Friday 15 May 2020

MGM

Operation Chaos, VIII.

In Hollywood after the War, Steve Matuchek acts and werewolfs for Metro-Goldwyn-Merlin, starring in Dracula, Frankenstein, the Wolf Man, the Mummy, and the Thing Meet Paracelsus. The people of that parallel Earth have a higher tolerance for long film titles. Let us analyze the six elements of that title:

Dracula
Frankenstein
the Wolf Man
the Mummy
the Thing
Paracelsus

But the Grand Master of bizarre juxtapositions in alternative realities is Alan Moore:

In the futuristic sf of Alan Moore's Halo Jones, philosophy and horror fiction have been synthesized (not a serious suggestion!), thus generating titles like Frankenstein Meets Wittgenstein. That imaginary title is not as far-fetched as it might seem because, although Frankenstein and his Monster have become cinematic horror fiction characters, Frankenstein, or The Modern Prometheus by Mary Shelley is a reflection, full of Biblical, Miltonic and mythological references, on the consequences of natural philosophy. I suspect that Alan Moore was conscious of this when he wrote a throwaway line in Halo Jones.
-copied from here.

1 comment:

Sean M. Brooks said...

Kaor, Paul!

That roaring lion trademark of Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer has become a cultural cliche which is probably recognizable even in the most obscure corners of the world by now!
And I noted how the OPERATION timeline has "Metro-Goldwyn-MERLIN." Did Merlin go into the movie industry? (Smiles)

Ad astra! Sean