Apocalyptic Dread - American Film at the Turn of the Mellennium

In Apocalyptic Dread, Kirsten Moana Thompson examines how fears and anxieties about the future are reflected in recent American cinema. Through close readings of such films as Cape Fear, Candyman, Dolores Claiborne, Se7en, Signs, and War of the Worlds, Thompson argues that a longstanding American apocalyptic tradition permeates our popular culture, spreading from science-fiction and disaster films into horror, crime, and melodrama. Drawing upon Kierkegaard's notion of dread-that is, a fundamental anxiety and ambivalence about existential choice and the future-Thompson suggests that the apocalyptic dread revealed in these films, and its guiding tropes of violence, retribution, and renewal, also reveal deep-seated anxieties about historical fragmentation and change, anxieties that are in turn displaced onto each film's particular "monster," whether human, demonic, or eschatological. About the Author: Kirsten Moana Thompson is Associate Professor of Film Studies at Wayne State University "In Apocalyptic Dread, Kirsten Moana Thompson examines how fears and anxieties about the future are reflected in recent American cinema. Through close reading of such films as Cape Fear, Candyman, Dolores Claiborne, Se7en, Signs, and War of the Worlds, Thompson argues that a longstanding American apocalyptic tradition permeates our popular culture, spreading from science-fiction and disaster films into horror, crime, and melodrama. Drawing upon Kierkegaard's notion of dread - that is, a fundamental anxiety and ambivalence about existential choice and the future - Thompson suggests that the apocalyptic dread revealed in these films, and its guiding tropes of violence, retribution, and renewal, also reveal deep-seated anxieties about historical fragmentation and change, anxieties that are in turn displaced onto each film's particular "monster," whether human, demonic, or eschatological."--Jacket Apocalyptic Dread 4 Contents 8 Illustrations 10 Acknowledgments 12 1. Apocalyptic Dread, Kierkegaard,and the Cultural Landscape of the Millennium 14 2. Cape Fear and Trembling: Familial Dread 42 3. Strange Fruit: Candyman and Supernatural Dread 72 4. Dolores Claiborne: Memorial Dread 96 5. Se7en in the Morgue: Dystopian Dread 118 6. Signs of the End of the World: Apocalyptic Dread 140 7. War of the Worlds: Uncanny Dread 158 Notes 168 Works Cited 188 Index 194 A 194 B 194 C 195 D 197 E 199 F 199 G 200 H 201 I 201 J 201 K 202 L 202 M 202 N 203 O 204 P 204 Q 204 R 204 S 205 T 207 U 207 V 208 W 208 X 208 Y 208 Z 208 Kirsten Moana Thompson. Includes Bibliographical References (p. 175-179) And Index.