Episode 108. Souped Up: Blade (1998) and Constantine (2005)

Faculty of Horror

Using two popular examples, Andrea and Alex look at the collision between the horror and superhero genres. From conservative leanings to taboo-breaking stories, we explore two films that deviate from the norm (and occasionally, their own source material) to embark in two very different directions.

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REQUIRED READING

Blade. Dir. Stephen Norrington, 1998.

Constantine. Dir. Francis Lawrence, 2005.

EXTRA CREDIT

How Blade created the Marvel Cinematic Universe. How Blade saved Marvel and set it up for cinematic takeover.

Super Black: American Pop Culture and Black Superheroes. Adilifu Nama’s cultural history of the Black superhero genre.

Horror Noire: Blacks in American Horror Films from the 1890s to Present. Robin R Means Coleman’s groundbreaking book examining Black characters and creators in the horror genre.

Blade and the Power of Liminal Privilege. A retrospective look at how the film’s themes endure in the BLM era.

The Black Hero: A Cultural Impossibility. Kathryn Feeney’s breakdown of the Black superhero mirage.

The Devil You Know. Ken Chen’s piece for the The New Inquiry on Hellblazer and John Constantine’s true origins.

How 9/11 Changed Cinema. A look at how a tragic event upended the politics of popular films.

Flying While Black: Two Creators on Inventing (and Reinventing) Black Superheroes. Eve L. Ewing and Evan Narcisse weigh in on the importance of representation in the superhero genre.

LISTEN

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