Racism and the Far Right in British Horror

[Evans]

Come to think of it aside from Riley at one point I doubt there were many contributors to Lovecraft anthos who were 'Far-Right' in the proper sense e.g. in favor of National Supremacy, racial segregation, Holocaust Denial, violence towards ethnic minorities, as opposed to straight up conservative or Anglo-Tory.

(Maybe it's different in 'survival horror', if there is such a niche, since it would present the closest equivalent to military sci-fi)

Quote Originally Posted by James

People falsely attribute social liberalism to Aickman because he's seen as an 'outside the box writer', and the left have seen fit to consider all such thinking to be leftist thinking. A similar appropriation occurred with David Lynch, who openly admires Ronald Reagan.

Concur.

Most writers paying lip service to their supposed admiration for Aickman take only his lack of resolutions as inspiration. They understand little to nothing about his fiction otherwise, and this is evidenced in recommendations for Aickman-esque literature or films that have no resemblance to Aickman's work at all outside of being somewhat cryptic.

It's 'hip' to name check him at the moment, but it's impossible to see what the type of person who wants Lovecraft hidden away for his opinions would find congenial in Aickman's fiction or life.

[Robert Adam Gilmour]

Doris V. Sutherland, Author at Women Write About Comics

Still reading through Sutherland's articles and having a good time with them. Her overviews of Hugo nominations are good.

[Shadenuat]

Yeah, Lynch is another example where I don's care one bit for artist's person. His political leaning aside, very fact that he is willing celebrity spokesperson for a scummy religious cult (a la Cruise and Scientology) is bad enough.

[Shadenuat]

And how the hell is Growing Boys supposed to be anti race mixing? There are things to dislike there for a leftist reader (like strawman wimpy emasculated liberal father), but I never saw that. I though the boys themselves a take on the fairy changeling trope (growth, prodigious appetite...) and main draw of the story being how characters try to ignore elephant in the room, obvious unnaturalness of their situation.
It isn't one of his better known tales anyway, so you need to try better if you want examples of his fiction being openly political.

[Evans]

Quote Originally Posted by Shadenuat

And how the hell is Growing Boys supposed to be anti race mixing? There are things to dislike there for a leftist reader (like strawman wimpy emasculated liberal father), but I never saw that. I though the boys themselves a take on the fairy changeling trope (growth, prodigious appetite...) and main draw of the story being how characters try to ignore elephant in the room, obvious unnaturalness of their situation. It isn't one of his better known tales anyway, so you need to try better if you want examples of his fiction being openly political.

No Growing Boys is not anti-mixed race marriage; I did not say that, I said it was as obvious an anti-liberal polemic as Innsmouth was an anti-mixed race marriage. Your concerned concern troll misreadings are starting to get annoying.

[Shadenuat]

OK, sorry. That was honest to god misread on my part.
I just don't see that story as overly offensive to non-conservatives in a way that would make it comparable to Innsmouth.

[qcrisp]

The friend who talks about Aickman in the documentary appears to be the same person who wrote one of the introductions for the Faber & Faber editions. She does speak of his insensitivity, but this remains vague (in both the documentary and the book introduction) except in two cases:

1. He forces her to listen to him reading his stories aloud.
2. He has a relationship with her but declines to acknowledge her as a girlfriend.

I'd be interested to hear what the other incidents of unkindness were like, or at least reasonably interested.

Anyway, must get back to work, etc...

[durandal]

Quote Originally Posted by Evans

May I respectfully add that Robert Aickman, by no means an evil or uncompassionate man, at some point in his life nursed a sympathy at least for Fascist individuals if not for Fascism in general. I recall how a certain welknown horror writer who, in an attempt to score a point against Riley, ended up letting slip about Aickman's interest in Mosley .

http://www.ligotti.net/showthread.php?t=11845