School of Film and Television Studies

Existing research on British cinema during the 1940s has often assumed an opposition between realism and fantasy or, as it is also known, 'realism and tinsel'. However, through an analysis of contemporary critical reception and censorship discourses, it becomes apparent how this division was nowhere near as clearly defined as is often argued. Debates regarding realism in the post-war climate, demonstrate how realism was often associated with fantasy and vice versa. While the ‘quality’ realist film of the 1940s demonstrates a concern with verisimilitude and the reproduction of the surface appearances of reality, when confronting the obscene or the taboo hidden below this surface realism was deemed to be far more closely associated with ‘horrific’ fantasy. Following a number of decision made by the British Board of Film Censors which were heavily criticised by the local authorities, watch committees, and the press, the Board became increasingly wary of these ‘horrific’ confrontations with the everyday. The release of The Snake Pit in the UK sparked a series of debates within the critical press, with one side questioning the suitability of a film dealing with the particularly sensitive subject matter of mental illness for the purpose of shocking and horrifying audiences, and the other side championing the maturity shown by Hollywood when dealing with an important social issue. This article therefore looks beyond common perceptions of 1940s British cinema in order to demonstrate a shift in the role played by realism and horror in the post-war period.

Existing research on British censorship during the 1940s has often favoured the notion that a so-called ‘H’ ban effectively upheld the import, production, and exhibition of the horror film in Britain during the later-half of the Second World War. However, through an analysis of contemporary critical reception and censorship discourses, it becomes apparent how this ‘ban’ was nowhere near as clearly defined as is often argued. While the ‘H’ ban may have succeeded in barring a small number of low-brow fantasy horror films from cinema screens the genre prevailed in various guises, with the films of producer Val Lewton bringing about a shift away from fantasy towards representations of the everyday. Furthermore, the role of the script supervisor at the British Board of Film Censors clearly demonstrates an alternative to censorship through an involvement with the studios prior to production in order to avoid such restrictions. This article therefore presents an analysis of such negotiations at the BBFC during this period, with Lewton’s production of The Body Snatcher (Wise, 1945) representing an example of how horror remained a fixture on British screens, through both self-censorship and a move away from the type of film typically associated with the ‘H’ classification.

Hammer Film Productions’ move to colour in the 1950s has often been discussed in terms of their application of blood and gore becoming the primary concern for the British Board of Film Censors who sought to remove a number of shots deemed to be more objectionable when seen in colour rather than black-and-white. In order to circumvent these restrictions, it has been suggested that Hammer went against the BBFC’s wishes by submitting work prints of their colour films in black-and-white in the hope that the examiner would be unable to detect the objectionable material. However, records from the period suggest that the BBFC were not entirely against this process, and that using black-and-white stock during post-production had more to do with cost-cutting than an attempt to out-do the censor. Primarily through an analysis of BBFC reports from this period, this article will therefore address the complexities surrounding the censorship of Hammer’s early colour films, paying specific attention to what this practice of submitting black-and-white prints reveals about the decisions taken by the Board when viewing horror in both monochrome and colour.

In April 2009 a flybill began appearing, first in Los Angeles, then across America depicting the new president, Barack Obama as the Joker in The Dark Knight (2009). This image was combined with one word, “socialism”. Although anonymous these flybills were assumed by many commentators to represent a rightwing Republican view, and a counter to the Hope poster created by street artist Shepard Fairey.

Its appearance coincided with the public debate on healthcare which was opposed by many Republicans. Philip Kennicott, writing in the Washington Post suggested that “the great virtue of an anonymous poster campaign is that it anticipates unspoken fears or claims, and leads the debate by insinuating and teasing out ideas that would be too explosive or alienating if simply dumped into the public forum by responsible actors.” (Kennicott 2009). Certainly the meanings that this poster suggests can be considered explosive.

