Mr. Pooles evidence is as intriguing as it is informative. Indeed, the reader may struggle as I did with the leaps Poole makes between monster movies and American social ills. Often fascinating attempt to look at monsters through the lens of American history, Reviewed in the United States on November 1, 2011. I used this as a textbook for a themed English course: Monsters, Myths, and Magic. This item: Monsters in America: Our Historical Obsession with the Hideous and the Haunting by W. Scott Poole Paperback $34.99 The Monster Theory Reader by Jeffrey Andrew Weinstock Paperback $45.11 On Monsters: An Unnatural History of Our Worst Fears by Stephen T. Asma Paperback $28.95 What other items do customers buy after viewing this item? The Monster argues that his murderousness is not his fault. Steve also states that he was not at the drugstore on the day of the crime but was walking around thinking about his movie. OBrien tells Steve that her job is to make him a human being in the eyes of the jury. A must read for fans of horror and monsters! The atheist taught that inflicting suffering while enjoying the process is human nature. 62 reviews Salem witches, frontier wilderness beasts, freak show oddities, alien invasions, Freddie Krueger. They Poole offers an insight on America's fascination with monsters. Steves parents are glad he is home, but the distance between Steve and his father is growing. No longer just something that goes bump in the night, Mr. Poole showcases that monsters have more meaning and shed more insight into society than one might have previously suspected. Solely focused on the horrors, readers would think that no Christian or church stood against the aberration of Scriptural teaching; but such was the case with missionaries and abolitionists. I think that what makes the book riveting is that despite the particular social factors and grisly historical events, the book is about the Other in media. I heard the author on Coast to Coast, and even though he had that dry, flat Midwestern accent (sort of like Margaret Hamilton in "The Wizard of Oz") I knew I had to get the book. Not only do they continue to live in our midst, but, as historian Scott Poole shows, these monsters are an important part of our pasta hideous obsession America cannot seem to escape.Pooles central argument in Monsters in America is that monster tales intertwine with Americas troubled history of racism, politics, class struggle, and gender inequality. A monster, in most cases, is something that challenges human morality or customs, or rather, a single group of people's moralities. Component 2: Summary. Available Follow authors to get new release updates, plus improved recommendations. Poole's examples are well-chosen and well-explicated. Jacques Ellul Books An Introductory Reading Guide. Monster in America is a literature book by W. Scott Poole. You can find more scary stories from him on Twitter: @monstersamerica. Fyodor Dostoevsky Download all his Novels as Free Ebooks !!! Poole's connection of the monster to American history is a kind of Creature Features meets American cultural history. Wright Books An Introductory Reading Guide to The Theologians Work, Joy Harjo Poems Five of the Best Poems by the US Poet Laureate, John ODonohue Poems Four of our Favorites. By the end of the book, Poole cautions that Americas monsters arent going away anytime soon. Want 100 or more? In fact, perhaps our own beliefs about monsters and their intractable nature help to produce the monsters we fear the most., I've had a question for a long time. He compares himself with the other prisoners. Good references in the book that I looked up to further read about horror movies and their importance to our sociological perspective. Subject I have a lot of interest in and the author seems to have done a lot of work/research. March 4, 2023, SNPLUSROCKS20 Monster is told as a first-person account by Steve Harmon, a Black teenager on trial for felony murder in New York. For him, this place is the opposite of realhe has to do everything in front of strangers. Poole argues that "Monstrous metaphors in American historical life have a way of becoming realthey are intertwined with attitudes and social structures that make the monster possible. Browning's research, including extensive field work in New Orleans, has uncovered a subculture of . Frankenstein: The Monster Quotes | SparkNotes But honestly, most folks go to horror films for what they would say is the hell of it. Some people enjoy being scared, period. Would that Poole could have written a chapter on one of the liberal American horror shows: 50 million babies slaughtered through this countrys abortion industry. Lovecraft_. With Monsters in America, W. Scott Poole has given us a guidebook for a journey into nightmare territory. The second edition of Monsters leads readers deeper into Americas tangled past to show how monsters continue to haunt contemporary American ideology. Conflicting anxieties