Overview

Given the U.S.A.'s long held "taste for the monstrous in all its forms" (Scott Poole 4) coupled with its love for "the colossal, the exaggerated and the brash" (Tsutsi 166) it is not surprising that the giant monster movie has long been a key part of the nation's cinematic landscape, yet up until recently the genre had been largely neglected by scholars. The U.S. Giant Monster Movie: Size Does Matter addresses this gap, providing a richly detailed and compelling critical account of this vital but often overlooked instance of popular cinema. Using Mikhail Bakhtin's theories of the carnivalesque to help inform a discussion of examples such as The Lost World (1925) and King Kong (1933), up to the latest CGI blockbusters including Cloverfield (2008), Pacific Rim (2013) and Godzilla vs Kong (2021), the book charts chronological developments in the form; examines its' wide-ranging thematic concerns; and explores the reasons for the U.S. giant monster movie's continuing commercial success. This comprehensive study will appeal to those with an interest in Film Studies, American Studies, popular cinema and culture, as well as anyone who wants to know more about this most spectacular and often subversive of genres.