Kevin J. Wetmore Jr.'s Books

Shakespearean Echoes

By: Kevin J. Wetmore Jr.

Write a review Read reviews Take a Quiz Solve Book Puzzle

Shakespearean Echoes assembles a global cast of established and emerging scholars to explore new connections between Shakespeare and contemporary culture, reflecting the complexities and conflicts of Shakespeare's current international afterlife.

Average ratings

N/A

Write a review

Solve jigsaw puzzle

Age

Page Count

214

Publisher

Springer

Published Date

ISBN 10

1137380020

ISBN 13

9781137380029

Shakespeare and Youth Culture

By: J. Hulbert,K. Wetmore Jr.,R. York,Kevin J. Wetmore Jr.

Write a review Read reviews Take a Quiz Solve Book Puzzle

Shakespeare and Youth Culture

By: J. Hulbert,K. Wetmore Jr.,R. York,Kevin J. Wetmore Jr.

This book explores the appropriation of Shakespeare by youth culture and the expropriation of youth culture in the manufacture and marketing of 'Shakespeare'. Considering the reduction, translation and referencing of the plays and the man, the volume examines the confluence between Shakepop and rock, rap, graphic novels, teen films and pop psychology.

Average ratings

N/A

Write a review

Solve jigsaw puzzle

Age

Page Count

257

Publisher

Springer

Published Date

ISBN 10

0230105246

ISBN 13

9780230105249

Modern Asian Theatre and Performance 1900-2000

By: Kevin J. Wetmore, Jr.,Siyuan Liu,Erin B. Mee

Write a review Read reviews Take a Quiz Solve Book Puzzle

Modern Asian Theatre and Performance 1900-2000

By: Kevin J. Wetmore, Jr.,Siyuan Liu,Erin B. Mee

Modern Asian Theatre and Performance 1900 – 2000 is a ground-breaking survey, tracking the advent of modern drama in Japan, India, China, Korea and Southeast Asia. It considers the shaping power of realism and naturalism, the influence of Western culture, the relationship between theatrical modernisation and social modernisation, and how theatre operates in contemporary Asian society. Organised by period, nation and region, each chapter provides: ·a historical overview of the culture; ·an outline of theatre history; ·a survey of significant playwrights, actors, directors, companies, plays and productions. With contributions from an international team of scholars, this authoritative introduction will uniquely equip students and scholars with a broad understanding of the modern theatre histories of Asia.

Average ratings

N/A

Write a review

Solve jigsaw puzzle

Age

Page Count

320

Publisher

A&C Black

Published Date

ISBN 10

1408177218

ISBN 13

9781408177211

Post-9/11 Horror in American Cinema

By: Kevin J. Wetmore

Write a review Read reviews Take a Quiz Solve Book Puzzle

Post-9/11 Horror in American Cinema

By: Kevin J. Wetmore

Examines how horror cinema has changed as a result of 9/11 and, conversely, how horror films construct and give meaning to 9/11.

Average ratings

N/A

Write a review

Solve jigsaw puzzle

Age

Page Count

243

Publisher

A&C Black

Published Date

ISBN 10

1441197974

ISBN 13

9781441197979

The Theology of Battlestar Galactica

American Christianity in the 2004-2009 Television Series

By: Kevin J. Wetmore, Jr.

Write a review Read reviews Take a Quiz Solve Book Puzzle

The Theology of Battlestar Galactica

American Christianity in the 2004-2009 Television Series

By: Kevin J. Wetmore, Jr.

The reimagined television series Battlestar Galactica (2005 to 2009 on the Sci Fi Channel), features religion and theology among its central concerns--but does not simply use its myriad faiths as plot devices or background material. Battlestar Galactica is, in and of itself, a theological text. Over the course of 87 episodes and two television movies, the series' narrative arc explores the meanings of salvation, prophecy, exile, apocalypse, resurrection, and messianism, and clearly demonstrates the working of a divine will in a material world. The book offers a systematic theology for each of Battlestar Galactica's invented religions and surveys echoes of American Christianity in the groundbreaking series.

