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Postmodern Mysticism carefully explores the cinema of the prolific filmmaker Guillermo del Toro. Arguing for del Toro's status as a consummate artist, this study encompasses all eight of his films, and mobilizes close, formal analyses of del Toro's distinctive style as an extension of his personal history and personality. In doing so, Postmodern Mysticism illuminates the motifs, images, and issues that del Toro is invested in, such as: the beauty and horror of bodies; the restructuring and subversion of genre codes and conventions; and representations of children that reject sentimentalism. Moreover, with the recent preponderance of films and television programs based on or inspired by Christian and fairytale narratives, Postmodern Mysticism positions del Toro's cinema as a subversive body of work that aims to challenge-without pretense or derision-religious dogma and the prettification of fairytales. As such, del Toro's work is necessary viewing for audiences looking to break free from conventional approaches to- and understandings of-Christianity and fairytales as they appear in film and television.
About the author
Frankie Vanaria is an American Studies PhD student at Boston University. His interests include genre cinema, film theory and aesthetics, the intersection between ideology and art, and the representation of children in media.