about race, class, gender, sexuality, religious beliefs, science, and politics manifest as haunting beings among the populace. That's What She Read by Christopher Columbus came to the Americas searching for gold, slaves, and monsters. Conflicting anxieties about race, class, gender, sexuality, religious beliefs, science, and politics manifest as haunting beings among the populace. Renews March 11, 2023 Learn how your comment data is processed. Loading interface - Goodreads It is a frightening world we live in, yet the horrific things in our literature and culture play a vital part in helping us reach some understanding, and even some peace about them. Martin Luther King, Jr. His Prophetic Faith in 15 Quotes, Important Discipleship and Formation Books A Reading Guide Fall 2020, Frederick Buechner Books An Introductory Reading Guide. but on the whole, an engaging and thought provoking read. I would love something like this for the UK. Highly recommended. Thanks for exploring this SuperSummary Study Guide of "Monster" by Walter Dean Myers. Poole wants to tell a story and take his readers on a journey, and he definitely does so. I want to start out by saying that I absolutely love the notion behind this book. I appreciated that in this second edition he shows how our language of the monstrous has played a role in instances like the police shootings of unarmed black people and how visions of dread play into Donald Trump's rhetoric. Alien invasions prompt the authors apt comment, The otherness of the monster can embody the sum of all fears but also an escape from fear (131). 1996-2023, Amazon.com, Inc. or its affiliates, Select a location to see product availability. Use up and down arrows to review and enter to select. ", In 2014 he published _Vampira: Dark Goddess of Horror_ that looked at the life of 1950s horror host Maila Nurmi (a.k.a. Dallas Willard Books Seven Essential Titles to Read! We're sorry, SparkNotes Plus isn't available in your country. Monster: Study Guide | SparkNotes That being said, however, if you are a teacher who needs to get a class full of barely literate college freshmen to understand what it means to read / think about things in historical context, Poole's introduction, "The Bloody chords of Memory," is readable and accessible even for a group of resistant and vaguely engaged (at best) 18 year olds. Wed love to have you back! By signing up you agree to our terms and privacy policy. Marilynne Robinson 10 Freely Available Essays! Emily Dickinson Poems Seven of our Favorites! Author W. Scott Poole takes a look at America's fascination with the macabre in his book. Not only is America guilty of creating its own horrors, failure to acknowledge monsters also creates them (23). 1 (1998): 90-102. [Pooles] book is sufficiently clear and engaging for general readers to enjoy and would make a worthwhile addition to undergraduate course in American history or culture. Monsters in America (2nd ed.) Monsters in America Summary (1).docx - Marshall1 Jenna At the very end, Poole implies that for what has gone before, it could very well get worse. SparkNotes Plus subscription is $4.99/month or $24.99/year as selected above. On Being with Krista Tippett Top 10 Best Episodes! Thanks for creating a SparkNotes account! An unexpected guilty pleasure! There was a problem loading your book clubs. Poole's connection of the monster to American history is a kind of Creature Features meets American cultural history. Project MUSE - Monsters in America IE- minorities = what we are anxious about / obsessed with = the monstrous = monsters. I highly recommend this for fans of the horror genre and anthropology. A.The James River B.The, Which was NOT an attempted reform movement in antebellum Virginia? The kind of monsters depends on the era. By adding new discussions of the American West, Poole focuses intently on the Native American experience. Petrocelli also calls an eyewitness, Mrs. Lorelle Henry, to the stand. Simplistic and not incredibly thoughtful, but useful for my purposes, Reviewed in the United States on November 25, 2012. Monsters in America (2nd ed.) by W. Scott Poole (ebook) - eBooks.com This well-written and thought provoking book examines what scares us and what monsters in popular entertainment have to say about our fears and values in society. All content on this blog is protected under US copyright by Michelle Shannon. "Sick," published by Abrams/Amulet). 