This paper will explore the range of meanings, both political and racial, that this depiction of Barack Obama suggests. These meanings include the suggestion that by being a socialist, Obama is a criminal and an agent of chaos, like the Joker. The racial connotations from depicting Obama in white greasepaint are particularly significant, especially because Obama is America’s first black president.

In The Call of Cthulhu, Lovecraft describes Cthulhu as “a monster of vaguely anthropoid outline, but with an octopus-like head whose face was a mass of feelers, a scaly, rubbery-looking body, prodigious claws on hind and fore feet, and long, narrow wings behind.” (Lovecraft 1926) This describes a horrific body that creates fear and loathing. The depiction of this creation has however changed into a range of forms. Cthulhu’s body has morphed from the horrific into comical and most importantly, cute forms.  Kinsella suggests that “the essential anatomy of a cute cartoon character is small, soft, infantile, mammalian, round, without bodily appendages (arms), without bodily orifices (mouths), non-sexual, mute, insecure, helpless or bewildered.” (Kinsella 1995) These comical and cute forms have simplified Cthulhu’s body into a smooth skinned, rounded, clawless form. The face has been reduced to two main types – either a featureless form with tiny eyes, like Hello Kitty, or a ‘chibi’ form with large eyes. This cute body castrates Cthulhu by deliberately reducing the image’s power to scare us by making Cthulhu pitiable. Harris argues that cuteness is “an unconscious attempt to maim, hobble, and embarrass the thing [the creator] seeks to idolize”. (Harris 1993)

This paper will examine the depiction of Cthulhu in merchandising and comics as a cute monster and how this affects our relationship to the character. It will consider a range of different merchandising including Toy Vault’s plush toys, My Little Cthulhu by Dreamland Toyworks and the Chibithulhu from Steve Jackson Games’ Munchkin Cthulhu. It will also look at Carl Cthulhu from the comic Little Gloomy and Cthulhoo from the web-comic Unspeakable Vault (of Doom).


References:
Harris, Daniel (1993) ‘The cute and the anti-cute’, in Harper's Magazine, July 1993, Vol. 287, Issue 1718.

Kinsella, Sharon (1995) Cuties in Japan. Available from: http://www.kinsellaresearch.com/Cuties.html , accessed 24 January 2010.

Lovecraft, H.P (1926) The Call of Cthulhu. Available from: http://manybooks.net/titles/lovecrafthother06cthulhu.html , accessed 27 January 2010.

In 2003 Sony Pictures released the film Underworld. However even before its release the film had proved controversial following a legal action for copyright infringement from White Wolf, a games publisher, and Nancy A Collins, one of their fantasy writers. White Wolf alleged that Sony used unique elements that they had developed for their World Of Darkness line of roleplaying games. In addition it was alleged that Love Among Monsters, a short story by Nancy A Collins and written for White Wolf’s game line, had been plagiarised in the film’s plot.

Reaction to the news of this legal action was marked in fan circles. These included fans of White Wolf products, fans of the Underworld film and fans of both. The case was debated in forums on both gaming and film sites by these fans. Surprisingly there was a significant number of White Wolf fans who were deeply critical of the actions of White Wolf, to the point that some declared that they would no longer support any White Wolf products. This is interesting as normally the fans would be expected to demonstrate loyalty to White Wolf, which they did not. They seemed to be more concerned about being able to see a version of “their” World of Darkness on screen.

This paper will examine the reactions of these fans in forums at the time and develop a picture of what they thought and felt about the Underworld legal action.

In the last decade the hard-core adult gamer market has become saturated and the older gamer is now an important new market for computer consoles and games. The Nintendo DS is targeted at this group through targeted adverts and carefully designed products. The older demographic being appealed to are not typically gamers and as a result Nintendo appear to make a series of assumptions about how they perceive gaming. The adverts imply that older people see that gaming as fun is a valueless activity and so concentrate on the more valued themes of education and physical and mental exercise. The older gamer is particularly courted in Nintendo’s celebrity adverts featuring Patrick Stewart, Julie Walters, Fern Britton and most recently Terry Wogan.

