The article deals with the stereotypical ways in which game players are represented in various TV series whose characters are constructed on the basis of well-worn (and not necessarily authentic) ...patterns. As a result, one-dimensional motifs of games and players lead to unvarying representations which tend to be bipolar. The screenwriters seem to be convinced that the only function of video games is escapism. The TV series characters are, therefore, constructed on the basis of definite patterns limited to specific personality models ranging from the genius to the simpleton with a low IQ. The article exemplifies stereotypes of games and players. It argues that the monochromatic way of presenting the players results – among others – from the fact that producers and screenwriters are willing to favour the expectations of average viewers and attempt to mirror some universally-acknowledged convictions which are not true.
The article Zombie Apocalypse in Contemporary Children’s Literature tackles a subject which has scarcely been mentioned in Polish research on children’s literature: that of catastrophic ...zombie-centric narratives, elements of which – especially the motif of the zombie apocalypse – are increasingly common in works targeted at children of pre- school and early school age. Three popular English-language picturebooks are interpreted: A Brain Is for Eating (2001) by Dan and Amelia Jacobs with ilustrations by Scott Brundage, Joe McGee and Charles Santoso’s Peanut Butter & Jelly Brains (2015), and Zombie Cat. The Tale of a Decomposing Kitty (2012) by Isabel Atherton and Bethany Straker. The dominant features of these books are respectively: dark carnivalisation and a drastic representation of bloodthirsty monsters; mild carnivalisation and a zombie-child as a humanised phantom; dark carnivalisation with an animal zombie leitmotif. The texts present a multidimensional, grotesque-macabre depiction inspired by children’s folklore and apocalyptic gore cinema, as well as its significance in the context of discourses focused on post-humanism and social issues of importance in the present day. The article also seeks to answer the question of why these subjects are less popular among Polish authors, and what makes them so important in Anglo-Saxon children’s literature.
Artykuł „Apokalipsa zombie we współczesnej literaturze dziecięcej” porusza mało rozpoznany w polskich badaniach nad literaturą dla dzieci temat katastroficznych narracji zombiecentrycznych, których ...elementy, szczególnie motyw zombie apokalipsy, pojawiają się coraz częściej w utworach skierowanych do dzieci w wieku przedszkolnym i młodszym wieku szkolnym. Interpretacji podlegają trzy popularne anglosaskie książki obrazkowe: „A Brain is for Eating” (2001) Dana i Amelii Jacobsów z ilustracjami Scotta Brundagea,„Peanut Butter & Jelly Brains”(2015) Joe’go McGee i Charles’a Santoso oraz „Zombie Cat. The Tale of a Decomposing Kittu” (2012) Isabel Atherton i Bethany Straker, w których dominuje kolejno: mroczna karnawalizacja i drastyczne ujęcie zombie-dzieci jako krwiożerczych monstrów; łagodna karnawalizacja oraz zombie-dziecko jako fantom uczłowieczony; mroczna karnawalizacja z przewodnim motywem zwierzęcia zombie. Omówione teksty prezentują wielowymiarowe, zaczerpnięte z folkloru dziecięcego i apokaliptycznego kina gore, groteskowo-makabryczne obrazowanie, jak też jego znaczenie w kontekście dyskursów zogniskowanych wokół posthumanizmu i tematów społecznych istotnych dla współczesności. W artykule pojawia się również próba odpowiedzi na pytanie: dlaczego polscy twórcy niechętnie sięgają po omawianą tematykę i z jakiego powodu jest on tak ważny w anglosaskiej literaturze dziecięcej.
The paper Cities of Lovecraft traverses a number H. P. Lovecraft’s works in order to outline the cityscape of the titanic and the monstruous—that is shown as an epitomy of Lovecraft’s depiction of ...the gothic city. Spaces forgotten, hidden, concealed and, thereby, treacherous and weird, compose a pivotal component of creating both the world and the atmosphere of gothic fiction—as they realise a bipartite model of the world divided into the known and the unknown. Lovecraftian worlds are claimed here to be contructed in this very way, featuring forgotten, titanic cities of architecture never seen and origin—unbeknownst to any of the protagonists. Alongside those titanic (sunken, undiscovered, otherworldy) or isolated (such as Innsmouth) metropolies those of human origin reside, no less, however, affected by the evil and unnatural phenomena instigating—both on topographical and psychological plane—deformations and abnormalities. Those liminal enclaves of decay signify the entering of the forbidden frontier and stepping over the threshold of “normality”—which results in character’s wondering astray in the secret or degenerated urban mazes, overwhelmed by their grandeur. Theis scenery becomes, therefore, a key element for (re)presenting a world tainted by the Ancient Evil—surving, in a way, as a fellow character in the narrative.
The article is focused on the analysis of the concept of multimodality in crime fiction, providing an outline of the multitude of the utilized narrative devices. This various aspects of multimodality ...are studied in visual (typography, layout, illustrations, binding, composition), audial or diegetic context, as well as in the ways the narrative may be focalized. This predominantly aesthetic components are not merely illustrating the plot, but serve as vehicles for world‑building as they contribute for constructing credible and immersive storyworlds. The exemplified works of crime fiction, both founding for the genre, and more contemporaneous, are viewed as relevant for postclassical narrative studies which therefore allows for revising the structural stereotypes of crime fiction from 60s.
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