We're chuffed to welcome the esteemed hosts of MONSTER TALK, Dr Karen Stollznow and Blake Smith, to the cabin to talk about the 1957 movie THE ABOMINABLE SNOWMAN. Written by the tremendous, influential British writer Nigel Kneale, this has got to be one of the best, and most interesting, cryptic films ever made. The fact that it hails from the days of 1950s yeti-mania makes it an important marker of a cultural cryptozoological moment - but even so, Kneale finds ways to put his own stamp on the monster. Our conversation includes:
-The work of Nigel Kneale
-Orientalism in the film
-the trope of psychic relict hominoids
-pelts & paws cryptozoology vs mystical interpretation
-the character ‘Tom Friend’ representing the real-life monster hunter Tom Slick
-real-life expeditions that inspired the movie
-Yetis as understood in their own countries
-Cryptozoology and colonialism (again!)
-when to show the monster?
-Cryptid movie recommendations
LINKS
Monster Talk: Yeti Stories You've Never Heard Before (a listening must!)
Bigfoot: Life and Times of a Legend, Joshua Blu Buhs, 2009
Howard Bury’s Footprints: a WAW episode about the origins of the term Abominable Snowman
