Frankenstein art – “It’s Alive!” (GILES, 2018) – Elizabeth Denlinger interview

Liz Denlinger co-curates the Shelley collection of the New York Public Library system. She has helped develop a new exhibition on Frankenstein and has put together a visual history of Frankenstein for it. We discuss the book and the exhibit.

[Note: About 38:25, I mentioned that lobby cards did not get copyright protection in the past. Of course this is for a specific date range and that rule likely has changed.]

1:13 – Liz talks about how she started studying the Shelley’s and Frankenstein.

3:14 – Liz talks about the book and how she collected the art for the book. She considered how Frankenstein looks in the book versus how he was shown on stage or screen.

8:41 – Liz talks about Mary Shelley’s exposure to the Gothic prior to writing Frankenstein.

10:52 – Liz talks about some of the images she finds the most noteworthy.

13:26 – Liz talks about elements you often find in both Gothic art and depictions of Frankenstein.

20:05 – Liz talks about how they found their images for the exhibit and book.

23:19 – Liz about the collections that were the most fun to look through for this research.

25:00 – People during Mary Shelley’s time liked spooky stuff as much as they do now.

27:10 – The American and French Revolutions inspired gothic fears among the British.

36:00 – Liz talks about what the exhibit will have.

40:10 – The exhibiton information can be found by googling “It’s Alive Morgan.”

 

For more of “The Art and Design of Sci-Fi and Fantasy, Mystery and Horror” please follow me on Facebook at crisalvarezwlc, on youtube at Cris Alvarez and on Instagram @crisalvarezscifi

 

Guests: Elizabeth Denlinger

Host: Cris Alvarez

Tags: science fiction, art, gothic, frankenstein, shelley, new york public library, monsters

Fantasy works and climate change – “Fire and Snow” (SUNY Press, 2018) – Marc DiPaolo interview

Dr. Marc DiPaolo is an English literature academic who likes to write on pop culture. We discuss his latest book deals with climate fiction as found in sci-fi and fantasy books and video entertainment.

1:26 – Marc talks about how he got into studying genre pop culture. He got into Game of Thrones and Narnia audibooks and noted how much they get into climate and environmental issues.

3:46 – Marc talks about how these environmental themes were connected between works and authors. He looked at Philip Pullman, Octavia Butler, GRR Martin, CS Lewis and others. He also considered the Inklings, Dr. Who, Mad Max and so on. He also gets into Star Trek and Star Wars.

6:55 – He didn’t want to just do books or popular culture. He wanted to bring everything together.

11:50 – Marc talks about the inclusion of religion in this climate fiction.

15:56 – Marc talks about he did his research.

 

For more of “The Art and Design of Sci-Fi and Fantasy, Mystery and Horror” please follow me on Facebook at crisalvarezwlc, on youtube at Cris Alvarez and on Instagram @crisalvarezscifi

Guests: Marc DiPaolo

Host: Cris Alvarez

Tags: science fiction, fantasy, Game of Thrones, Narnia, Tolkien, Lewis, Mad Max, Octavia Butler, environmentalism, Dr. Who, Star Trek, Star Wars

Science Fiction and disaster – “The Future as Catastrophe” (Columbia University Press, 2018) – Eva Horn interview

Eva Horn is a researcher who is interested in how various kinds of disasters are presented in literature, television, and film. We talk about her latest book on the subject.

1:28 – Eva talks about how she got into writing on this subject.

6:00 – Eva differentiates between sudden disaster and the more modern slow creeping disaster.

12:00 – Eva talks about Lord Byron’s 1816 apocalyptic poem “Darkness.”

13:40 – Eva also talks about Cormac McCarthy’s novel “The Road.” She has also looked at various blockbuster disaster movies and shows. Elysium is one film she points out as an allegory of inequality.

16:25 – Eva talks about the two movies “Minority Report” and “12 Monkeys.” She talks about the fears of being able to predict the future. She brings up the myths of Oedipus.

20:30 – Eva talks about how the book is divided up.

22:45 – People used to fear a cooling planet.

32:07 – Eva would like to see more popular interest in the old texts that discuss disaster.

33:20 – Eva loves the movie “12 Monkeys” and considers it brilliant.

34:31 – SPOILER ALERT – Eva mentions how the “12 Monkeys” ends.

35:49 – SPOILER DISCUSSION ENDS

37:10 – SPOILER ALERT – Eva discusses the setting of “The Road”

38:58 – SPOILER DISCUSSION ENDS

46:50 – Eva has an academia.edu page and a page on the University of Vienna.

For more of “The Art and Design of Sci-Fi and Fantasy, Mystery and Horror” please follow me on Facebook at crisalvarezwlc, on youtube at Cris Alvarez and on Instagram @crisalvarezscifi

Guests: Eva Horn

Host: Cris Alvarez

Tags: science fiction, 12 Monkeys, The Road, Cormac McCarthy, Oedipus, Sophocles, Lord Byron, Minority Report, Steven Spielberg, Vienna