Jon Hackett

Often the sky is conceptualised as a place of infinite possibilities, past the limits of our scientific explorations – and into the realms of our fiction and speculation; it is the site for our thoughts on the future, of the extra-terrestrial and beyond. Our representations in the media of space, sky and the infinite invariably mediate social and cultural anxieties that are current, looming and indeed threatening. These concerns range from the environment and fears of ecosystem collapse; the nuclear arms and space race; modernity, utopia and dystopia. Beasts of the Sky: Strange Sightings from the Stratosphere is the third and final collection in the Beasts series. This collection offers its readers an in-depth and interdisciplinary engagement with the skies above and their monstrous inhabitants, through critical readings of science fiction and popular culture – through the media of film, television, popular music, digital games and animation. Within this collection there are a multitude of convergent critical perspectives used to engage and explore fictional and real monstrosities of the sky and space in media. As with previous collections, Skies features chapters from a variety of academic perspectives; genre and narrative, textual analysis, spectatorship and reception, Tolkien studies, performance studies, digital media and indeed fiction are featured. Under examination are a wide range of narratives and media forms that represent, reimagine and create subjects as varied as the threat of nuclear weapons, sightings of UFOs, space exploration and flying creatures.

Popular music and masculinity have rarely been examined through the lens of research into monstrosity. The discourses associated with rock and pop, however, actually include more ‘monsters’ than might at first be imagined. Attention to such individuals and cultures can say things about the operation of genre and gender, myth and meaning. Indeed, monstrosity has recently become a growing focus of cultural theory. This is in part because monsters raise shared concerns about transgression, subjectivity, agency, and community. Attention to monstrosity evokes both the spectre of projection (which invokes familial trauma and psychoanalysis) and shared anxieties (that in turn reflect ideologies and beliefs). By pursuing a series of insightful case studies, Scary Monsters considers different aspects of the connection between music, gender and monstrosity. Its argument is that attention to monstrosity provides a unique perspective on the study of masculinity in popular music culture.

Popular music and masculinity have rarely been examined through the lens of research into monstrosity. The discourses associated with rock and pop, however, actually include more ‘monsters’ than might at first be imagined. Attention to such individuals and cultures can say things about the operation of genre and gender, myth and meaning. Indeed, monstrosity has recently become a growing focus of cultural theory. This is in part because monsters raise shared concerns about transgression, subjectivity, agency, and community. Attention to monstrosity evokes both the spectre of projection (which invokes familial trauma and psychoanalysis) and shared anxieties (that in turn reflect ideologies and beliefs). By pursuing a series of insightful case studies, Scary Monsters considers different aspects of the connection between music, gender and monstrosity. Its argument is that attention to monstrosity provides a unique perspective on the study of masculinity in popular music culture.