedestrian, it's also largely readable, more mature and expecting more of the reader than that of _Cult of Alien Gods_ (I have my suspicions on why that is, they're by different presses), and is not aiming to impress through belonging to a particular socioliterary theoretical school or by engaging in obfuscatory language common to more academic texts.
The book is organized into a number of ages of horror, each with three chapters: one on the cultural and historical background of the period, one on the horror literature of the period, and one on the horror media (movies, tv, comics, games) of the period. I'm not a fan of zeitgeist history, and while this isn't exactly zeitgeist history, as the eras are divided according to schools and developments within horror literature, there is an element of zeitgeist history here, especially as we get closer to the modern day.
The most useful sections for me were on the origins of the horror tale and its early development in the 19th century, long before its heyday in the late Victorian era, the section on Spiritualist horror at the turn of the century (which is particularly intriguing given renewed popular interest in neo-spiritualism, ghost hunting, and the like), and part of the section on psychological horror in the post-war era (awkwardly, atomic fears including UFOs, giant insect movies, and the like are shoehorned in here due to the chronological approach, but there isn't much of a convincing link there).
It's an interesting overview of horror, primarily from the Anglo-American, and mostly American, perspective, and with a bias towards certain sorts of stories and novels that fit Colavito's conceptions. It's a worthwhile if light introduction to the topic of for interested readers, though you may find yourself skipping the third with the author's capsule social histories, especially for the decades around the turn of the 20th century. Readers more interested in recent horror, especially film, can probably find better coverage elsewhere.
Fair enough. But Colavito feels almost prescriptive, getting close to arguing that this is how horror _should_ be, and that when it is not, it is because of external forces impinging upon the genre. As he would tell it, at several points from the turn of the 20th century into the 1960s, there is a strong cultural pressure in the West to demean stories involving the supernatural or superscientific, and that instead all terrors should be of a psychological nature. There is some truth to this. But this becomes combined with the blunt element of the argument, that academic and other commentary and critique has been far too Freudian, far too focused on sexual and gender issues in interpreting horror. Again, by using not so much strawmen but extreme examples, Colavito makes the point that yes, there probably has been too much Freudian interpretation. Again, the affinity for Lovecraft is at work here, as his writings were first roundly rejected with flip dismissals, then with flip Freudian explanations, and only really in the 1990s did elements in the academic and literary world begin to take Lovecraft seriously, with an increasing consensus that while there are a number of themes, his issues with rapid change and the modern age were important (there's a lot more there, and its easy to drill into with Lovecraft's published letters, but it's a good central place to start). But in a number of places, the insistent angry attacks on other interpretations threaten to derail some interesting research. On the plus side, while some of the writing is a bit pedestrian, it's also largely readable, more mature and expecting more of the reader than that of _Cult of Alien Gods_ (I have my suspicions on why that is, they're by different presses), and is not aiming to impress through belonging to a particular socioliterary theoretical school or by engaging in obfuscatory language common to more academic texts.
The book is organized into a number of ages of horror, each with three chapters: one on the cultural and historical background of the period, one on the horror literature of the period, and one on the horror media (movies, tv, comics, games) of the period. I'm not a fan of zeitgeist history, and while this isn't exactly zeitgeist history, as the eras are divided according to schools and developments within horror literature, there is an element of zeitgeist history here, especially as we get closer to the modern day.
The most useful sections for me were on the origins of the horror tale and its early development in the 19th century, long before its heyday in the late Victorian era, the section on Spiritualist horror at the turn of the century (which is particularly intriguing given renewed popular interest in neo-spiritualism, ghost hunting, and the like), and part of the section on psychological horror in the post-war era (awkwardly, atomic fears including UFOs, giant insect movies, and the like are shoehorned in here due to the chronological approach, but there isn't much of a convincing link there).
It's an interesting overview of horror, primarily from the Anglo-American, and mostly American, perspective, and with a bias towards certain sorts of stories and novels that fit Colavito's conceptions. It's a worthwhile if light introduction to the topic of for interested readers, though you may find yourself skipping the third with the author's capsule social histories, especially for the decades around the turn of the 20th century. Readers more interested in recent horror, especially film, can probably find better coverage elsewhere.
August 28, 2024
Very useful survey. Not flawless, but fast-paced and with good bibliography.
Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews