Communicating Fears in Film: Astrophobia, Part 1 - The Thing from Another World (1951)

Blasting off into the upper atmosphere of film discussion, cohosts Garret Castleberry and Scott McMurry ignite their third unit focus for season seven of Special Topics in Media. This new unit carries over some trends from the previous unit, Cold War Creatures, but settles in on a focused fear of things from above, or as Stephen Prince calls it, "Astrophobia". The dialogic duo tackle concurrent themes relating to Astrophobia first with a primary focus on director Christian Nyby's (but also Howard Hawks') science fiction classic The Thing from Another World  (1951), while also putting this film in conversation its remake, John Carpenter's 1982 masterpiece The Thing (16:38). Given how the two films essentially bookend time periods relating to the inaugural and twilight years of the U.S. Cold War, the cohosts work to put them in conversation culturally and rhetorically (20:16). Examining the latter film also places discussion and analysis within the cultural orbit of The Thing's 40th anniversary in 2022 (24:20). Key analysis examines not only the significance of Cold War patriotism in Nyby's original but the duo seek to explain the initial critical and commercial failure of the remake amidst a resurgent optimism in U.S. cultural history (41:53). In addition to special appearances by popular segments imitation versus innovation and presence versus absence (54:44), Garret and Scott ultimately attempt to create identification for the flying objects otherwise known as the ways in which The Thing from Another World (and The Thing) communicate fear (1:37:00).

Hosts: Garret Castleberry, Scott McMurry

Producers: Garret Castleberry, Will McMurry (Audio Engineer), Alli Garner (Cover Art), Austin Foster (Music)

Recommended readings paired with Season Seven "Communicating Fears in Film":
Kendall Phillips. Projected Fears: Horror Films and American Culture. Praeger, 2006.

Stephen Prince. Apocalypse Cinema. Rutgers University Press, 2021.

Murray Leeder. Horror Film: A Critical Introduction. Bloomsbury Academic Press, 2018.

Christian Nyby. (Director). The Thing from Another World. California, USA: RKO Radio Pictures, Inc./Winchester Pictures Incorporated, 1951.

John Carpenter. (Director). The Thing. California, USA: Universal Pictures/Turman-Foster Company, 1982.

Ways to Connect with us online:
Follow and engage with Special Topics in Media on Twitter at @podcast_topics.

"Like" to follow our Special Topics in Media Page on Facebook (search Special Topics in Media).

Join the Special Topics in Media Facebook Group and share your reviews of the film or this episode.

Subscribe to Dr. Castleberry's academic YouTube Channel.

Garret's academic website is available at https://garretcastleberry.academia.edu/.