Table of Contents

Acknowledgments       vii
Preface      1
Introduction: Ultraviolence and Beyond      5

PART I : ARGUING THE CASE
1. Fictional Horror      33
2. The Troubling, Doubling Self      41
3. Inside the Doppelgänger      51
4. The Origin of Evil      58
5. The Nature of Evil      67
6. Tragic Myth and the Origin of Evil      76
7. Alternative Applications of Greek Mythic Tradition      89
8. Metaphysical Horror      96
9. Violence and Melodrama      104
10. Catharsis and Melodrama      110
11. Catharsis Reconsidered      115
12. Melodrama and Fairy Tales      127
13. Comic Books and Video Games      142
14. Real Horror      153
15. The Melodramatization of American Culture      165
16. Whence and Whither: Conclusions and Recommendations      200

PART II : ILLUSTRATING THE CASE
17. The Western as the American Myth      213
18. Multi-Melodrama: The Silence of the Lambs      234
19. The Slasher Horror Genre Since Psycho      240
20. Psycho(melo)drama: Raging Bull and Taxi Driver      256
21. Epic/Serial Melodrama: Star Wars, Harry Potter, and Lord of the Rings      265
22. Apocalyptic Melodrama: The Terminator and The Matrix      276
23. Modern “Noir” Melodrama: Bonnie and Clyde      288
24. Postmodern “Noir” Melodrama: Pulp Fiction      299
25. The Creature Feature: Jaws versus Moby Dick      306
26. Religious Melodrama: The Passion of the Christ      310

Appendix 1: Effects of Tragic Drama: Plato versus Aristotle      317
Appendix 2: Methodology      324
Bibliography      329
Index      339