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Giant Creatures in Our World

Essays on Kaiju and American Popular Culture

Jason Barr editor Camille DG Mustachio editor

Format:Paperback

Publisher:McFarland & Co Inc

Published:13th Oct '17

Currently unavailable, and unfortunately no date known when it will be back

Giant Creatures in Our World cover

Dismissed as camp by critics but revered by fans, the kaiju or "strange creature" film has become an iconic element of both Japanese and American pop culture. From homage to parody to advertising, references to Godzilla--and to a lesser extent Gamera, Rodan, Ultraman and others--abound in entertainment media. Godzilla in particular is so ubiquitous, his name is synonymous with immensity and destruction.

In this collection of new essays, contributors examine kaiju representations in a range of contexts and attempt to define this at times ambiguous genre.

“rampaging monsters are to be taken seriously, and this collection does just that, examining these cultural giants with the gravity they deserve, but also the fun audiences expect”—Bookgasm
“solid”—popcultureshelf.com
“As Godzilla proved in his ’54 debut, rampaging monsters are to be taken seriously. This collection does just that, examining these cultural giants with the gravity they deserve, but also the fun audiences expect.”—Rod Lott, Flick Attack
“an inherently fascinating and impressively informative read”—Midwest Book Review
“A collection of essays as big and impressive as the monsters and heroes it concerns. This anthology will be required reading for fans who love Kaiju, and for scholars who are curious about how our culture views these giant creatures.”—John Kenneth Muir, author, The Encyclopedia of Superheroes of Film and Television.

ISBN: 9781476668369

Dimensions: 229mm x 152mm x 11mm

Weight: 286g

212 pages