Capitalism: A Horror Story

Description

A horror-story history of capitalism and its relationship to the haunted and the gothic, and a manifesto of Gothic Marxism, which finds revolutionary hope in the nightmare of modernity.

Capitalism is a horror story. In this book, pioneering film critic and cultural theorist Jon Greenaway dives into the dark side of the radical imagination. What does it mean to see horror in capitalism, and what can horror tell us about the state and nature of capitalism?

The book offers a new analysis of Marxist theory and culture, drawing from Romantic anticapitalism from Andre Breton to Walter Benjamin as well as literature and film from the nineteenth century to the present. Moving across literature, film and philosophy, from Frankenstein and Dracula to modern horror like The Platform, Parasite and The VVitch, this book offers one of the first full-length analyses of Gothic Marxism.

The book explains the “dark way of being red” drawing off the warm stream of Marxism from Ernst Bloch. From there, the book explores the socio-political function of the monstrous, the haunted nature of the digital world and the inescapable horror of contemporary capitalist politics. Most shockingly, this book argues that we can find hope in horror — a site of monstrous becoming, that opens the door to a Utopian future.”Horror is the zeitgeist of the capitalist age, and the Gothic Marxism posited here not only explains the economic determinants of contemporary culture but offers a paradoxical light in the darkness. We may all be monsters now – but in monstrosity new kinds of selves can be imagined and better worlds brought forth.”
— Linnie Blake, Founder of the Manchester Centre for Gothic Studies

“An intellectual tour de force, a political manifesto for our moment, and a gothic page turner.”
— Johanna Isaacson, author of Stepford Daughters: Weapons for Feminists in Contemporary Horror

“In our age of monsters, hope for the future lies in the ruthlessly critical encounter with the monstrous at all levels of culture, and Capitalism: A Horror Story is an exemplary study of such a critical theory and practice.”
— Robert T. Tally Jr., Texas State University, author of The Fiction of Dread: Dystopia, Monstrosity, and Apocalypse

“This wonderful book uncovers the revolutionary complexities at the heart of some of our most famous pop-cultural monsters, allowing them to speak to us anew. We would be wise to listen.”
— Matt Colquhoun, author of Narcissus in Bloom

“Greenaway writes with the syncretic precision and utopian zest that have become his trademarks. If you prefer your political theory served with a side of guts and ghouls, this book is for you.”
— Xavier Aldana Reyes, editor of Horror: A Literary History

“Capitalism: A Horror Story burns like a flame in the dark—inviting us to find warmth and solidarity with our monstrous comrades. If you’ve been feeling isolated or afraid, take up this book and find that the only thing hiding in the shadows is our hope for a better world that could yet be.”
— Ashley Darrow, host of Horror VanguardJon Greenaway is a horror expert, with a PhD from the Manchester Centre for Gothic Studies. He is the co-host of the leftist film analysis podcast Horror Vanguard and his work has appeared in The Guardian, The New York Times, The Baffler and a host of other online publications. He lives and works in the North of England.GB

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