Kam
So this wasn’t all that bad a read. I don’t remember much of the Satanic Panic (mostly because my country had much bigger problems at the time than worrying about Satan’s supposed influence on children), but it was fascinating, and saddening, to read about how that moment in cultural history affected the lives of so many people in the US, both children and adults - in particular, the McMartin preschool trials, which was borrowed for this comic but set in the Midwest instead of in California.
One of the major, overarching themes of this graphic novel is how damaging mass hysteria and widespread acceptance of conspiracy theories can be. Looking into the history of the Satanic Panic it was clear how the whole thing was fuelled by the cultural anxieties of the time, rooted in the historical events of the 60s and 70s. What’s interesting are the parallels to the hysterias of the present day: purity culture and the alt-right Christofascist movement manifesting now as ICE raids and widespread censorship both on- and offline. It’s all a fear reaction to uncertain times; the problem is that it’s destroying innocent lives in the process.
One thing that disappointed me about this, though, was that I went into it assuming it was going to be a horror story, but it’s actually better categorized as mystery or thriller than horror. I also thought the ending was a bit rushed; I don’t mind that it was inconclusive, I just think that there might have been a better way to wrap it up without having it feel so abrupt, or losing the darker tone the graphic novel was going for.
Overall, this was a fine, if rather dark, read. Its exploration of themes around the damage done by mass hysteria and conspiracy theories was very interesting and relevant to the current period, but the ending could have been better, and the marketing of it as a horror story instead of a thriller may disappoint readers expecting the former and then get the latter.
Originally posted at kamreadsandrecs.tumblr.com.
So this wasn’t all that bad a read. I don’t remember much of the Satanic Panic (mostly because my country had much bigger problems at the time than worrying about Satan’s supposed influence on children), but it was fascinating, and saddening, to read about how that moment in cultural history affected the lives of so many people in the US, both children and adults - in particular, the McMartin preschool trials, which was borrowed for this comic but set in the Midwest instead of in California.
One of the major, overarching themes of this graphic novel is how damaging mass hysteria and widespread acceptance of conspiracy theories can be. Looking into the history of the Satanic Panic it was clear how the whole thing was fuelled by the cultural anxieties of the time, rooted in the historical events of the 60s and 70s. What’s interesting are the parallels to the hysterias of the present day: purity culture and the alt-right Christofascist movement manifesting now as ICE raids and widespread censorship both on- and offline. It’s all a fear reaction to uncertain times; the problem is that it’s destroying innocent lives in the process.
One thing that disappointed me about this, though, was that I went into it assuming it was going to be a horror story, but it’s actually better categorized as mystery or thriller than horror. I also thought the ending was a bit rushed; I don’t mind that it was inconclusive, I just think that there might have been a better way to wrap it up without having it feel so abrupt, or losing the darker tone the graphic novel was going for.
Overall, this was a fine, if rather dark, read. Its exploration of themes around the damage done by mass hysteria and conspiracy theories was very interesting and relevant to the current period, but the ending could have been better, and the marketing of it as a horror story instead of a thriller may disappoint readers expecting the former and then get the latter.
Originally posted at kamreadsandrecs.tumblr.com.