Stephen King (IT) and Toni Morrison (Beloved) show how we can live in thrall to our fears but also how we can move past them.
Tag Archives: It
Morrison’s Healthy Response to Trauma
Posted in Uncategorized Also tagged Beloved, buried trauma, racism, Stephen King, Toni Morrison, uncanny Comments closed
Stephen King Understands MAGA
Stephen King is the most banned author in America at the moment. It may be because he depicts America’s dark side so vividly.
The Courage to Face the Darkness
In “IT” Stephen King shows how Americans close their eyes to horrific truths. Certain Americans have been closing their eyes to COVID19, showing King to know what he’s talking about.
Gothics Speak Truth to Denial
Thursday Thursday morning I delivered the following talk to Sewanee’s Rotary Club. I entitled it “America’s Obsession with Gothic Fantasy, from Poe to Game of Thrones. When you hear someone mention gothic fantasy or gothic horror, what American stories, movies or television shows come to mind? Before I let you answer that question, let me […]
Posted in Uncategorized Also tagged Black Cat, Edgar Allen Poe, Enlightenment, Flannery O'Connor, Game of Thrones, George Martin, Good Country People, gothic fiction, John Winthrop, Nathaniel Hawthorne, Stephen King, Tell-Tale Heart, Twilight Zone, Young Goodman Brown Comments closed
Why We Fear Clowns
The recent outbreak of criminal clowns can be explained by combining Freud’s essay on the uncanny and Stephen King’s IT.
Posted in Uncategorized Also tagged clowns, Donald Trump, Stephen King, Trumpism, violence Comments closed
King’s Clown Rampaged in Orlando
Perhaps more than any other American writer, Stephen King understands such incidents as the Orlando massacre. The famous horror writer dreams America’s nightmares and appears prescient when they come true.
Posted in Uncategorized Also tagged Beowulf, Grendel, gun violence, John Milton, mass murder, Omar Mateen, Orlando killings, Paradise Lost, Stephen King Comments closed
A Fantasy about U.S. Thirst for War
Neil Gaiman’s “American Gods” understands the thirst of those Americans that want to go to war with Iran.
Posted in Uncategorized Also tagged American Gods, fantasy, Iran, Iraq War, Neil Gaiman, neoconservatives, nuclear negotiations, road novel, Stephen King, violence, war Comments closed
When American Fantasies Are Dangerous
The denial of reality that has taken over certain segments of the GOP is well described by Neil Gaiman in “American Gods.” America has a long tradition of such fantasizing.
Posted in Uncategorized Also tagged American fantasy literature, American Gods, climate change, GOP budget, L. Frank Baum, Neil Gaiman, politics, Stephen King, Wizard of Oz Comments closed
