Kaiju and Pop Culture Anthology
deadline for submissions:
July 1, 2016
full name / name of organization:
Camille D. G. Mustachio
contact email:
Kaiju is a familiar trope in film and television that places giant monsters in direct conflict with fellow monsters and/or everyday citizens. While a larger-than-life creature that attacks Tokyo is likely the most familiar form of kaiju, additional iterations include apes, dragons, dinosaurs, and even robots. Kaiju as a genre has evolved along with cinema; technical developments no longer require men stomping around in rubber costumes as CGI enables bigger and more frightening monsters to haunt our screens. With a timeless kitsch quality, kaiju is solidly placed within our collective pop culture psyche. We seek to create an anthology of original essays that explores technical, thematic, mythological, cultural, and historical aspects of various kaiju. This volume is under contract with McFarland Press with a 2017 anticiapted release date.
Some potential topics may include:
- individual monsters including but not limited to Godzilla, Mothra, and Daimajin
- folklore
- regional kaiju
- parody
- fandom
- cosplay
- merchandise
- translation
- adaptation from page to screen
- American pop culture endurance
- nostalgia
- development of film, television, comics, and gaming
Send abstracts of 200 words to kaijupopculture@gmail.com no later than Friday, July 1, 2016. Final articles of 5,000-6,000 words are to be MLA formatted (8th edition) with American English styles and spellings. Refrain from using images from Toho films.