This incredibly intriguing CFP has come to the attention of OGOM. It is a request for papers on the subject of The Dark California: Millennial Concerns in the Contemporary Pop-Cultural Readings of California. California is officially nicknamed ‘The Golden State’ and its most recent advertising campaign draws on the reputation of being laid-back, tanned and beautiful.
It seems only natural with all this light and brightness, California would have a dark underside. As part of the Buffy the Vampire (1997-2003) generation, I was well aware that under the sweetness of Sunnydale there was the Hellmouth. And Angel (1999-2004) only confirmed that Los Angeles was riddled with darkness: for where there are angels, there must be demons.
LA Noir has become a staple of Hollywood with more recent movies such as The Black Dahlia (2006) and Mulholland Drive (2001) laying bare the dark underbelly of star-spangled dreams. More insidiously, Hollywood remains the place which creates, disseminates and dominates popular culture in the Western world. Any rot at the centre of this world has the possibility of spreading its’ spores far and wide …