Dining with Madmen

Fat, Food, and the Environment in 1980s Horror

Nonfiction, Entertainment, Film, Social & Cultural Studies, Social Science, Cultural Studies, Popular Culture, Fiction & Literature, Literary Theory & Criticism
Cover of the book Dining with Madmen by Thomas Fahy, University Press of Mississippi
View on Amazon View on AbeBooks View on Kobo View on B.Depository View on eBay View on Walmart
Author: Thomas Fahy ISBN: 9781496821553
Publisher: University Press of Mississippi Publication: February 13, 2019
Imprint: University Press of Mississippi Language: English
Author: Thomas Fahy
ISBN: 9781496821553
Publisher: University Press of Mississippi
Publication: February 13, 2019
Imprint: University Press of Mississippi
Language: English

In Dining with Madmen: Fat, Food, and the Environment in 1980s Horror, author Thomas Fahy explores America’s preoccupation with body weight, processed foods, and pollution through the lens of horror. Conspicuous consumption may have communicated success in the eighties, but only if it did not become visible on the body. American society had come to view fatness as a horrifying transformation—it exposed the potential harm of junk food, gave life to the promises of workout and diet culture, and represented the country’s worst consumer impulses, inviting questions about the personal and environmental consequences of excess.

While changing into a vampire or a zombie often represented widespread fears about addiction and overeating, it also played into concerns about pollution. Ozone depletion, acid rain, and toxic waste already demonstrated the irrevocable harm being done to the planet. The horror genre—from A Nightmare on Elm Street to American Psycho—responded by presenting this damage as an urgent problem, and, through the sudden violence of killers, vampires, and zombies, it depicted the consequences of inaction as terrifying.

Whether through Hannibal Lecter’s cannibalism, a vampire’s thirst for blood in The Queen of the Damned and The Lost Boys, or an overwhelming number of zombies in George Romero’s Day of the Dead, 1980s horror uses out-of-control hunger to capture deep-seated concerns about the physical and material consequences of unchecked consumption. Its presentation of American appetites resonated powerfully for audiences preoccupied with body size, food choices, and pollution. And its use of bodily change, alongside the bloodlust of killers and the desolate landscapes of apocalyptic fiction, demanded a recognition of the potentially horrifying impact of consumerism on nature, society, and the self.

View on Amazon View on AbeBooks View on Kobo View on B.Depository View on eBay View on Walmart

In Dining with Madmen: Fat, Food, and the Environment in 1980s Horror, author Thomas Fahy explores America’s preoccupation with body weight, processed foods, and pollution through the lens of horror. Conspicuous consumption may have communicated success in the eighties, but only if it did not become visible on the body. American society had come to view fatness as a horrifying transformation—it exposed the potential harm of junk food, gave life to the promises of workout and diet culture, and represented the country’s worst consumer impulses, inviting questions about the personal and environmental consequences of excess.

While changing into a vampire or a zombie often represented widespread fears about addiction and overeating, it also played into concerns about pollution. Ozone depletion, acid rain, and toxic waste already demonstrated the irrevocable harm being done to the planet. The horror genre—from A Nightmare on Elm Street to American Psycho—responded by presenting this damage as an urgent problem, and, through the sudden violence of killers, vampires, and zombies, it depicted the consequences of inaction as terrifying.

Whether through Hannibal Lecter’s cannibalism, a vampire’s thirst for blood in The Queen of the Damned and The Lost Boys, or an overwhelming number of zombies in George Romero’s Day of the Dead, 1980s horror uses out-of-control hunger to capture deep-seated concerns about the physical and material consequences of unchecked consumption. Its presentation of American appetites resonated powerfully for audiences preoccupied with body size, food choices, and pollution. And its use of bodily change, alongside the bloodlust of killers and the desolate landscapes of apocalyptic fiction, demanded a recognition of the potentially horrifying impact of consumerism on nature, society, and the self.

More books from University Press of Mississippi

Cover of the book The Comics of Charles Schulz by Thomas Fahy
Cover of the book William Woodward by Thomas Fahy
Cover of the book Franco-American Identity, Community, and La Guiannée by Thomas Fahy
Cover of the book Comics and the U.S. South by Thomas Fahy
Cover of the book David Fincher by Thomas Fahy
Cover of the book Realism for the Masses by Thomas Fahy
Cover of the book Alan Lomax, Assistant in Charge by Thomas Fahy
Cover of the book The Gaithers and Southern Gospel by Thomas Fahy
Cover of the book Touring Literary Mississippi by Thomas Fahy
Cover of the book Power, Greed, and Hubris by Thomas Fahy
Cover of the book Joe T. Patterson and the White South's Dilemma by Thomas Fahy
Cover of the book Invisible Ball of Dreams by Thomas Fahy
Cover of the book Choctaw Tales by Thomas Fahy
Cover of the book Jim Shooter by Thomas Fahy
Cover of the book Mario Lanza by Thomas Fahy
We use our own "cookies" and third party cookies to improve services and to see statistical information. By using this website, you agree to our Privacy Policy