Week 7

Paul was not taking us today but instead there was a new tutor for Cinematic arts Dr. Victoria McCullen who taking us in his stead. She started by tell us what she did previously, she is very academic (obviously,she is a university tutor) having a BA Hons in Media Arts, a MA in Film and Visual Studies and a PHD in Horror Film Studies. She worked with UTV, BBC, MTV and then after finishing her PHD she worked with HBO. While working in HBO she work on a new show Vinyl's teaser trailer. Whilst talking about her time at HBO she not so subtly dropped that Game of Thrones is HBO's main source of money and that they are going to need to create a new show to bring in more money once it ended. This was something that just caught my attention because Game of Thrones is one of my favourite shows at the moment.

However Victoria wanted to focus on American Post 9/11 horror films which is what she wrote about
during her PHD. This was obviously something she is very passionate about and I myself am a fan of
horror films, Victoria asked the class what was our favourite horror films were, while I didn't answer at the time, its "Evil Dead: Army of Darkness". B movie gold. But she seems to into Horror for completely different reasons than myself or I was, but now I can say that I have a much greater appreciation for them. Victoria talked about how horror films are more politically charged than I previously thought. In the 1950's horror films where about the Cold War and nuclear tension and the 1960's they were about the aids crisis by having monstrous children in them. While I do understand films having at times political agendas I did not see them in horror movies before.

Victoria talked to us about the movie "Cloverfield" and how its a post 9/11 horror film, while personally I won't of classed it as a horror film myself, I thought of more as a thriller but it does have those darker horror themes. She shown us a clip of the film, its one at the start of movie, right when action is about to kick in and without thinking that this movie is about 9/11 I would of never of seen why it is. The movie is a found footage film and scene simulates what it would be like for a on looker watching 9/11 happen, as well the now so painfully obvious symbolism of the statue of liberty's head being torn off being as attack on liberty and freedom (the American ideal).

Victoria went to can about the movie "The Devils Rejects" by Rob Zombie and what political views are used in the movie. She when on to explain that the Sheriff in movie is meant to symbolise the stereotype of the American Right, a God fearing backwards man. This is the personification of Bush's views on Iraq and the Firefly family would be Iraq. But the movie represents the firefly family as a loving family that do a lot bad to other people, this comes back to a point when she was talking about misunderstood monsters mainly to do with the vampires in "True Blood". This is mean't to be Rob Zombies views on Iraq being about misunderstood monsters.