You may have seen this hilariously strange new ad for Tums Smoothies during the political convention season (2016) on TV. If so, you’ve “Felt the (Heart)Bern” in a way that probably made you do a double-take the first time you saw it: A pack of naked hot dog people, attacking a lone male camper in… Continue reading When Hot Dogs Attack
Author: Michael Arnzen
Michael Arnzen holds four Bram Stoker Awards and an International Horror Guild Award for his disturbing (and often funny) fiction, poetry and literary experiments. He has been teaching as a Professor of English in the MFA program in Writing Popular Fiction at Seton Hill University since 1999.
The #Whoppersign, the King and the Uncanny
Kudos to the fast food chain Burger King (and their marketing team, led by VP Fer Merchado), for making a bold step in addressing the special needs of people with hearing disabilities. To celebrate the most recent American Sign Language Day (on April 15th, 2016), they ran an advertising campaign that directly targeted the deaf,… Continue reading The #Whoppersign, the King and the Uncanny
Arnzen Interviewed by Heidi Ruby Miller for SIGMA
Shortly before my presentation on The Popular Uncanny at PARSEC last month, Heidi Ruby Miller interviewed me about the subject for their newsletter, SIGMA. You can read the full interview in .pdf format here; an excerpt follows… Excerpt: Miller: Why should we care about the uncanny, popular or not? Arnzen: The uncanny has been becoming… Continue reading Arnzen Interviewed by Heidi Ruby Miller for SIGMA
Terror Management Theory and the Uncanny Valley (Video)
Here’s a video clip from my lecture last October at Neumann University on the Uncanny Valley. About an hour into the discussion of why androids and animatronics might creep us out, I gave this overview of “terror management theory” to explore how it applies to theories of the uncanny (das Unheimliche) and the representations of… Continue reading Terror Management Theory and the Uncanny Valley (Video)
From “The Uncanny Valley” Talk at Neumann University
Had a GREAT time in Philadelphia this past weekend, where I attended DogCon4 and delivered an address to Neumann University on “The Uncanny Valley.” MANY THANKS to Neumann University for supporting my trip, Dr. Bill Hamilton for inviting/hosting/handling, Dave Bullis for running the media, and of course, all my friends at Raw Dog Screaming Press… Continue reading From “The Uncanny Valley” Talk at Neumann University
“The Uncanny Valley” Event: Guest Lecture at Neumann University 10.23.15
I will be giving a talk about “The Uncanny Valley”, free and open to the public, at Neumann University (near Philadelphia, PA) on the early evening of Oct 23rd. This event doubles as an early bird festivity for Raw Dog Screaming Press’ exciting conference, DogCon4. [Raw Dog is the parent company for Guide Dog Books,… Continue reading “The Uncanny Valley” Event: Guest Lecture at Neumann University 10.23.15
Everything Is Uncanny
The latest print issue of Wired magazine (Sept 2015) includes a mini-feature story on “The New Cultural Literacy 2016,” which includes the above entry on the ubiquity of the uncanny valley in technological design. The phrase “Uncanny Valley” has indeed become so ubiquitous in discourse that it seems to be drummed up whenever anything is… Continue reading Everything Is Uncanny
The Clone Chores — aka. Return of the Maytag Men
Last June, I shared some observations about how das Unheimliche is employed in Maytag advertising that features the newest model of their Maytag Man spokesman. A year later, this great advertising icon is back in a new tv ad that has doubled-down on his inherent uncanniness…by framing the character as but one clone in a… Continue reading The Clone Chores — aka. Return of the Maytag Men
Paranormal Vodka and Other Bestial Booze
Booze advertising keeps dancing on the dark side. Check out the recent commercial campaign for ThreeOlives Vodka — an ad so full of urban fantasy tropes that at first I thought it was going to be a trailer for a remake of Angel or something. Video: https://youtu.be/XLlpu341PdA The vid is high on gloss and romantic… Continue reading Paranormal Vodka and Other Bestial Booze
The Return of the Uncanny and the Rise of the Uncanny Valley
Although there is some wise debate about the reliability of Google NGrams as statistical proof, it is still interesting to see the way the term “uncanny” has come into — and gone out of — fashion over the years… Here’s how google NGram tracks the appearance of the term “uncanny” in all books between 1800… Continue reading The Return of the Uncanny and the Rise of the Uncanny Valley