Dark Carnivals: Modern Horror and the Origins of American Empire (Hardcover) (ISBN-13: 9781640094369)

The panoramic story of how the horror genre transformed into one of the most incisive critiques of unchecked American imperial power

The American empire emerged from the shadows of World War II. As the nation's influence swept the globe with near impunity, a host of evil forces followed--from racism, exploitation, and military invasion to killer clowns, flying saucers, and monsters borne of a fear of the other. By viewing American imperial history through the prism of the horror genre, Dark Carnivals lays bare how the genre shaped us, distracted us, and gave form to a violence as American as apple pie.

A carnival ride that connects the mushroom clouds of 1945 to the beaches of Amity Island, Charles Manson to the massacre at My Lai, and John Wayne to John Wayne Gacy, the new book by acclaimed historian W. Scott Poole reveals how horror films and fictions have followed the course of America's military and cultural empire and explores how the shadow of our national sins can take on the form of mass entertainment.

Author: W. Scott Poole
ISBN-10: 1640094369
ISBN-13: 9781640094369
Publisher: Counterpoint LLC
Language: English
Published: 10/04/2022
Pages: 384
Format: Hardcover
Weight: 1.50lbs
Size: 9.40h x 6.30w x 1.30d

Review Citation(s):
Library Journal 05/01/2022 pg. 15
Publishers Weekly 08/01/2022
Kirkus Reviews 09/01/2022
Booklist 09/01/2022 pg. 19