Normative Lifecycle Milestones Examined Through Horror Fiction
Our Daily Dread
Format:Hardback
Publisher:Bloomsbury Publishing PLC
Publishing:7th Jan '27
£80.00
This title is due to be published on 7th January, and will be despatched as soon as possible.
An examination of the progression of a human life, and its expectations of significant milestones through the lens of horror fiction.
Analyzing the horror genre across literature, film, and television, Rebecca Gibson unveils the hidden horrific undercurrents of the mundane.
Gibson argues that while many people are excited to cohabitate, marry, have children, or grow older together, others do so because that is what they are expected to do—and often they do so not with excitement, but with a sense of dread. Normative Lifecycle Milestones Examined Through Horror Fiction examines the progression of a human life, and the expectations of the milestones we are meant to meet, through the lens of horror fiction. Across nine chapters, this book examines fundamental phases of life (birth and childhood, adolescence/independence, courtship, cohabitation, marriage, parenthood, old age, and death), and the often dreadful aspects and outcomes of what is purported to be periods of joy and ambition. Incorporating various theories from the fields of anthropology, philosophy, sociology, and gender studies, this book not only serves as an analysis of contemporary horror, but as a guide to examining human behavior and emotions about our daily lives.
Horror fiction has long provided a way for people to grapple with the most consequential moments of human life. In Normative Lifecycle Milestones Examined Through Horror Fiction, Rebecca Gibson brings horror studies into conversation with anthropology, popular culture, and everyday life to examine how people navigate the pressures and expectations that accompany life's major transitions. Drawing on an impressive range of novels, films, and television, Gibson shows how horror illuminates the fears, tensions, and uncertainties that shape ordinary experience. Insightful, engaging, and consistently accessible, this book demonstrates the power of horror narratives to deepen our understanding of the human condition. This thoughtful and original work will resonate with readers in anthropology, popular culture studies, and horror studies, as well as anyone interested in the stories people tell to make sense of their lives. * Jay VanderVeen, Professor of Anthropology, Indiana University South Bend, USA *
Normative Lifecycle Milestones Examined through Horror Fiction blends the social sciences and the humanities to take horror scholarship beyond traditional psychosexual readings, into the horrific ruptures of the mundane. Dr. Gibson's prose is both accessible and richly detailed, with examples that range from classics like Frankenstein to new favorites like Love, Death + Robots. This book is sure to haunt scholars and students of media, literature, anthropology, psychology, and sociology. * Liz W. Faber, author of Robot Suicide: Death, Identity, and Artificial Intelligence in Science Fiction *
ISBN: 9781666947519
Dimensions: unknown
Weight: unknown
268 pages