Angela Smith
Hideous Progeny: Disability, Eugenics, and Classic Horror Cinema
- ISBN 13:
- 9780231157179
- author:
- Angela Smith
- format:
- Paperback
- publisher:
- Columbia University Press
- language:
- English
- Publication Year:
- 2012
- Pages:
- 368
- Dimensions:
- 6.00 (w) x 8.90 (h) x 0.90 (d)
- Genre:
- Film Reference
- Condition:
- New
- Availability:
- Item usually sent within 10 working days
Description
Twisted bodies and deformed faces have long been a staple of Hollywood horror. However, these grotesque creatures have also been interpreted as symptoms of social repression, rather than as reflections of deeper cultural anxieties. Angela M. Smith explores the fascination with eugenics and physical debility in classic 1930s horror cinema, revealing a genre that was deeply invested in the narratives of eugenics and physiognomics. By examining films such as Dracula, Frankenstein, and Freaks, Smith uncovers the complex visualizations of disability that underpinned these movies. Smith argues that classic horror films offer a nuanced critique of biological determinism, highlighting the contradictions and perversities of the medical and scientific gaze. This thought-provoking analysis sheds new light on the ways in which filmmakers exploited fears and yearnings to create captivating - yet unsettling - encounters with disability.
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