Supernatural Politics Essays on Social Engagement, Fandom and the Series
Produktdetaljer
Om bidragsyterne
Lisa Macklem has been writing about Supernatural since the first season. Her main research area is in copyright law and its intersection with the entertainment and media industry and how that industry influences access to culture and users’ rights, including fans. She was recently cited in the Canadian government’s review of its Copyright Statute. She lives in London, Ontario, Canada. Dominick Grace, a professor of English at Brescia University College, has published numerous articles on subjects ranging from medieval and early modern literature to contemporary popular culture. He lives in London, Ontario, Canada.What makes a horror television drama interesting? Like any other drama, it is often the character development or plot, and this certainly applies to the dramatically-resonant Supernatural and its beloved characters. However, Supernatural has achieved a dedicated fandom and a record-breaking 15-season run by skillfully engaging with the social reality inhabited by the show's audience. Additionally, the show plays with the fourth wall by having an in-world fandom for the main characters. Supernatural's many layers have garnered the attention of academics who analyzed the show's engagement with diverse topics such as the #MeToo movement, consumerism, and the American Dream. This collection of essays studies the topical issues and politics that added depth and maturity to Supernatural, separated it from X-Files knock-offs, and garnered the show its own cult following.
Introduction
Lisa Macklem and Dominick Grace
Part One—Being American
Post-Crash Politics: Supernatural Masculinities in the Mid-West
Leanne McRae
“I killed Hitler”: American Exceptionalism and Triumphalism in Supernatural
Cait Coker
Dean’s Yellow Fever: Acts of Forgery in Genre
Camille DeBose
“You guys getting hungry?” On Leviathans, Consumption and American Politics in Supernatural
Angélica Varandas
Part Two—Text and Context
Re-Constructing Monstrosity: Faces of Evil, from Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein to the TV Show Supernatural
Tatiana Prorokova-Konrad
Knowledge Is Power: Information Literacy in Supernatural
Paula S. Kiser
“There is no singing in Supernatural!”: Fan/Producer Relationships, Metanarrative and Supernatural’s 200th Episode Special
Keshia Mcclantoc
Part Three—The Politics of Fandom
Slash Fiction: Homoerotics and the Metatextual Fangirl
Emily E. Roach
Breaking the Fourth Wall: Fandom Representation in Supernatural Canon
Kimberly Lynn Workman
Monsters Make Gender Trouble
Megan Genovese
“Driver picks the music”: Tracing Supernatural’s Long Road Trip to Discovering Fan Identity
Laurena Aker
Coda—Engaging with Engagement: Following a Creator/Creating Followers
Lisa Macklem and Dominick Grace
Appendix One: Episodes Cited
Appendix Two: Main and Major Characters
About the Contributors
Index