Average ratings

N/A

Write a review

Solve jigsaw puzzle

Age

Page Count

221

Publisher

McFarland

Published Date

ISBN 10

0786489464

ISBN 13

9780786489466

The Methuen Drama Anthology of Modern Asian Plays

By: Kevin J. Wetmore, Jr.,Siyuan Liu

Write a review Read reviews Take a Quiz Solve Book Puzzle

The Methuen Drama Anthology of Modern Asian Plays

By: Kevin J. Wetmore, Jr.,Siyuan Liu

A companion volume to Modern Asian Theatre and Performance 1900–2000, this anthology contains nine emblematic scripts from twentieth and twenty-first century Asian theatre. Opening with a history of modern Asian drama and a summary of the plays and their contexts, it features nine works written between 1912 and 2009 in Japan, China, Korea, India, Indonesia and Vietnam. Showcasing fresh contemporary writing alongside plays central to the established canon, the collection surveys each playwright's work, and includes: Father Returns by Kikuchi Kan Hot Pepper, Air Conditioner and the Farewell Speech by Okada Toshiki Sunrise by Cao Yu I Love XXX by Meng Jinghui, Huang Jingang, Wang Xiaoli, Shi Hang Bicycle by O Tae-sok The Post Office by Rabindranath Tagore Hayavadana by Girish Karnad The Struggle of the Naga Tribe by W. S. Rendra Truong Ba's Soul in the Butcher's Skin by Luu Quang Vu The chronological and geographical breadth of the anthology provides a unique insight into modern Asian theatre and is essential to any understanding of its relation to Western drama and indigenous performance.

Average ratings

N/A

Write a review

Solve jigsaw puzzle

Age

Page Count

529

Publisher

Bloomsbury Publishing

Published Date

ISBN 10

1408176505

ISBN 13

9781408176504

Black Dionysus

Greek Tragedy and African American Theatre

By: Kevin J. Wetmore, Jr.

Write a review Read reviews Take a Quiz Solve Book Puzzle

Black Dionysus

Greek Tragedy and African American Theatre

By: Kevin J. Wetmore, Jr.

Many playwrights, authors, poets and historians have used images, metaphors and references to and from Greek tragedy, myth and epic to describe the African experience in the New World. The complex relationship between ancient Greek tragedy and modern African American theatre is primarily rooted in America, where the connection between ancient Greece and ancient Africa is explored and debated the most. The different ways in which Greek tragedy has been used by playwrights, directors and others to represent and define African American history and identity are explored in this work. Two models are offered for an Afro-Greek connection: Black Orpheus, in which the Greek connection is metaphorical, expressing the African in terms of the European; and Black Athena, in which ancient Greek culture is "reclaimed" as part of an Afrocentric tradition. African American adaptations of Greek tragedy on the continuum of these two models are then discussed, and plays by Peter Sellars, Adrienne Kennedy, Lee Breuer, Rita Dove, Jim Magnuson, Ernest Ferlita, Steve Carter, Silas Jones, Rhodessa Jones and Derek Walcott are analyzed. The concepts of colorblind and nontraditional casting and how such practices can shape the reception and meaning of Greek tragedy in modern American productions are also covered.

Average ratings

N/A

Write a review

Solve jigsaw puzzle

Age

Page Count

276

Publisher

McFarland

Published Date

ISBN 10

0786451599

ISBN 13

9780786451593

Eaters of the Dead

Myths and Realities of Cannibal Monsters

By: Kevin J. Wetmore, Jr.

Write a review Read reviews Take a Quiz Solve Book Puzzle

Eaters of the Dead

Myths and Realities of Cannibal Monsters

By: Kevin J. Wetmore, Jr.

Spanning myth, history, and contemporary culture, a terrifying and illuminating excavation of the meaning of cannibalism. Every culture has monsters that eat us, and every culture repels in horror when we eat ourselves. From Grendel to medieval Scottish cannibal Sawney Bean, and from the Ghuls of ancient Persia to The Texas Chainsaw Massacre, tales of being consumed are both universal and universally terrifying. In this book, Kevin J. Wetmore Jr. explores the full range of monsters that eat the dead: ghouls, cannibals, wendigos, and other beings that feast on human flesh. Moving from myth through history to contemporary popular culture, Wetmore considers everything from ancient Greek myths of feeding humans to the gods, through sky burial in Tibet and Zoroastrianism, to actual cases of cannibalism in modern societies. By examining these seemingly inhuman acts, Eaters of the Dead reveals that those who consume corpses can teach us a great deal about human nature—and our deepest human fears.

Average ratings

N/A

Write a review

Solve jigsaw puzzle

Age

Page Count

273

Publisher

Reaktion Books

Published Date

ISBN 10

1789144450

ISBN 13

9781789144451

The Empire Triumphant

Race, Religion and Rebellion in the Star Wars Films

By: Kevin J. Wetmore, Jr.

Write a review Read reviews Take a Quiz Solve Book Puzzle

The Empire Triumphant

Race, Religion and Rebellion in the Star Wars Films

By: Kevin J. Wetmore, Jr.

