Gothic Remixed
Monster Mashups and Frankenfictions in 21st-Century Culture
1st Edition
Published on 14. November 2019
256 pages
978-1-350-10306-1 (ISBN)
Description
Longlisted for the 2022 International Gothic Association's Allan Lloyd Smith Prize
The bestselling genre of Frankenfiction sees classic literature turned into commercial narratives invaded by zombies, vampires, werewolves, and other fantastical monsters. Too engaged with tradition for some and not traditional enough for others, these 'monster mashups' are often criticized as a sign of the artistic and moral degeneration of contemporary culture. These hybrid creations are the 'monsters' of our age, lurking at the limits of responsible consumption and acceptable appropriation.
This book explores the boundaries and connections between contemporary remix and related modes, including adaptation, parody, the Gothic, Romanticism, and postmodernism. Taking a multimedia approach, case studies range from novels like Pride and Prejudice and Zombies and The Extraordinary Adventures of the Athena Club series, to television programmes such as Penny Dreadful, to popular visual artworks like Kevin J. Weir's Flux Machine GIFs. Megen de Bruin-Molé uses these monstrous and liminal works to show how the thrill of transgression has been contained within safe and familiar formats, resulting in the mashups that dominate Western popular culture.
The bestselling genre of Frankenfiction sees classic literature turned into commercial narratives invaded by zombies, vampires, werewolves, and other fantastical monsters. Too engaged with tradition for some and not traditional enough for others, these 'monster mashups' are often criticized as a sign of the artistic and moral degeneration of contemporary culture. These hybrid creations are the 'monsters' of our age, lurking at the limits of responsible consumption and acceptable appropriation.
This book explores the boundaries and connections between contemporary remix and related modes, including adaptation, parody, the Gothic, Romanticism, and postmodernism. Taking a multimedia approach, case studies range from novels like Pride and Prejudice and Zombies and The Extraordinary Adventures of the Athena Club series, to television programmes such as Penny Dreadful, to popular visual artworks like Kevin J. Weir's Flux Machine GIFs. Megen de Bruin-Molé uses these monstrous and liminal works to show how the thrill of transgression has been contained within safe and familiar formats, resulting in the mashups that dominate Western popular culture.
More details
Edition
1. Auflage
Language
English
Place of publication
London
United Kingdom
Publishing group
Bloomsbury Publishing PLC
Target group
College/higher education
Illustrations
23 bw illus
ISBN-13
978-1-350-10306-1 (9781350103061)
Copyright in bibliographic data and cover images is held by Nielsen Book Services Limited or by the publishers or by their respective licensors: all rights reserved.
Schweitzer Classification
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03/2021
Bloomsbury Academic
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10/2019
Bloomsbury Academic
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Person
Megen de Bruin-Molé is a scholar and university lecturer working in the UK. She specialises in adaptation, (neo-)Victorian fiction, popular feminism, and contemporary remix culture.
Content
Chapter One: Frankenfictions
- Gothic Remixed
- Monstrous Adaptations
- The Many Faces of Frankenfiction
- Twenty-First-Century Remix Culture
- Frankenfiction as Remix
- Frankenfiction as Adaptation
- Frankenfiction as Appropriation
- Hauntings and Illegitimate Offspring
Chapter Two: Adapting the Monster
- From 'Miserable Wretch' to 'Modernity Personified': Defining the Twenty-First-Century Monster
- 'Ourselves Expanded': Anno Dracula and the Neoliberal Vampire
- The Empire Strikes Back: Victorian Monsters and The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen
- 'We Are All Monsters': Reclaiming Privilege in Penny Dreadful
- 'Monstrum Sum': Intersectional Monstrosity in The Extraordinary Adventures of the Athena Club
- The Promises of Monsters
Chapter Three: Mashing Up the Joke
- Camp as Sincere Parody
- The Irony of Pride and Prejudice and Zombies; Or, Taking Historical Fiction Seriously
- Literature with a Twist: Parodying the Classics
- Parodying Neo-Victorianism
- Taking the Past Seriously; Or, The Limits of Postmodern Irony
- Conclusion: Beyond Postmodern Irony
Chapter Four: Remixing Historical Fiction
- The Gothic and Historical Fiction
- The 'Look' of the Past: Visual Gothic Histories
- Sublime Metamorphosis: Dan Hillier's Victorian Illustrations
- Foreign Animals: The Immigrant Portraiture of Travis Louie
- Meet the Family: Colin Batty's Victorian Cabinet Cards
- Flux Machine: Kevin J. Weir's Animated Horrors
- Conclusion: Unnatural History
Chapter Five: Appropriating the Author
- Frankenfiction and Romantic Authorship
- Frankenfiction and the (Un)Death of the Author
- Frankenfiction and Transmedia World-Building
- Women's Work: Mary Shelley as Remixer/Remixed
- Feminist Frankenfiction?
- Conclusion: The Monster Always Escapes
- Bibliography
- Gothic Remixed
- Monstrous Adaptations
- The Many Faces of Frankenfiction
- Twenty-First-Century Remix Culture
- Frankenfiction as Remix
- Frankenfiction as Adaptation
- Frankenfiction as Appropriation
- Hauntings and Illegitimate Offspring
Chapter Two: Adapting the Monster
- From 'Miserable Wretch' to 'Modernity Personified': Defining the Twenty-First-Century Monster
- 'Ourselves Expanded': Anno Dracula and the Neoliberal Vampire
- The Empire Strikes Back: Victorian Monsters and The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen
- 'We Are All Monsters': Reclaiming Privilege in Penny Dreadful
- 'Monstrum Sum': Intersectional Monstrosity in The Extraordinary Adventures of the Athena Club
- The Promises of Monsters
Chapter Three: Mashing Up the Joke
- Camp as Sincere Parody
- The Irony of Pride and Prejudice and Zombies; Or, Taking Historical Fiction Seriously
- Literature with a Twist: Parodying the Classics
- Parodying Neo-Victorianism
- Taking the Past Seriously; Or, The Limits of Postmodern Irony
- Conclusion: Beyond Postmodern Irony
Chapter Four: Remixing Historical Fiction
- The Gothic and Historical Fiction
- The 'Look' of the Past: Visual Gothic Histories
- Sublime Metamorphosis: Dan Hillier's Victorian Illustrations
- Foreign Animals: The Immigrant Portraiture of Travis Louie
- Meet the Family: Colin Batty's Victorian Cabinet Cards
- Flux Machine: Kevin J. Weir's Animated Horrors
- Conclusion: Unnatural History
Chapter Five: Appropriating the Author
- Frankenfiction and Romantic Authorship
- Frankenfiction and the (Un)Death of the Author
- Frankenfiction and Transmedia World-Building
- Women's Work: Mary Shelley as Remixer/Remixed
- Feminist Frankenfiction?
- Conclusion: The Monster Always Escapes
- Bibliography