The design of the Nintendo DS, in particular the addition of a stylus, are attractive to older players unfamiliar with console gaming. This was combined with appealing games, especially the “brain training” genre, which presented familiar puzzles in a new way.

This paper will consider how Nintendo has extended the market for console games to older gamers through the Nintendo DS console and their associated games; and its promotion through television advertising.

In The Call of Cthulhu, Lovecraft describes Cthulhu as “a monster of vaguely anthropoid outline, but with an octopus-like head whose face was a mass of feelers, a scaly, rubbery-looking body, prodigious claws on hind and fore feet, and long, narrow wings behind.” (Lovecraft 1926) This describes a horrific body that creates fear and loathing. The depiction of this creation has however changed into a range of forms. Cthulhu’s body has morphed from the horrific into comical and most importantly, cute forms.  Kinsella suggests that “the essential anatomy of a cute cartoon character is small, soft, infantile, mammalian, round, without bodily appendages (arms), without bodily orifices (mouths), non-sexual, mute, insecure, helpless or bewildered.” (Kinsella 1995) These comical and cute forms have simplified Cthulhu’s body into a smooth skinned, rounded, clawless form. The face has been reduced to two main types – either a featureless form with tiny eyes, like Hello Kitty, or a ‘chibi’ form with large eyes. This cute body castrates Cthulhu by deliberately reducing the image’s power to scare us by making Cthulhu pitiable. Harris argues that cuteness is “an unconscious attempt to maim, hobble, and embarrass the thing [the creator] seeks to idolize”. (Harris 1993) This transformation can also be described as part of the juvenilisation of horror icons as observed by Twitchell. (1985)

This paper will examine the depiction of Cthulhu in merchandising as a cute monster and how this affects our relationship to the character. It will consider a range of different merchandising including Toy Vault’s plush toys, My Little Cthulhu by Dreamland Toyworks and the Chibithulhu from Steve Jackson Games’ Munchkin Cthulhu.


References:
Harris, Daniel (1993) ‘The cute and the anti-cute’, in Harper's Magazine, July 1993, Vol. 287, Issue 1718.
Kinsella, Sharon (1995) Cuties in Japan. Available from: http://www.kinsellaresearch.com/Cuties.html , accessed 24 January 2010.

Lovecraft, H.P (1926) The Call of Cthulhu. Available from: http://manybooks.net/titles/lovecrafthother06cthulhu.html , accessed 27 January 2010.

Twitchell, James B. (1985) Dreadful Pleasures: An Anatomy of Modern Horror. Oxford, Oxford University Press.

The Karate Kid (2010) introduces the martial arts film to a new youth audience. When considered solely as a mainstream Hollywood product The Karate Kid is nothing special. Yet when considered in the context of the 1970s Hong Kong martial arts film it gains a deeper level of meaning. This new version of The Karate Kid makes many references to Hong Kong films in the kung fu training genre, which include Snake in Eagle’s Shadow (1978), and Drunken Master (1978). This paper will consider The Karate Kid in terms of its star, Jackie Chan; and its place as a modern example of the kung fu training genre that builds on earlier examples from the Hong Kong film industry.
Jackie Chan’s performance as Mr Han, the wise old master of The Karate Kid, is central to the film. The role and its place within the genre conventions of the kung fu training picture are worth consideration. If we go back to Chan’s early roles in films like Snake in Eagle’s Shadow and Drunken Master we see that he is no longer the student, but has become the master, teaching the next generation. Chan’s performance appears derived from the aged martial arts master roles played by Siu Tien Yuen, his co-star from the 1970s. These elements give the film a great sense of genre continuity.
This progression through roles, from student, to accomplished martial artist, to master, provides Chan a way to age gracefully within the genre conventions of the martial arts training picture. The Karate Kid and Chan himself also provide a model for other aging action stars in both the West and China, who are often attempting to recreate the glories of their youth in films such as The Expendables (2010).