Violence in the Films of Stephen King

Tony Magistrale, Michael J. Blouin

• Publisher: Lexington Books
• Year: 2021
• Edition: 1
• eBook ISBN:
  9781978785182
• Topic: Media & Performing Arts
• Subtopic: Film & Video

In Violence in the Films of Stephen King, contributors analyze the theme of violence in the film adaptations of Stephen King's work—ranging from the earliest films in the King canonto his most recent iterations—through a variety of lenses. Investigating the diverse and varying roles that violence continues to play as both the level of violence and the gendered depictions of violence have evolved, many of the contributors come to the conclusion that King's films have grown more violent over time. This book also examines the fine line between necessary violence and sensationalist violence, discussing the complexity of determining what constitutes violence with a narrative and ethical significance versus violence intended solely to titillate, repulse, or otherwise draw an emotional reaction from viewers. Scholars of film studies, horror studies, literary studies, and gender studies will find this book particularly useful.

Table of contents

• Cover
• Contents
• Introduction
• Stephen King’s Carrie 
• An American Hyde
• The Mad Lady
• Cujo, the Black Man, and the Story of Patty Hearst
• King of Pain
• Violence Persists
• “Cut You Up into Little Pieces”
• Tempered Violence in Frank Darabont’s Adaptations of Stephen King
• Hiding in Plain Sight
• Political Allegory and the Plague of Violence in the Television Adaptation of The Outsider
• The Invasive Gaze
• “Murder Is Damnation, But Murder Is Also Work”
• Lost in the Supermarket
• Stephen King’s Big Driver
• Index
• About the Contributors