Blog Post 8
Brown, Christopher. “Monsters.” A History of Horror Podcast, episode 4, 29 March 2015.
Summary of Podcast
This podcast discusses the introduction of the horror movie genres to Universal. The films Dracula (1931) and Frankenstein (1931). The movies are picked apart as a new genre, and then as individual movies and their successes, which fed off of each other due to these movies being the start of the horror genre to Hollywood. The publicity that these movies received helped kick-start this genre, and subsequently created a new movement within Hollywood.
I will be using some of the elements within this podcast in my essay by incorporating the themes of newness and exploration. These movies were the start of something new that affected not only the movies and tropes that we have around today, but also how we see those movies, both in terms of characters and the literature that they were based around.
Argument
The argument made in this podcast is that without Browning’s Dracula, the horror genre would not have been the same. The movie The Cat and the Canary was brought up as an example of a horror movie existing in the United States before Dracula, but that the latter named film contained no humor or comic-relief, as other prototype horror films had done in the past.
My stance on this topic is that I agree. While there were other movies in the past to contain frightening scenes meant to have viewers holding onto their seats, the horror genre was forever changed and ultimately re-founded with Dracula.
Contributions
The most interesting contribution that this podcast gave me in regards to my topic is the example of The Cat and the Canary. I have never actually heard of this movie before listening to this podcast, despite it being one of the first popular scary movies to be made and viewed in the United States. I want to look into this movie more and see how this movie created the outline for the grounds on which true horror films like Dracula and Frankenstein could stand.
I am going to apply these contributions to my own research by finding out more about The Cat and the Canary.
New Information
I learned about the pairing of Dracula, Frankenstein, and The Wolf Man as the big three initial horror releases. Hollywood directors and producers had planned out the releases of these movies in relatively the same time frame so that they could better gauge audiences’ reactions.
I am going to engage with this new information by learning more about The Wolf Man, which I do not happen to know much about, unlike the films Frankenstein and Dracula.
Notes on Follow-Up Reading
Upon looking up about The Cat and the Canary, I saw that there was a 1927 release, as well as a 1939 release. Due to the popularity that Dracula, The Wolf Man, and Frankenstein received, this movie had the updated version be released.
Works Cited for Follow-Up Reading
“Cat and the Canary (1927).” The Film Detective, 18 Oct 2020.
Podcast 2
Citation
Wilson, Jacke. “The Trials of Oscar Wilde.” The History of Literature, episode 84, The Podglomerate, 16 March 2017.
Summary of Podcast
In this podcast, the narrator speaks about playwright Oscar Wilde’s trials. The details of his imprisonment based on the charges of “gross indecency” were discussed. Oscar Wilde’s entire life is covered, leading up to the point of his trial, imprisonment, and release. The podcast discusses “the forces that led to his tragic demise.” Wilde’s work The Importance of Being Earnest is talked about in length, as it was the masterpiece released only three months before his imprisonment.
I will apply these elements and this content into my essay by continuing my research on Oscar Wilde as his impact on Stoker, as well as his novel Dracula. In my abstract for my essay, I discussed how Wilde’s trial and Stoker’s writing of Dracula intersected, and how the trial as well as imprisonment of Oscar Wilde affected Stoker’s view of homosexuality, which was a theme in his novel.
Argument
The argument made is that Oscar Wilde’s mother’s fascination of Greek mythology impacted how he was raised. The view that the ancient Greeks had on homosexuality influenced how Wilde viewed honosexuality, even though the traditional Victorian era view on this was quite the opposite.
This argument affects my topic because a part of my argument for the themes in Stoker’s novel are centered around Oscar WIlde and the impacts that he had on Stoker’s writing, specifically of that novel.
Contributions
The most interesting contribution made from this podcast is that Oscar Wilde gave into his desires, whereas these desires were very frowned upon by the Victorian era society. This idea is very interesting because it brings up the topic of free will, which also plays into the prevalent theme of Catholicism and religion as a whole in Dracula. The idea of free will is something that comes up frequently within Catholicism.
I am going to apply this interesting contribution into my essay and research by comparing the themes of Catholicism and homoeroticism within Dracula, which are two very contrastive themes.
New Information
From listening to this podcast, I learned a lot more about Oscar Wilde’s childhood. I knew vaguely of the events that led up to his trial and imprisonment, but I did not know anything about his mother.
I will engage with this new information in my essay by including it in my research when looking more into Oscar Wilde’s life.
Follow-Up Research
From the follow-up research that I conducted, I learned that Oscar Wilde’s father had three illegitimate children, two of which died on the same night during a Halloween party. William Wilde (Oscar’s father) played a smaller role in the playwright’s upbringing, as he was a successful surgeon and had his own share of controversies to deal with — one of his long-term patients had accused him of seducing her and taking advantage of her.
Citation from Follow-Up Research
Fryer, Jonathan (2005). Wilde. Haus Publishing.