335 Pages, 6.00 x 9.00 in. It was the first-ever Michael L. Printz Award recipient, an ALA Best Book, a Coretta Scott King Honor selection, and a National Book Award finalist. During the robbery, Aguinaldo Nesbitt, the fifty-five-year-old owner of the store, was killed. For Poole Halloween means more trick than treat; we discover that the monsters are us. Steve Harmon, a Black sixteen-year-old, sits in his jail cell and writes in his notebook. She continues to assert that Steve served as the lookout for the robbery and is as guilty as the others. But a third interpretive option exists. is lively and entertaining throughout. From Victorian-era mad scientists to modern-day serial killers. Here we not only meet such monsters but also discover America's cultural monstrosity. In the end, though, I could easily see assigning parts of this book to undergraduates. Consulting newspaper accounts, archival materials, personal papers, comic books, films, and oral histories, Poole adroitly illustrates how the creation of the monstrous other not only reflects societys fears but shapes actual historical behavior and becomes a cultural reminder of inhuman acts.. I have read Mr. Poole's work before, so I knew I was in for a treat and I was right. Not only that, but Sandra Petrocelli, the State prosecutor, is a very good lawyer. Monsters in America Project chapter ( 2,3,4,5,6,7) Synopsis: From our colonial past to the present, the monster in all its various forms has been a staple of American culture. The horrible treatment of indigenous peoples and slaverys practice is sin that stains Americas history. Purchasing Highly recommended for horror or monster fans with an interest in American history; slightly less so for American history buffs with a hobby in monster entertainments. Monsters in America is an important contribution, and it will be enjoyed by literary and cultural historians alike. Pallas Athena Roman name: Minerva. But he also shows that the monstrous can be sympathetic, that it can also be used by the oppressed to speak back to the mainstream. In Monsters in America, Scott Poole expertly weaves together folklore, media studies, and some of the more disturbing moments in American history to remind us of the vital roles monsters play in our culture. . It is a frightening world we live in, yet the horrific things in our literature and culture play a vital part in helping us reach some understanding, and even some peace about them. He reminds the jury of the witnesses criminal records and contends that their unreliability casts reasonable doubt on Kings guilt. It is lively and engaging and well researched. Instead of representing the "us vs them" mentality, monsters are much closer so home: they are us. Date. From our colonial past to the present, the monster in all its various forms has been a staple of American culture. From Victorian-era mad scientists to modern-day serial killers , new monsters appear as American society evolves, paralleling fluctuating challenges to the cultural status quo. Lovecraft in print. I was pretty fascinated through this whole book. Both belief about the supernatural and the supernatural itself creates creatures which slither into our thinking-being-behaving. Highly recommended." Jenn's Bookshelves "In Monsters in America, Scott Poole expertly weaves together folklore, media studies, and some of the more disturbing moments in American history to remind us of the vital roles monsters play in our culture. Angels in America: A Gay Fantasia on National Themes. The jail guards come in, and everyone lines up against the wall while they get rubber-gloved. Enter your email address to subscribe to That's What She Read and receive notifications of new posts by email. Dorothy Moore, a cousin of Kings, testifies that King was with her at the time of the robbery. Antiracism Books for Christians A Reading Guide, Thomas Merton Books An Intro Reading Guide. Well-researched and insightful, the writing of the text is also energetic and engaging. A masterful survey of our grim and often disturbing past. on 2-49 accounts, Save 30% Monsters are not just fears of the individual psyche, historian Scott Poole explains, but are concoctions of the public imagination, reactions to cultural influences, social change, and historical events. Numerous scholars explore the cultural and political implications of monster and horror films for the times from which they emerge. Few scholars connect such implications across broader expanses of time to reveal how intrinsically monsters and the horrific have been bound up in the history of America. Contact us on 2-49 accounts, Save 30% . Poole's examples are well-chosen and well-explicated. Poole's examples are well-chosen and well-explicated. If you're looking for an introductory book to the subject, it's a great resource. A masterful survey of our grim and often disturbing past, Monsters in America uniquely brings together history and culture studies to expose the dark obsessions that have helped create our national identity. FREE Shipping on orders over $25.00 shipped by Amazon. Please wait while we process your payment. Evans states that King was his partner in the robbery and that Steve served as the lookout. Excerpt. This is such an interesting and compelling about our connection to the monstrous and the monstrous' role in expressing national anxieties in our popular media. If specters of the past still haunt our present, they may yet invade our future. 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