George Lucas's first Star Wars trilogy shows the influences of its era; Cold War tension is evident in its theme of rebellion against totalitarianism. Recent entries in the Star Wars saga--The Phantom Menace (1999) and Attack of the Clones (2002)--are much more concerned with evil corporations, terrorists, and the corruption of the political process. Each film is influenced by the times in which it was released, but also by cultural subtexts and by other films that had direct and indirect effects on Lucas as writer, producer, and director. This work focuses on all six Star Wars films. The first topic of this multifaceted examination is how the films use the language of colonialism ("The" Rebellion, "The" Empire) to emphasize the idea of imperialism. Next the author looks at how Asian influences--including religious undertones from Taoism and Buddhism and the works of Kurosawa and other Asian filmmakers--provide a subtext for much of the action. Next the discussion turns to the representation of people of color in the Star Wars universe, and how other ethnicities are represented overall, particularly through the literalization of the word "aliens." These topics of discussion provide for penetrating conclusions about Lucas's films and how they represent race, religion, and rebellion.

Average ratings

N/A

Write a review

Solve jigsaw puzzle

Age

Page Count

385

Publisher

McFarland

Published Date

ISBN 10

1476611718

ISBN 13

9781476611716

The Conjuring

By: Kevin J. Wetmore Jr.

Write a review Read reviews Take a Quiz Solve Book Puzzle

The Conjuring

By: Kevin J. Wetmore Jr.

In 2013 an apparently simple, back-to-basics scary movie transformed horror cinema for the rest of the decade. Based on the allegedly true story of the Perron family haunting and subsequent investigation by ghost hunters Ed and Lorraine Warren, The Conjuring has to-date spawned six sequels and prequels, making up a Conjuring ‘universe’ that has taken over a billion dollars around the world. The New York Times called The Conjuring ‘a fantastically effective haunted-house movie’ which, following his earlier film Insidious, established director James Wan as a force in horror cinema. In this Devil’s Advocates, horror scholar Kevin Wetmore examines what elements in the film are truly terrifying, how the filmmakers’ claims of being based on a true story hold up against the actual history of the haunting and the Warrens, and the relationship between The Conjuring and the many films in its universe. Along the way this book also considers how games, toys and dolls play an important role in the series, offers a critique of gender roles in the films, and asks the question, what is actually ‘conjured’ in The Conjuring? The delightful result is an in-depth, close reading of a film that uses standard horror tropes masterfully to create a truly scary film.

Average ratings

N/A

Write a review

Solve jigsaw puzzle

Age

Page Count

121

Publisher

Liverpool University Press

Published Date

ISBN 10

1800343973

ISBN 13

9781800343979

Back from the Dead

Remakes of the Romero Zombie Films as Markers of Their Times

By: Kevin J. Wetmore, Jr.

Write a review Read reviews Take a Quiz Solve Book Puzzle

Back from the Dead

Remakes of the Romero Zombie Films as Markers of Their Times

By: Kevin J. Wetmore, Jr.

Since 1968, the name of motion picture director George Romero has been synonymous with the living dead. His landmark film Night of the Living Dead formed the paradigm of modern zombie cinema; often cited as a metaphor for America during the Vietnam War and the Civil Rights movement, the film used the tenets of the drive-in horror movie genre to engage the sociophobics of late-1960s culture. Subsequently Romero has created five more zombie films, and other directors, including Tom Savini and Zack Snyder, have remade Romero's movies. This survey of those remakes examines ways in which the sociocultural contexts of different time periods are reflected by changes to the narrative (and the zombies) of Romero's original versions.

Average ratings

N/A

Write a review

Solve jigsaw puzzle

Age

Page Count

254

Publisher

McFarland

Published Date

ISBN 10

0786487216

ISBN 13

9780786487219

The Athenian Sun in an African Sky

Modern African Adaptations of Classical Greek Tragedy

By: Kevin J. Wetmore, Jr.

Write a review Read reviews Take a Quiz Solve Book Puzzle

The Athenian Sun in an African Sky

Modern African Adaptations of Classical Greek Tragedy

By: Kevin J. Wetmore, Jr.

Western literature has become more influential in Africa since the independence of many of that continent's countries in the early 1960s. In particular, Greek tragedy has grown as model and inspiration for African theatre artists. This work begins with a discussion of the affinity that modern-day African playwrights have for ancient Greek tragedy and the factors that determine their choice of classical texts and topics. The study concentrates on how African playwrights transplant the dramatic action and narrative of the Greek texts by rewriting both the performance codes and the cultural context. The methods by which African playwrights have adapted Greek tragedy and the ways in which the plays satisfy the prevailing principles of both cultures are examined. The plays are The Bacchae of Euripides by Wole Soyinka, Song of a Goat by J.P. Clark, The Gods Are Not to Blame by Ola Rotimi, Guy Butler's Demea, Efua Sutherland's Edufa, Orestes by Athol Fugard, The Song of Jacob Zulu by Tug Yourgrau, Femi Osofisan's Tegonni, Edward Kamau Brathwaite's Odale's Choice, The Island by Fugard, John Kani, and Winston Ntshona, and Sylvain Bemba's Black Wedding Candles for Blessed Antigone.

Average ratings

N/A