There’s whimsy associated with Colson Whitehead’s writing style—a willingness to play. Nonetheless, the darker reality of race in the United States has always been an important aspect of the stories he tells (whether about zombies or elevator inspectors). Even in his prize-winning novel, The Underground Railroad (2016), the brutality of Whitehead's devasting portrait of slavery in America is mitigated by…
-
-
‘The Girl with all the Gifts’: Triumph of the Other in Modern Zombie Horror
The general breadth of zombie–themed horror films out in this world is both overwhelming in quantity and underwhelming in quality. Nonetheless, the world of storytelling is full of surprises, and a well-presented idea can add new dimensions to even the stalest motif. This is where The Girl with all the Gifts (2016) comes in. Directed by Colm McCarthy and written by M.R.…
-
‘The Diamond Age’ by Neal Stephenson: A Nanopunk Fairytale
Neal Stephenson is an American speculative fiction author descended from a line of scientists and engineers. His work often lands in the (post-) cyberpunk genre which is best illustrated by William Gibson—whose works popularly inspired the Matrix films. Cyberpunk stories present a future world buoyed by an advanced technological culture which is contrasted by a radical, subversive or dystopic society. In other…
-
‘Under the Feet of Jesus’ by Helena María Viramontes: A Sentimental Chicanx Bildungsroman
Helena Maria Viramontes is a widely anthologised Chicanx author and professor of English at Cornell University. A key figure in the literary community, her work is a major feature of the Latinx cannon and widely read in circles outside of the traditional (often color- and gender-washed) vein. Born in East LA in the 1950s, Viramontes’ work is a reflection of the social…
-
‘Boys in The Trees’: Nineties Nostalgia and Coming of Age on Halloween
It’s Halloween night 1997. Corey (Toby Wallace)—our resident lamb in wolf’s clothing—meets up with his friends, headed by the alpha-bully, Jango (Justin Holborow), for one last night of skateboards, mischief, and girls. Reluctantly coerced into walking home with Jonah (Gulliver McGrath)—an underdeveloped misfit—Corey finds himself reminiscing about his childhood and contemplating his future. Sharing ghost stories as they make their…
