In episode two of the “I am Anne Frank” storyline, Sister Jude persists in her investigation and contacts a Nazi hunter named Sam Goodman (Mark Margolis), who provides a historically accurate description of Project Paperclip, the American intelligence operation responsible for recruiting hundreds of ex-Nazi scientists into the national security state. Goodman relates how theContinue reading ““I am Anne Frank” The Holocaust as American Horror Story (Pt. II)”
Author Archives: Brian E. Crim
“I am Anne Frank” The Holocaust as American Horror Story (Pt. 1)
FXs successful series American Horror Story (2011- ) (AHS) embeds its impressive ensemble cast in a different narrative each season, taking viewers on a journey through America’s aberrant obsessions and preternatural fears – murder houses, clowns, witches, serial killers, the ascension of Donald Trump and his followers, and most recently, the Apocalypse. Showrunners Ryan MurphyContinue reading ““I am Anne Frank” The Holocaust as American Horror Story (Pt. 1)”
“All of this has happened before.” Genocide on New Caprica
The Sci-Fi Channel’s reimagination of the original Battlestar Galactica (BSG) series (1978-79) in the early 2000s earned critical praise and a passionate fan base by addressing critical issues of the day, specifically terrorism and the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan.[i] BSG blends elements of the classic space opera with timely commentary on racism, religious intoleranceContinue reading ““All of this has happened before.” Genocide on New Caprica”
Our Enemy, Ourselves: Averting Armageddon in The Day the Earth Stood Still (1951)
Released soon after the Soviet Union acquired the atomic bomb and the “flying saucer” mania gripping the country after the Roswell, New Mexico incident, Robert Wise’s The Day the Earth Stood Still (Day) is, M. Keith Booker maintains, “a courageous film” and the first “truly important work of American science fiction cinema.”[i] Day critiques nuclearContinue reading “Our Enemy, Ourselves: Averting Armageddon in The Day the Earth Stood Still (1951)”
“It’s all for you!” Whiteness as Monstrosity in The Omen trilogy
Coming on the heels of Rosemary’s Baby and The Exorcist, Richard Donner’s The Omen mined further the prospect of the Devil wreaking havoc on the ostensibly prosperous and peaceful West, specifically by using a child to accomplish the task. The Omen trilogy does not reference Nazism or the Holocaust directly, but the films chronicle theContinue reading ““It’s all for you!” Whiteness as Monstrosity in The Omen trilogy”
The SS Comes to Appalachia: Joel Schumacher’s Blood Creek (2009)
Joel Schumacher’s Lost Boys (1987) reinvigorated the vampire genre by situating a teenage coming of age story in a small coastal California town beset by biker vampires. Starring a host of popular young actors, Lost Boys enjoyed tremendous commercial success and quickly entered cult status. Schumacher revisits the genre with Blood Creek (2009), a smallerContinue reading “The SS Comes to Appalachia: Joel Schumacher’s Blood Creek (2009)”
The View from Hell: Dominion, Prequel to the Exorcist (2005)
Dominion: Prequel to the Exorcist (2005) explores Father Merrin’s origin story, firmly entrenching his trauma and temporary loss of faith in a Holocaust narrative. Directed by Paul Schrader, Dominion begins in 1944 with a young Merrin (Stellen Skarsgǻrd) serving as a parish priest in a small Dutch town. An SS unit arrives seeking retribution forContinue reading “The View from Hell: Dominion, Prequel to the Exorcist (2005)”
Banshee (2013-16): An Appreciation
Welcome to Banshee, a scenic wonderland best described as a demented Brigadoon. This small town in rural Pennsylvania acts like a black hole, attracting various international criminal overlords, drug cartels, neo-Nazis, heavily armed Indian racial activists, renegade Army units, and one ex-con jewel thief posing as Banshee’s sheriff. The world of Banshee runs on aContinue reading “Banshee (2013-16): An Appreciation”
“Filth! Horror! Right in the middle of it and you don’t know it”: Traumatic Memory in The Pawnbroker (1965)
Sydney Lumet’s The Pawnbroker (1965) is a searing portrait of a Holocaust survivor immersed in the desolation of an East Harlem pawnshop in the early 1960s. Approaching the anniversary of his wife’s murder in a concentration camp brothel, Sol Nazerman (Rod Steiger) is flooded by debilitating memories of his murdered family as events force himContinue reading ““Filth! Horror! Right in the middle of it and you don’t know it”: Traumatic Memory in The Pawnbroker (1965)”
“Look at the flowers, Lizzie”: Moral Injury in The Walking Dead
All characters in The Walking Dead (TWD) suffer from moral injury, a form of post-traumatic stress disorder common in extreme situations like warfare or genocide. “Moral injury,” George Hagman notes, “implies that one’s experiences are not just inconsistent with previously held moral expectations, but have the power to negate and possibly pervert them.” The trulyContinue reading ““Look at the flowers, Lizzie”: Moral Injury in The Walking Dead”
On Planet Auschwitz 